Baje Khawa

 

Every Friday, at our first job,

After work,

A friend and I

Would go to a roadside shack

For deliberate, unhealthy eating

Baje khawa –

Gastronomy to wash down

The week’s unpalatable work

 

Chop, beguni, dimer devil

Fish fry, kati rolls, chowmein

Deep fried,

Heavily spiced

Ah, a glutton’s delight;

A poor man’s luxury

Baje khawa –

Because Friday was not enough

 

Jobs changed,

My friend moved

To a different city

I, to a different world;

Middle-aged now

Intermittent fasting

Probiotics and diets

Have become the rage

 

But once in a while

I look back

Especially on Fridays

Emptied, desolate, dried,

At the joys of youth,

Where even eating

Could be an adventure,

A meditation

 

Sometimes though

I try to cheat myself;

I sneak in a Friday pakoda

A sugar-laced Thums Up

Or a heavy biryani

And I try to cheat time

To get back a taste -

But then, it was never about the taste

 

Once upon a time,

Life threw a weekly feast –

A gift from the future

For times that would not return;

Sometimes, though a text comes –

A friend,

From a far-off land asks,

Ki koris? Baje Khachis naki…

25th August, 2026