Envy of the House

It has been a very uneventful week or so. Rain has continued to plague New Jersey. I am up from 2 to 3.5 miles in my running and am blaming the rains for my slow progress. And since I have completely convinced myself that the rains are the "only" reason I am being lazy I feel no guilt in wolfing down all my meals.

The running had given me an excuse to order what I really want in place of a relatively "healthy" meal. Not that I ever ordered salads. I did resort to eating salads with "dressing" on the side before my wedding but when the food arrived it was so depressing that I had to make up for it at the next meal with some comfort food. It is my view that "dressing" is a human activity and not something to eat with raw vegetables. But sometimes I am careful enough to order idli, or low fat latte.

This weekend however I went to the local Indian joint and ordered up mirchi pakoda, dahi poori and the piece de resistance - chole bature. Bature is the equivalent of a sizzler in Indian restaurant. The food arrived and I suddenly found myself the centre of attention. While the folks whose food had arrived were only staring at my food with the corner of their eyes - darting furtive, sideways glances while they tried to go back to enjoying their food, the folks who were waiting for their food abandoned all pretences and stared openly at my food. I was feeling a strange irrational sensation of pride. I was the envy of all present company.

I have been on the other side so many times. Convinced myself that uttapam with sambhar was what I really wanted (it is a tasty dish with high protein content). When the food arrived I even enjoyed it until I saw a plate of chole bature, hot, fresh from the oil, the eye catching batura threatening to fall off the edge of the plate deposited at a table near me.

And here I was :). An American gentleman at the table on my right had clearly asked his Indian friend about my glorious meal choice because I could hear the man enunciating "BaToooRaa" again and again. It was one of the most glorious meals ever.

I have to keep up my running, not for my health but so that I can enjoy these glorious moments. Today I intend to have a beer and endless fries for dinner :).