It was Aaron’s first time in India. It was crowded but still, he was in awe of the vibrant streets of Mumbai filled with pretty little cafes and cozy food joints. Burgers, Momos, Juice centre, Ice-creams, South Indian, Chaat… as he kept shooting the food joints on his mobile, his eye caught a person gobbling up what looked like some kind of puffed balls filled with coloured water at the Chaat joint. Curious to know more, he went closer. There was a variety of ingredients on the counter. Two types of coloured water, boiled peas, green chutney, and a glass case full of puffed balls.
While he was engrossed looking at the counter, he felt a light tap on his shoulder. “Do you want to try one?”, a young 20ish girl with beautiful brown eyes and a dimpled smile asked him in a sweet voice. Turning towards her, “Yeah! Would love to!”. There was something about that smile; he couldn’t put a finger on but it felt warm and assuring.
She handed him a bowl and gave some instructions to the man behind the counter. He took a puri, put some boiled peas, and added the green chutney and the red chutney. Then dipped them in the two jars of water and put them in his bowl.
“Go on…”, she nudges. “Don’t worry, I asked him to make it a little less spicy for you.”
Aaron took the puri and popped it into his mouth. He was stunned by the sudden burst of flavours. He had never tasted anything like this before. A perfect combination of sweetness and tanginess, heat and salt.
One by one, he gobbled up the paani puris. After a while, he felt sweat dripping down his forehead and his eyes getting watery.
“Uh oh! Here come the waterworks”, she handed a tissue from the counter.
“Thanks…Oh Man! You can really feel the heat afterward. And you said mine were a little less spicy!” he wiped the sweat off his forehead.
“Yeah, we can handle the heat!”, she said while she finished the paani puris in her bowl.
“Come, let’s get you something to cool down”, she took him to the ice cream parlour two shops next to the Chaat joint.
It was a tiny space but nicely decorated with a few tables. They sat on the corner table by the window. The wind passing through felt refreshing.
She went to the counter and brought two plates of malai kulfi. “Here, this will help with the heat”, she pushed one plate towards him.
Aaron took a bite of the kulfi. Instantly he could feel the heat mellowing down in his mouth. “This is a lifesaver!”, he said while taking another bite.
She gave him a smile and asked, “So… what brings you here?”
“Umm… in pursuit of fulfilling my dream of becoming a food vlogger”, he said with an embarrassed smile.
“Interesting…Go on…”, she nudged.
“So… I quit my high-paying corporate job to become a vlogger and here I am… broke and a little lost”, he said.
“Hmmm…So, how has been the trip so far?”, she asked.
“First few days were tough. The humid weather sure didn’t make navigating the complex streets easier. Getting into the local was definately an adventure I’ll never forget. After missing some three odd trains, I managed to board the fourth one. But the highlight of the trip surely was this…what are these puffed balls called? he asked.
“Paani Puri”, she said. “So your trip has been somewhat like a Paani Puri”, she added further.
“Huh? I didn’t understand”, he said
“You see, life is like a Paani Puri. It is a mix of complex flavours. The heat, the salt, the sweet, and the sour. If you can get all these flavour right, my friend, that’s when you get THE ZINGGG! Real life too is filled with complexities of emotions, relations, aspirations…and so on. But if you crack the right balance, then you are in that sweet spot where you enjoy your life’s journey. It’s no fun having a paani puri without a little heat”, she winked.
“You have a point”, he chuckled.
“I know it sounds all cheesy and dreamy, but…”
“But, sometimes that’s exactly what one wants to hear.” he finished her sentence.
“Exactly.”
(Phone beeps on the table)
Reminder: Flight from Mumbai to Sydney at 3:30am!
“Time to go home?”, she saw the reminder blinking on Aaron’s phone.
“I have some time” He continued, “Seems like a nice place to just sit and…”.
“Soak in the city”, she completed his sentence.“True, I do most of my writing here only. It’s my favourite spot in the city”, she said.
(Her phone beeps)
She saw the notification on her mobile and got up, “I have to go now”.
“Hey! I just realised I don’t know anything about you”, he realised that all this while he didn’t even ask her name.
She took out a pen from her purse and scribbled it on a tissue paper. “Hope you’re on Instagram. I shall wait for your request.” she gave him a hug and bid him goodbye.
‘Paani_Puri_Tales’, he smiled as he read those words on the tissue paper.