I love Pune for everything it is. Good weather, relaxed, chilled out , which I now realise is the same as relaxed, but it is so laid back, I think you have to use all those adjectives.
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)
Editor in chief Arshat Chaudhary
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Medley of Many Things said...
When I saw the picture, at first - I was under impression that you are turning a food blogger :)
For once I thought, your next book title would be "How I Got My Poha Back" :)
And then realized after reading the post that, it is something else entirely, Hmm..
Jokes apart, it is a nice write up and an apt comparison, Arshat!
Also in my theory -> One will get 'job satisfaction' or 'satisfaction' as a whole, only when they stop chasing and start prioritizing. Also by weeding out, the unwanted and keeping close, the wanted!
enchantinganki said...
'Poha' is staple food of people in Indore. Being Indroi..Poha runs in my blood :P
I havent developed any sort of liking for Pune in anyway though :(
Btw,where do we get such nice 'poha' in pune?
Abhijit V. Deshpande said...
Pehle paani main Buda fir Poha...
mAnIaC! said...
I thought you learned how to make Poha! Its rocket science, really!
Arshat Chaudhary said...
@Pavithra
How I got my Poha back... hahahaaa... That would make a hilarious book... #secret note
@Anki
There is a stall opposite old Passport office. It will be crowded. You cant miss it.
@Maverick
Hahaha... You are in your element
@Maniac
I know man, its not that easy!
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