Lunch Breaks and more!

Gosh Jolly!who would say u are a bengali after tasting your authentic sambar? "have some more" I would reply pompously, biting into her delicious alu wadi, so delightfully tasty.The ever meticulous Nishi would add dash of chat masala to her salad before setting it on the table for all to taste. Veni and Kalpana would open their lunch boxes to stir our tastes buds further to typical south Indian delecacies. I try to maintain a strict diet, but with sweets around on festive seasons as is now with Ganapati utsav, lunch break is guilt ridden for me with modaks, puran poli and the mouthwatering sweets, the temptations are too rampant to ignore!Love this little gathering we have during the lunch break, though all of have class at different times, we try to be together in the afternoon to grab a bite together and de stress ourselves. My recent visit to the WCC campus brought back live visions of my times there as a student. Niru, my best pal since college days, and I would often go on these no eating binges whenever we thought that our waist lines were increasing, and then we would sit at the clock tower for the entire hour talking only about food. It was a way of satiating our appetite I guess. And then we would have those total eating lunch breaks, with not a care in the world for increasing waist lines where he would gorge on all we could set eyes on. Lunch breaks at VJTI, where all english faculty would meet to correct university papers was another memorable event. It was like a veritable picnic with loads of food to binge on. Basanti would serve us kehwa in cups brought from home, mrs Rao's potato halwa with oodles of ghee and dry fruits, Rohini's Idli Sambar and mothewatering coconut chutney to go with, Usha's potato stew, Christy's crispy chicken and my mustard fish and bangla chumchum as grand finale...lunch breaks will always be cherished moments for the love and care packed in each morsel, the chats and the gossip flavouring every bite...I can already see Nishi adding salt and chat masala to the dahiwada she has brought today, I will have to run before its devoured by the hungry souls.