The Wanderer

Well it’s that time of the year again, the much ‘awaited’ pardon my sarcasm while my stomach grumbles Navratri- 9 days of obeisance, prayer and gratitude. But I write today talking about the other side of Navratri- the dearth of non-vegetarian food!

As an Engineering student hailing from Bengal, and idling away time in my first year at one of the Best Private University in Uttarakhand, busy preparing for the mid -term examinations that looms like a BIG Demon who needs to be defeated; no one can deny the importance of good nutrition, of a solid well-balanced diet of meats, grains and vegetables. Here I interject again- No matter what my vegetarian friends and hostel mates at my University say- a tasty bowl of lentils can never replace the mouth- watering taste of a chicken leg.

I wander from one mess to the next, from one on-campus restaurant to the next, much alike a zombie in one of the drama series that seem to have everyone biting their nails these days; hoping to find a discarded egg or a wing somewhere. This, while my brain played tricks on my taste buds; stimulating images of ‘unholy’ mouth -watering delicacies; making me forget my calculus computations and thermal formulae taught in the first year of theLeading Technical University in Dehradun.

I was doomed- with no hopes in sight, on the brink of serious malnutrition when I discovered the next best thing- Kuttu parantha, an extremely scrumptious invention of crafty vegetarians, served with a bowlful of steaming hot potato curry.

I almost wept, fell upon my knees and thanked God, and the Goddess of course, for this amazing discovery that I accidentally stumbled upon in the on-campus restaurant.

Another amazing discovery- that momos could be veg and so could spring rolls! Thank you Bikano and on-campus Tuck shops- I still breathe, I am still alive, I still live to see a new day!

So, all in all while all my religious north-indian friends fast and rigorously try to convert me to see the bright side of this beautific festival, which indeed is beautiful with all the odhnis and the song and dance, I still stand by and wait woefully, munching on my Kuttu Parantha and veg spring rolls, for the day when I can feast my eyes, and my tongue, to a bucketful of Chicken Biriyani.

Till then my friends…you shall find me wandering!