The TimePass of India

I have a dear friend there with whom I like to spend time with living in Pune. He is a bigger fan of Pune than I am. I guess, if a Mumbai guy says anything nice about any other city, that ought to be amplified by 10, coz we are hard wired to only sing praise about our city. 

I think I have reached a point in my life, that very few friends, old ones, interest me. I am running out of patience to make new friends. But this post is not about this, the post is about Poha.

Poha, for my firang friends (angrez ki aulads), is a savory breakfast dish made with flattened rice. Is it flattened rice? It just ruins the taste to call it flattened rice instead of Poha. Anywho, it is one of my favourite dishes for breakfast, because it involves very less oil and is so soothing for your tummy. So, this friend of mine, is quite a foodie and knows my weakness for Poha. So he took me to this place where we would get some awesome breakfast items.

As we drove along the gulmohar tree lined boulevard, I found around 20 people surrounding a stall. That must be it. There was this old guy with a flowing white beard, and an orange teeka on his forehead, wearing an apron and a wide smile, serving everything from upma to sabudana khichdi to the people who had gathered around him. 

My friend called him - kaka (lovingly used for uncle in these parts), ek sabudana khichdi aani ek poha. The poha was for me, obviously.

The guy smiled, and said wah wah wah, something something (I couldnt hear, I guess my friend was a regular here), gave us a bowl each of sabudana khichdi and Poha. (Btw, if you havent tasted these dishes, please do). Every now and then he would place a small quantity of poha on the roof of his cart. A crow would jump on the roof and eat it. There was genuine love there. 

No wonder the dishes tasted awesome. He was the happiest person I have seen in a long time. He didnt earn a lot, I am guessing. He seemed educated enough to me to work as an office boy or something in a firm.  But he chose to feed people every morning. There was a glow on his face, which only comes when you are truly happy.

In my B school, they taught me a lot, but they didnt teach me about job satisfaction. I dont think school, for that matter anybody can teach you that. It is only in time you realise what is important in a job, for that matter, in life. Only when what you really want, and what you say you want are aligned, do you have real happiness. Real satisfaction. 

P.S. Learn to make Poha here (www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-eiM7u1TKQ)