I was surprised to see Vinod, my normally laidback friend, dressing up for some occasion. So I questioned him. "Oh darn you," he said, in mock irritation. "Did your mom not teach you the age-old saying that thou shall not ask a person his destination as takes the first step towards his goal?"
Noticing my blank expression, he added, "Vimal, you take time to understand things, so let me simplify. Your checking on me at this juncture is considered as disgusting as finding a fly in your first morsel."
"Why are all your examples associated with food, Vinod?" I asked.
"Look, I believe in the Biblical saying that man shall not live by bread alone. Today, I plan to eat something better than bread, something juicy, spicy and tantalising to the tongue," Vinod replied.
"Our hostel mess cannot cater to such royal tastes," I informed him. "Certainly, not the hostel mess," he said.
Abruptly, he looked at his watch. "Oh, I am getting late," he said.
"Late for what?" I asked.
"Late for the reception." he replied. "Reception?" I expressed my surprise. "How many souls do you know in Banaras who will invite you to a reception?" I asked.
"Friend," said Vinod, patiently. "Have you not seen the decorated house in the neighbourhood where the loud music is splitting eardrums blocks away since this morning? Well, that family is hosting a wedding reception for their daughter."
"Sure, I have noticed," I said, "but is it the aroma from the kitchen or the music that has attracted your attention?"
All for the taking
"Oh! Vimal, you are so irritating. Who needs music in these lean days, man? A feast in a while is our birth right. Awake, arise and thou shall find." Saying this Vinod tied the final knot in his tie.
He turned to me and said, "Hey pal, we could join the feast too, you know?"
"But how under the blessed roof can we do so?" I said, "we know not a face there?"
"Oh, you dumb fellow, neither do they know us. When two strangers meet in a sea of strangers things are not difficult at all," he said with a mischievous grin.
"Come", Vinod said, pulling me along, "you look presentable enough. Let us join the guests there. Do you know , my friend, that while building a house financial estimates tend to go wrong? The same way no one counts the guests at a daughter's wedding reception. It is too joyful an atmosphere to smell evil!
Vinod was absolutely right. "Namaste," a gleaming and well-dressed lady welcomed us at the entrance. "Please sirs, the food is waiting for you," she said with a charming smile.
"Bon appetit, my friend!" Vinod said as he served himself a bowl full of chicken soup and a plate full of biryani. "Learn to humour a tongue or it will lash at you!"
Vimal Yogi Tiwari is a journalist based in India.
