The Legacy continues……III

---> Party

Man we were killin' time
We were young and restless
We needed to unwind
I guess nothin' can last forever - forever, no

And now the times are changin'
Look at everything that's come and gone
Sometimes when I play that old six-string
I think about ya wonder what went wrong

Of the Snowspark food and Party’s enlightenment

The biggest worry for any North Indian traversing this neck of the woods is Food. Specially one elusive of Roti and Daal.. Give them a plate full of those staple delicacies and half the worries vanish in thin air. The Gang at Raagamallika wasn’t any exception. Initial months passed in search of that elusive Roti and a decent dinner. Lunch in office was as horrible as peeing in a public loo. Yet the spirits never drooped. It was decided the cooking will be imbibed as an essential skills of software professionals of “multi national software company”.

Most Sardarji have this uncanny knack of being a real good cook. Somehow in their genes the cooking skills dominate in obscene proportions. For the foursome nothing could have been better than this. Chawla’s whining habits never propelled his inclination to even earn a basic degree in cooking, Party didn’t like to mess with a thing which hasn’t had any glamour and extra terrestrial virus associated with it, Addy did meddle his hand at times yet the kitchen of A-1 Raagamallika belonged to Bhatia. It was Bhatia’s exclusive laboratory.

Initial experiments comprised of half cooked paratha , puris along with surprisingly delicious sabji. However even the genes within Bhatia couldn’t give the Picassoian or Mozart touch to the gourmet. The torture didn’t last too long when Party seeing his fast reducing waistline decided to get hold of a caterer called Snowspark which could fill his pythoinised appetite. After all “Khaane ka…peene ka…tension nahin lene ka….” - Party’s buzz word was under serious threat.

The dinner use to kick off with Chawla’s discernible scrutiny about the purity of Aata in the Roti , the content of oil in the sabji and the taste of daal to suit the tongue. Only after the judgment was passed by Scientist Chawla, in presidential style, about the defects and errors, lack of ISO certified compliances and missing of CMM level 5 adherences in the preparation, the rest three could do the jumpstart towards filling their starved tummy. Word floated in the air of Chennai that Chawla’s purity test and refined palate was impeccable and of most stringent order. If you can satisfy saliva of Connoisseur Chawla, you are the epitome of The Cuisine Art.

Meanwhile Party’s loitering mind decided to sense another dimension of intellectual bliss, an experience of writing the toughest examination in the country The CAT. Simultaneously Cupid too finally decided to bestow its blessing to his romantic quotient and introduced not one, not two but half a dozen species from Venus, the women – the elusive fairer sex - in his life for which he had been struggling for ages. Perhaps it was too much for his fickle mind to handle and probably for first time Addy, Bhatia and Chawla started sensing something humanly brewing up inside his physical frame. It was omen of something improbable to happen.

The clear motifs inside Party’s mind started conflicting with his new found intellectual and romantic blessings. The confusion prevailed to such an extent that he found himself distancing from his very motto of “Naachne ka …Gaane ka…dabaa kar khaane ka!!” Perhaps it was an ideal case where Party found himself at the cross road of his life on what to pick and what to leave. Which girl to get hooked to and whom to dump? Whether to bell the CAT or get 'belled' by torture of preparation?
CAT coaching classes were pain for him for they were not conducted in “air-conditioned” room. The usual wit and humor within his personality was replaced with silence. Procrastination became his character and virtue.

It was decided ,based on mutual understanding among Addy, Bhatia and Chawla , that time has come to relieve Party from this quagmire in which he has trapped himself. Somewhere down the line non-conformist attitude of Party was more endearing to them than this humanly conundrum that prevailed in his mind. The Party of old was lost somewhere.
Human touch of love and intellect had ruined his personality. Addy decided to be the Man to bell the Cat while Bhatia and Chawla will play the support crew in the proverbial CLASS where reality of life will be taught to Party.

The discussion started. For the first time the three spoke and for a change Party listened. Addy led the way with series of trite and remarks challenging his very existence, his very purpose of life. Also for the first time this bantering left Party pondering and thinking!! And finally it boiled down to the issue where Party found himself visualizing - standing in front of dozen feminine characters, who had romanticized his personality, with a garland in his hand. He had to choose one of them as his future life. It was an apt personification of his mental state.

Party was in love and that was his biggest ailment. It was too crude shock for him to handle. The words of Addy boomed in his ears – Party you have to choose one from the lot…Party you have to choose one from the lot…decide your life…seek the motive…..

Party crashed and fell like a wounded knight. The pressure of love and intellect was too much for him to handle.The class had left an indelible impression in his mind. For a week it was a completely transformed Harsh – who woke up early, attended coaching class, was serious about his life , had sought a direction of his future, was man with limited words….
”Party has changed…” Chawla bemoaned “He has become serious about his life. Finally he has found the purpose of his life.”
“Wait for a week. The clock will turn back!!” retorted Bhatia.

On the other hand Adarsh was completely elusive of the fact that his class had brought a serious transformation within Party’s personality.. Perhaps it was too big an achievement for him to comprehend.
“Finally I managed to change a person!!” he must have grinned within himself.

Bhatia was right.. it was all illusion. Within a week the romantic and intellect virus ,that had crippled Party, was jettisoned from his very mindset. ”Aaj dabaa ke khaaya…do chaar maal ka game bhi baja aaya!!”He boomed. Party was back and back with vengeance. His new motive of life – “Khaane ka…peene ka.. LECTURE nahin sun ne ka..tension nahin lene ka..maal sirf dekhne ka!!” Party decided one fine day that no body can mess with his existence. He was enlightened to the fact that his original self was the best for him and people around him. And definitely nobody can take his class from now on. Ladki ka sirf game bajaane…senti nahin hone ka!!

The usual routine resumed. Normalcy was restored at A-1 Raagamallika. The roles again were back to the original script. Room was filled with Party bellowing at the top of his voice and the rest three as the mute audience. Party’s life had came a full circle within a week

“Bomb nahin maarne ka…
Party se poochne ka…!!”