Dear Readers,
Happy Eid! I am always waiting for the Bakr Eid. It is one of my most sought after festivals and no marks for guessing why! the sumptuous food that it brings along with the celebrations whets my spiritual appetite. The kebabs, haleems, siris, payas, shorbas and the paka goshts all send me to a transcendental abode .
Unfortunately, today was a dismal Eid for me. Had it been Delhi, Jaipur or Jodhpur, I would have certainly clinched an invitation from any of my friends to visit their dastarkhwans and gorge on the delicacies prepared with much care and diligence. In Bikaner, however, things were a bit challenging. Of the few acquaintances I have developed here during the course of my stay , only three were generous enough to accept anything close to an invitation to feast.
None the less, I set out on my task meticulously. I jotted down their numbers on a sheet of paper and cleared my throat before wishing them in a charming voice. The first call was attended by the contact's wife who informed me that my prospective host is out of town. The second number was switched off and I persistently kept on calling him for the next 18 minutes lest he would be awakened from his slumber. Actually, I wanted to avoid a hat-trick in quick succession.
The third call got connected and I could sense the tension in my mind soaring. A thin line hung between a satiate stomach and a craving belly. The time had come to know what Allah had ordained. This gentleman gave an exquisite excuse of being unable to invite me over. He informed that his entire family was in turn invited by some affluent relations staying at Fatehpur.
Due to the near absence of any decent non-veg restaurant in this town, I was left with no hope. In the end, I had to contend with some dal-roti. How I wish there could be a third Eid called the Ghas-phus Eid so that vermicelli and lamb never got so over-rated!!
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