I am sorry if you are one of the victims of a spam message from my email id. I am not a member of "Yaari". Somebody hacked my mail and sending mails to all people in my mailing list, on behalf of me!! So, if you get a mail from me asking you to be my friend, just ignore it. Probably the wireless connection I am using here caused the problem!
Even my mail box is flooding with mails from "me!" and some friends who respond to the spam mail
Thank you very much for your patience and Sorry for the inconvenience caused to you.......
Regards,
Kannan
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Monday, March 10, 2008
X Men!
Rohit (semi-sitting) and myself (full sitting) at Snow Park in "The Mall of Emirates" - Dubai.
A Memorable Lunch
”Food is for the Stomach; Gossip is for the Soul!!!” The world famous author of this blog, Mr. P.R. Kannan wrote once!!
Perhaps the most fertile ground for Gossiping is a dining table. Whatever exotic dish you eat, it is incomplete without a dose of gossip added to it! This is true for almost anybody – (accept it!) and myself and my colleague+dear friend “Mr. Rohit Patel” were no exceptions to this general rule too, when we used to converge around the dining table in Saipem Sharjah Engineering(my previous company) with a lunch packet in our hand. We used to talk a lot during lunch time. While Rohit being a God fearing man, used to talk only about harmless topics like Piysuh Patel's Share Market Gambling, Quality of food supplied by "Aryas Hotel" or the price of Electronics goods in the E-mart, myself was a fearless warrior of comment and used to talk about more HOT topics like Company Secretary's underworld sexual affairs with the consultants, about the "nymphomaniac" Romanian girl, Impotence of the Company's top management, the foolishness of their decisions, Office Politics in various levels or the bullshit military uniform Mr. Essam is wearing in office etc. etc. Just for FUN! Lunch without gossip was like underwear without elastic for us!!
But one day, more precisely on a “Dark Ramadan Day” we have taken our lunch in utter silence. We not only did not talk but also did not look at each other, till the lunch is finished and our plates were glittering as if they were new!!
So, here is the story of that “Silent Lunch” -- perhaps the only one of that sort I ever had in my life. A lunch devoid of Gossips!!
Getting breakfast and lunch during Ramadan was really a daunting task in Sharjah (UAE), especially for bachelors who depend solely on hotels for food. Even in that unfavorable circumstance also, I was able to manage it with the kind help of my friend Mr.Rohit, who used to share half of his lunch with me. Thanks dude!!
It was a sunny day.
I had nothing to do and was feeling bored when the idea of going to "The Mall of Emirates" struck my mind. Immediately I took the phone and called Rohit and asked him to come in front of Abu Shagra Park(a park near to where we were staying and still he is staying!), where I proposed my idea of going the Mall to him. I think his time was too bad on that day to agree with my idea. With his trademark ear deafening digital bass boost laugh, he gave his consent immediately. The power of his laugh had amazing effects such as it caused some of the tress in the Abu Shagra Park to nod their head in Happiness! The crow sitting on a tree branch raised its tail and shitted! A stray cat on the road stopped eating the meat, craned its neck and looked us in doubt! The “Pom Pom” exercise lady reduced the speed of her jogging, turned back and gave us a sexy look! Awesome dude, your laugh attracts almost everything in this world – including “Mr. Jadhav”!!
That day, since Rohit preferred not to cook, we had only air and water for the breakfast and lunch. With empty stomachs and shameless faces, we started our journey from Sharjah to Dubai around 1:00pm! We had a trace of hope that Dubai being a modest emirate compared to Sharjah, will not enforce the Ramadan fasting rule so tightly and hence we will be able to find something to eat there. At least some restaurants will be open there and we can fulfill the aspirations of our stomach without much difficulty in Dubai, we thought!
But we were wrong!
In the mall of Emirates, we were greeted by wonderful scene of a series of open restaurants displaying exotic dishes! I praised Sheikh Mohammad and “Allah” for their commonsense and benevolence! Also, in my mind I abused the Sheikh of Sharjah, where no restaurants were allowed to open during day time. If we were ready to accept any dish from any restaurant just 5 minutes before, seeing all these restaurants we became so choosy suddenly! We declared McDonald, KFC etc. are junk and Pizza Hut is useless. Finally we applied brake in front of an Indian restaurant.
“Menu card please” I asked the waiter, posing like a prospective customer.
I had a quick glance of it and decided to order “Masala Dosa”.
“You can only get parcel. You should not eat here” I got shocked hearing this conditional statement from the waiter!
“But some people are eating here. Why not us?” I asked in hunger and humility, pointing to the lady and a kid sitting and eating there, without being interrupted by anybody
“You can feed the kids”, was the response of the waiter. (Adding insult to injury, that f****r was smiling!)
To feed a kid, first I have to find a lady, make her pregnant, then she has to deliver……it will take a long time I knew. So we decided to cancel the order and walked away in despair. While moving from there, I just noticed the way that lady was feeding her (or rented?) kid. A small piece of bread is given to the kid and followed by that, two large pieces will find its way to her own mouth!! She is struggling to gulp it fast, without being noticed by others! Nice Idea. I felt jealous of that lady!
Forced by the circumstances, we bid adieu to our hunger and meandered in and around the Mall for some time. The thought that we will be able to eat only at 6 o’clock made our hunger more severe. We both were frustrated with the fasting rule of Ramadan. Around 3 o’ clock, when we were standing near to a movie theater in the mall, a nice idea hit the doors of Rohit’s mind!
“See, its movie time now. We will get the parcel, go inside the theater and eat there”!! He uttered in hunger!
“What an excellent idea! My friend Rohit is nobody else, but divine incarnation of God himself “ I thought for a moment. However, before getting the parcel, we just went up to check the condition outside the theater. And we have seen they are screening the bags and no food is allowed to take inside!! Voila!!!!!!
Again we continued to wander here and there, fluctuating ourselves between ideas and starvation. "What about a lunch in disguise? We will dress like Sheikh Mohammad and ask for food?" Or What about the idea of renting a kid from someone on the mall? If someone was ready to rent their kid at that time, we were ready to pay 1000 dirhams per hour also!!
It was around 4 o’clock when this foolproof idea struck my mind! “Let us get parcel, go to the TOILET and eat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Nobody including original Allah will come there to check”….I mumbled in a complex state of hunger and emotion. Out of nowhere, I saw a flower of light blossoming on Rohit's face. "He may be imagining himself as sitting a toilet and eating a burger" I thought. Finally we did not accept that idea also since we were afraid that if we do that, tomorrow we may use kitchen/dining room as toilet also! We didnt want to do that. Rather, we chose to die of starvation!!
Attempting to forget everything, we went to the snow park and had some fun. But we didn’t forget to come near the restaurants around 6 o’clock. When the signal indicating the end of fasting period came, there was a “Human Tsunami” in front of all the restaurants. On that day, I witnessed the real smartness of my friend too. Rohit was one of the first to stand in the Q!
I went and caught seat for both of us. After 5 minutes, Rohit came with a tray full of food – quantity sufficient for a big family!
On that day, Office Politics, secretary’s sex, philosophy, climate, bar, war etc. didn’t come to our mind at all!! We both were silent, till the entire food is finished. There was literally no time to talk!!
Sometimes in life we take some decisions only to bring unwanted agony to us. The best way to overcome this situation is to think, “If I had taken the opposite decision, some terrible accident would have happened to me”!! My decision to visit “The Mall of Emirates” on that Ramadan Day was one such decision I made! After experiencing the agony of that visit, I found relief in my thought that, “If I didn’t go to “The Mall of Emirates” that day, I would have died of a snake bite”!!
Anyway, after the food is finished, we looked at each other and smiled. Still I don’t know what we meant by that. May be it was a sign of recovery, success, happiness or relief.
But one thing is sure: That was a “memorable lunch”!!
Perhaps the most fertile ground for Gossiping is a dining table. Whatever exotic dish you eat, it is incomplete without a dose of gossip added to it! This is true for almost anybody – (accept it!) and myself and my colleague+dear friend “Mr. Rohit Patel” were no exceptions to this general rule too, when we used to converge around the dining table in Saipem Sharjah Engineering(my previous company) with a lunch packet in our hand. We used to talk a lot during lunch time. While Rohit being a God fearing man, used to talk only about harmless topics like Piysuh Patel's Share Market Gambling, Quality of food supplied by "Aryas Hotel" or the price of Electronics goods in the E-mart, myself was a fearless warrior of comment and used to talk about more HOT topics like Company Secretary's underworld sexual affairs with the consultants, about the "nymphomaniac" Romanian girl, Impotence of the Company's top management, the foolishness of their decisions, Office Politics in various levels or the bullshit military uniform Mr. Essam is wearing in office etc. etc. Just for FUN! Lunch without gossip was like underwear without elastic for us!!
But one day, more precisely on a “Dark Ramadan Day” we have taken our lunch in utter silence. We not only did not talk but also did not look at each other, till the lunch is finished and our plates were glittering as if they were new!!
So, here is the story of that “Silent Lunch” -- perhaps the only one of that sort I ever had in my life. A lunch devoid of Gossips!!
Getting breakfast and lunch during Ramadan was really a daunting task in Sharjah (UAE), especially for bachelors who depend solely on hotels for food. Even in that unfavorable circumstance also, I was able to manage it with the kind help of my friend Mr.Rohit, who used to share half of his lunch with me. Thanks dude!!
It was a sunny day.
I had nothing to do and was feeling bored when the idea of going to "The Mall of Emirates" struck my mind. Immediately I took the phone and called Rohit and asked him to come in front of Abu Shagra Park(a park near to where we were staying and still he is staying!), where I proposed my idea of going the Mall to him. I think his time was too bad on that day to agree with my idea. With his trademark ear deafening digital bass boost laugh, he gave his consent immediately. The power of his laugh had amazing effects such as it caused some of the tress in the Abu Shagra Park to nod their head in Happiness! The crow sitting on a tree branch raised its tail and shitted! A stray cat on the road stopped eating the meat, craned its neck and looked us in doubt! The “Pom Pom” exercise lady reduced the speed of her jogging, turned back and gave us a sexy look! Awesome dude, your laugh attracts almost everything in this world – including “Mr. Jadhav”!!
That day, since Rohit preferred not to cook, we had only air and water for the breakfast and lunch. With empty stomachs and shameless faces, we started our journey from Sharjah to Dubai around 1:00pm! We had a trace of hope that Dubai being a modest emirate compared to Sharjah, will not enforce the Ramadan fasting rule so tightly and hence we will be able to find something to eat there. At least some restaurants will be open there and we can fulfill the aspirations of our stomach without much difficulty in Dubai, we thought!
But we were wrong!
In the mall of Emirates, we were greeted by wonderful scene of a series of open restaurants displaying exotic dishes! I praised Sheikh Mohammad and “Allah” for their commonsense and benevolence! Also, in my mind I abused the Sheikh of Sharjah, where no restaurants were allowed to open during day time. If we were ready to accept any dish from any restaurant just 5 minutes before, seeing all these restaurants we became so choosy suddenly! We declared McDonald, KFC etc. are junk and Pizza Hut is useless. Finally we applied brake in front of an Indian restaurant.
“Menu card please” I asked the waiter, posing like a prospective customer.
I had a quick glance of it and decided to order “Masala Dosa”.
“You can only get parcel. You should not eat here” I got shocked hearing this conditional statement from the waiter!
“But some people are eating here. Why not us?” I asked in hunger and humility, pointing to the lady and a kid sitting and eating there, without being interrupted by anybody
“You can feed the kids”, was the response of the waiter. (Adding insult to injury, that f****r was smiling!)
To feed a kid, first I have to find a lady, make her pregnant, then she has to deliver……it will take a long time I knew. So we decided to cancel the order and walked away in despair. While moving from there, I just noticed the way that lady was feeding her (or rented?) kid. A small piece of bread is given to the kid and followed by that, two large pieces will find its way to her own mouth!! She is struggling to gulp it fast, without being noticed by others! Nice Idea. I felt jealous of that lady!
Forced by the circumstances, we bid adieu to our hunger and meandered in and around the Mall for some time. The thought that we will be able to eat only at 6 o’clock made our hunger more severe. We both were frustrated with the fasting rule of Ramadan. Around 3 o’ clock, when we were standing near to a movie theater in the mall, a nice idea hit the doors of Rohit’s mind!
“See, its movie time now. We will get the parcel, go inside the theater and eat there”!! He uttered in hunger!
“What an excellent idea! My friend Rohit is nobody else, but divine incarnation of God himself “ I thought for a moment. However, before getting the parcel, we just went up to check the condition outside the theater. And we have seen they are screening the bags and no food is allowed to take inside!! Voila!!!!!!
Again we continued to wander here and there, fluctuating ourselves between ideas and starvation. "What about a lunch in disguise? We will dress like Sheikh Mohammad and ask for food?" Or What about the idea of renting a kid from someone on the mall? If someone was ready to rent their kid at that time, we were ready to pay 1000 dirhams per hour also!!
It was around 4 o’clock when this foolproof idea struck my mind! “Let us get parcel, go to the TOILET and eat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Nobody including original Allah will come there to check”….I mumbled in a complex state of hunger and emotion. Out of nowhere, I saw a flower of light blossoming on Rohit's face. "He may be imagining himself as sitting a toilet and eating a burger" I thought. Finally we did not accept that idea also since we were afraid that if we do that, tomorrow we may use kitchen/dining room as toilet also! We didnt want to do that. Rather, we chose to die of starvation!!
Attempting to forget everything, we went to the snow park and had some fun. But we didn’t forget to come near the restaurants around 6 o’clock. When the signal indicating the end of fasting period came, there was a “Human Tsunami” in front of all the restaurants. On that day, I witnessed the real smartness of my friend too. Rohit was one of the first to stand in the Q!
I went and caught seat for both of us. After 5 minutes, Rohit came with a tray full of food – quantity sufficient for a big family!
On that day, Office Politics, secretary’s sex, philosophy, climate, bar, war etc. didn’t come to our mind at all!! We both were silent, till the entire food is finished. There was literally no time to talk!!
Sometimes in life we take some decisions only to bring unwanted agony to us. The best way to overcome this situation is to think, “If I had taken the opposite decision, some terrible accident would have happened to me”!! My decision to visit “The Mall of Emirates” on that Ramadan Day was one such decision I made! After experiencing the agony of that visit, I found relief in my thought that, “If I didn’t go to “The Mall of Emirates” that day, I would have died of a snake bite”!!
Anyway, after the food is finished, we looked at each other and smiled. Still I don’t know what we meant by that. May be it was a sign of recovery, success, happiness or relief.
But one thing is sure: That was a “memorable lunch”!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)