Midnight Masala

Before your imagination runs wild, let me set this straight. The title is only a teaser. This post is about the masala chai I had at midnight with my old friend.

When Soumya and her daughter landed at my place for an all gals night, we chatted like there was no tomorrow and went on with our jabber session till one a.m. Our daughters too were wide awake and enjoying their sleepover thoroughly.

A little after one Soumya wanted a glass of milk to put her daughter to sleep. But alas, there wasnt a drop at home. I felt sheepish as i had prided myself on being a good host until then. Feeling lousy at my negligence, I called the 24 hour pharmacy only to be told that they didn't stock milk or milk powder. Soumya assured me she would manage. But I couldnt let it go.

I had an idea. Why not go to a 24 hour chaiwala somewhere down the road and buy milk? In the bargain, we would not only get milk , but an adventure too! Soumya being as wild as i am, approved. We set out with our daughters looking out for a 24 hour chaiwala at 1.30 a.m. The children were excited and we were glad to be out too.

After a 4km drive we finally found a chaiwala. While I parked, Soumya stepped out and rebounded in top speed. The place had , on closer inspection, turned out to be a sleazy joint. She had just escaped an invitation from one of the drunken revellers.

We vamoosed from there at top speed. Having lost by then, the euphoria and energy to go in search of a safer chai kadai, we headed straight to the coffee shop at GRT Grand Days.

I enjoyed our masala chai rendezvous at the coffee shop immensely.

But I still felt a pang of regret on the realization that we had just turned out to be one of the snobs and not wild originals as we liked to believe!