A Spicy Treat

While on a shopping spree a couple of days back, I was suddenly aware of a lip-smacking smell that wafted dreamily towards my eager nostrils.

Turning my head to the right, I saw a bunch of people, drooling not over the red-lingeried mannequin in the display window over yonder, but over some square bits of potatoes frying merrily in a huge cauldron as also tikkis doing their round swimming dance in the “tava. It was the people who stood around the man dishing out gol-guppas however, who caught my eye.

And they couldn't be more dissimilar: the panting middle-aged lady clutching her sequinned bag, the preening pubescent staring at her perfectly manicured talons shining in all their scarlet splendor, the young woman dressed in office-attire who had stopped over for a tasty bite enroute home from a long day at work, the two giggling 20-year somethings pointing at a cute tourist’s shorts (don’t ask what they were pointing at – go figure), the doting boyfriend who looked upon with affection at his gurl who had stuffed her mouth with one huge gol-guppa, another guy who looked around awkwardly to see how many eyes were upon him as he shuffled his feet, while all the while fidgeting and looking at his gurl who seemed oblivious to his unease and instead concentrated on the task at hand – viz., popping one gol-guppa after another into her mouth. A couple of guy friends also seemed to be enjoying the sweet-sour savories, tissues ready in hand to wipe their streaming noses that were definitely on fire thanks to the spicy nature of “em gol-guppas.

And then two more prettily-smiling girls queued up to taste a few, right hands outstretched to hold the leaf-saucers the gol-guppa maker proffered them.

No points for guessing, one of them was me.

Five minutes later we made our way towards what we had essentially set out for – shopping.

The red-eyes gave us away.

As also our grinning faces and lip smacking with the flavor.