Fresh and Juicy

 The November of 1996. I was heading towards my 23rd birthday. Married for just two days, a few friends of my husband decided to host us a dinner. I was just a year old in Bombay( as it was called back then), having grown up in Trivandrum and Mysore.

So Hubby and me left home around eight p.m and I was led into a fancy restaurant called Chopsticks in Bandra. I was already sweating. I dont know how to use chopsticks I told Hubby. He reassured me that there will be other easy to use equipments like forks and spoons. Gulping my palpitation, I walked in. 

In came some of his friends and I was propped on  a seat near a wall.

The conversations didn't seem to stop. For almost twenty minutes, no one came to take any order. I was hungry. But the last thing on anyone's mind seem to be food. Why were we here, I was asking myself. I was almost dropping off to sleep. I cupped  my drooping cheeks into my palms and ensured the brittle nails of mine pinched me awake. I am sure the little finger nail.cracked that night!

Finally a waiter came and handed over the menu. The menu was incomprehensible. After all the places I ate out usually served pav bhaji, chaat , sandwiches and medu vada. Obviously Chopsticks didnt have all this on their menu.

As a student of English, I could read the menu. As a person who was uninitated into Chinese cuisine I stared at the words wondering if a menu in Chinese would have made any difference. 

I looked helplessly at Hubby who understood my predicament immediately and told me, Dont worry about the food. Just choose the drink!

So I decidedto do that. What was there to decide? This was easy, for sure.

 In three seconds i realised that if the food menu was Chinese, this was Latin.  There were sunrises and sunsets of different types. There were a few bombs, screwdrivers and axes. Was this a drink menu or  a tool box? 

I shut the menu. I looked up confidently at everyone at the table and announced 

FROOTI! Fresh and juicy, sang my mind..

I am sure hubby didnt know where to look and gingerly ordered a lemonade. 

 The mission of his life  when he stepped out of Chopsticks was to educate the girl he married on the nitty gritties of fine dine and wine!

P.S. Chopsticks no longer exists. I no longer order Frooti!