The tang on tongue

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As soon as you take it inside your mouth, it bursts. There is far more juice than you would assume the hollow of a well-bloomed puri could contain. You grin and try not to allow even a few drops of that tasty ‘pani’ go waste. To ensure that, you place your dish below your mouth in case it does.
Does it require an express mention that what’s being relished is the undoubted empress of the chaat world, the redoubtable golgappa? For a dyed-in-the-wool golgappa admirer like me, it is an absolute pleasure to crunch this small world of incredible refreshment. There is no street food which is more street food than golgappa. If Barbara Cartland had had an opportunity to taste this marvel, she would have surely written a romantic novel on it. Since she did not, I decided to write on it.
‘Bhaiya jara ek plate golgappa dena’, is never an unsafe bet. The little sphere, a few chunks of potatoes, chickpeas floating in the hot-sweet water and that craving to have it as soon as the vendor puts it on the plate you are asked to hold. The khatta generally arrests your mouth first and makes you all the more eager for the meetha to hit the exact tastebuds. It is the effortless feat in the cosmos to think no more of the sorrows of life, just feel the tangy taste that holds you in a spell and you don’t even realise when you gobbled the first golgappa and you stand holding your plate ardently for the next one.
Golgappa, notwithstanding its huge following, barely stirs up any scholarly feeling to make a fuss about its origin. Hallmarked as pani puri, aka. gup chup, pakodi, puchka, bataasha, pani ke bataashe or a quite Americanised pseudonym water balls, they are undisputed preference when it comes to careless evening walks or after-shopping relief. So what if people have doubts about its hygiene? I leave behind all the concerns.
My bond with these snack balls makes me feel that we, too, are like these hollow spheres filled with aeons of learning, responsibilities and hardships that are immersed into the era we exist in, which is at times sweet and at times sour. As we cannot savour the sweet golgappa without having the tangy one, likewise we can’t relish the wonderful occasions escaping the grim ones. ‘Bhaiya thora pani dena please, teekha-meetha mix.’

(http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20110523/edit.htm#5) Published in the 'Middle' section of The Tribune, Chandigarh

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