It’s the monsoon again, and I cannot think of a place where I’d rather be than near you. Near the black lumps of coal that beckon me with their hissing steam as they prepare themselves to transform a simple corn cob into true comfort food for the rains.
I look forward to this time of the year, when I can leave office 10 minutes early to avoid the rush at the VNIT Gate. When I get ahead of the crowd and get to pick the softest or the hardest corn cobs, just the way I like them. While the soft ‘kaula’ cobs melt in my mouth and transport me to heaven, the hard cobs make sure I’m going to have a huge, hearty meal.
As the rain cools down everything around me, the hot steaming corn cob in my hand has now been transformed to my beloved bhutta. The steam that emanates reminds me of years gone by and years to come. The simple yet effective butter mixed with salt and the extra-special green chutney (that every person on this street manages to make just a little different from the others) reminds me that the best things in life are the simple ones. That when it gets cool around you, maybe the best thing to do is heat things up a little.
And you manage to do just that, you humble corn cob. You are the mainstay in a Nagpurkar’s life – something to look forward to and to be relished again and again. The rains and the VNIT bhutta are a pair made in a heaven where a Nagpurkar is the one who lets people in. Thank you for always being so constant and reassuring in your taste that you almost feel like a friend, a person.
Thank you making every monsoon a little bit more special.
Yours, forever,
A Nagpurkar
