"...kaaki, ek kilo bateka, ek atta Maggie ane paa kilo chana no lot..."

"...kaaki, ek kilo bateka, ek atta Maggie ane paa kilo chana no lot..."

...I announced, as kaaki (aunty) looked up. The quoted text (Gujarati) translates to "...aunty, one kg potato, one pack of noodles and 250 grams of gram flour. ."

There is this old school grocery shop near my home. It is run by an elderly couple (probably in their 70s). It is a small shop with some basic stuff. Ask for something like Rajma (kidney beans) or Redbull or a shaving foam and you'd see a smile and a nod indicating they do not stock such items. The shop was mainly closed during the pandemic owing to the risk the elderly couple faced.

After things came back to normalcy, on one such visit, I realised I had forgotten my wallet. I asked, "Aunty, do you accept Paytm?" Paytm is to digital payments what Xerox is to photo copying. "No son, we do not understand these modern things. But it's okay, you pay me later" she said, sweetly. I left that day with the goods and paid for them later.

Some time last month, I visited the shop again for some groceries. Before I could place my order, I heard an extremely familiar voice say "Paytm par chau-sath rupaye praapt hue" ["Rs. 64 received on Paytm"]. I was pleasantly surprised to see the much needed transformation to digital payments. I looked at uncle and aunty both and before my smile could break into words, Uncle gave a wide grin that conveyed more than mere words could. Since that day, I stopped carrying my wallet for the grocery runs.

If a 70+ year old couple can adopt change [and this change for their age must be a huge leap of faith] then who are we to give excuses?

"...Diabetes hai mereko, lekin kabhi kabhi thoda chalta hai..."

"...Diabetes hai mereko, lekin kabhi kabhi thoda chalta hai..."

...said the uncle, with a cute smile, like that of an 18-month old kid. ["I have Diabetes, but it's okay to indulge sometimes"]

I attended a fantastic Catholic wedding reception recently. After witnessing all the fun and dance, I could no longer ignore my growling tummy, so I queued up at the buffet counter.

Just ahead of me, there was this gentleman, probably in his late 60s. He carefully examined each food station before deciding on picking up the food item. We then reached the sweets station labelled "Gulab Jamun". He looked at the container full of Gulab Jamuns and froze, as if he had spotted something blasphemous. After a couple of seconds, he carefully picked up one ball, kept it on his plate and looked up at the guy behind the counter. Now this catering guy obviously wasn't going to question him for picking it up, yet, he apologetically justified his action by saying what I quoted above. The lady [looked like his wife] standing just ahead of him looked at him, rolled her eyes and gave a short nod, but did not say anything. Uncle might have anticipated the reaction, so he did not even look at her. A smart move, I thought.

A few mins later, I visited the ice cream counter. Coincidentally, Uncle was already there. He was holding a bowl which had brown colored remnants of the ice cream he seemed to have just devoured. "Aapka ice cream bahut badhiya hai. Thoda zukaam hai mereko, lekin aur aadha scoop chalega." he said, sheepishly, like a school boy requesting his class teacher for another day's extension to submit his homework. ["Your ice cream is very good. I have a bit of a cold, but I can have half a scoop more"]. The ice-cream guy merrily obliged.

Basically, Uncle did not want to completely disregard his temptations, yet he was self-aware of his health conditions. Saying it out loud to a stranger probably helped him indulge in moderation. Top that up with the humility, grace and positivity, I instantly wished I could age as well he had. My compliments to the wife who only rolled her eyes at the Gulab Jamun counter but did not stop her husband from experiencing the little joys of life.

All we probably need in life is a pinch of giving in to the little temptations, a teaspoon of self-awareness, a tablespoon of humility, a bowl of positivity and a supportive sous-chef that keeps us in check, yet gives us just enough leeway to cook up and consume enticing, scrumptious and satiating dishes day in day out.

The ice-cream flavor was chocolate walnut. Uncle was right, bahut badhiya tha. Maine bhi do scoop khaaye.