Courtesy and One Parantha

Interesting Stories on Food

How does it feel when you have a parantha for breakfast, that hot sizzling meal,wrapped inside the foil paper, the parantha which was prepared by your bhabhi, voluntarily earlier than normal routine. She had offered another one too, but you want to be contended with the one you carry inside the bag only for the lack of time. You walk along the road eager to catch your friend’s car before the delicious meal dangling inside your bag cools down.

Your friend is waiting, and yo hurriedly open the front door of his car. But there is a woman, smiling at you with a hint of surprise. You apologize and take the back seat and before the brief introduction, you have already understood that she is your friend’s wife. You take the packet out to munch the meal. Still hot and smelling delicious.

But a thought crosses your mind and out of social courtesy, you offer a bite to the front sitters. Afterall, you owe them something for giving a ride to the office in their vehicle. You expect the same courtesy from them to have a modest bite considering the fact that you have just one parantha for the breakfast.

But all the hell breaks loose when you can’t believe your eyes. A big part, almost one fourth has been taken away by the stranger who you met for the very first time. Quite meekly, you show the rest of the courtesy for the second person, who is driving.

This woman having no mercy for your little breakfast tears away an equal proportion for her husband. You look down the reminiscent. It’s even less than half left, merely 2-3 bites.

All you want to do is pull her hair out, and call her with slang words like ‘moti‘, ‘hathini‘, ‘bhukkhad‘ but you can’t even complain. ‘Courtesy’ you know.

But she doesn’t stop here. While you are cursing her for your empty stomach, she doesn’t give a damn about it. But it’s an issue for you, because you are now regretting not to have carried another parantha.

You immediately tell the woman, “now you owe me the meal. “But she as relentless as she was says, “at our place.”

But it’s not the right time for showy formality. You need your full meal ‘now’.

So you revolt back, with ‘courtesy’, “I am feeling hungry now.”

She laughs and says, ‘you still feeling hungry? You should have carried two paranthas!“

Now you have realized one thing, if your friend is good, it’s not necessary that his wife is so. You taunt back, ‘I have one parantha in the morning. Now I had only half. “

“We have to go to the canteen then.”

“You haven’t brought lunch?”

“We don’t have time in the morning.”

Enough now. It was a wrong decision to be good with anyone but this silly woman. So you take a vow on your empty stomach,