An ode to
GOLGAPPAS

The Little Balls Of Spice That Are Uniting India

Prisha Khandelwal, AIS Vasundhara 6, XI F

“40 ke 4! 40 ke 4!” he calls out as people gather around him. A crowd with individuals, each different from another gathers. The differences, however, had just begun. “Bhaiya, meetha pani daalna,” said one as the other jostled, “Thora aur teekha!” One guy could be seen gesturing his friend towards the fiery water balls and exclaiming “Badhiya golgappe hain!” The statement fetched him stares for the Bengali uncle who preferred ‘puchka’, while the other retorted “Ek plate panpuri aur.”
And then the differences paved way for similarities. Eyes and noses watered, clouded with spice; each asked for a gulp of the spicy water at the end. The ritual of this sacred act are the same for everyone, each offering a specific instruction for each golgappa, more saunth, less aloo, suji wala etc. Each one of them dumping the ball in the mouth the exact same way, followed by a ‘tssssss’ if it got too spicy. So different and yet so strikingly similar, that it overwhelms every single time.
We have to give golgappa credit for being the only food item that manages to cross the lines between different cultures and states without much idyllic twaddle. And this is no mean feat in a country where ‘vegetarian’ and ‘Jain vegetarian’ are as different as Kashmir and Kanyakumari.
This rather humble snack has come a long way to find its arrogant cousins. It has its own rags to riches story that saw it move from local vendors to the slightly upmarket ones that carried ‘mineral water only’. And now you can savour a plate of golgappa for as high as 500 INR if you are headed to one of these posh places that do a fancy job of topping a golgappa on shot glasses laden with the same spicy goodness you can find on a street. The latter is recommended if you are financially secure enough to brag about experiencing one of these so-called rustic things.
While golgappas may be devoid of the baggage that usually accompany other food items, they do come with a history of their own. Legend has it that the dish came into being at the time of Mahabaharta by Draupadi as a response to her mother-in-law Kunti’s test. It is said that Kunti gave her some leftover potato and just enough wheat dough to make one puri and instructed her to satisfy the hunger of her sons. That’s when she quenched their hunger and souls with the dish that we’ve now all come to love. Impressed with her work, Kunti blessed the dish with immortality. Some counteract this by saying that golgappe originated in the Magadhan empire, one of the 16 Mahajanapadas of ancient India.
Whether you believe these tales or not is entirely up to you. But one thing you have to believe in is the beauty of this snack, the beauty of how it brings people together, the beauty of its levelling game as it puts together suited men along with the poorest of residents. The beauty of showing us what food should stand for, i.e. for all.

The single child

And Dilemmas Of Lifetime

Radhika Kapoor, XI B & Prisha Khandelwal, XI F, AIS Vasundhara 6

Why is it just me? Why don’t I have any sibling? I want to have a sibling too. But mom says it wouldn’t be all hunky dory. When something breaks: There is always your mother’s favourite vase ready to be shattered. But when you sit alone on the floor with all those scattered bits and can hear your mom’s footsteps getting closer, you wish you had someone to share the scolding with.

When there’s food: There is this last slice of pizza left on the table, the siblings run towards it, but no matter who wins, they have to share it due to strict instructions of ‘no fighting.’ That’s something I have never had to do. But I think sometimes that if I had a sibling, it would’ve been convenient to slip food I don’t like into their plate.

When you get attention: Being a single child means getting all the attention from your parents. But the problem is that there is no one to share the scrutiny with, it’s just you. And, everyone is always curious about what you are doing and where you are going.

So, after all this contemplation when I sit back and close my eyes, I can feel the glorious peace all around me, no one is there to annoy me and contradict my song choice or to sing with me completely off key. I’m alright being a single child, I guess. Yet sometimes this subtle feeling of loneliness creeps in, just sometimes.

Before they were stars

From Real To Reel: Character Edition

Pragya Pandey, AIS Vas 6, XI D

The chances of your favourite fictional character existing in real? Sleek. But the chances of the person from whom your favourite character was inspired existing are high. As bold as Bond: A British World War II soldier named Forest Yeo-Thomas was the inspiration behind Ian Fleming’s most iconic character James Bond. With the code name ‘White Rabbit’, Yeo-Thomas, just like Bond, was bon vivant who made harrowing escapes by hiding in a hearse, jumping from a train and strangling a guard.
Fun fact: Daniel Craig was the first Bond who was younger than the series itself.

As pompous as Popeye: When E. C. Segar was hunting for characters to populate his new comic, other than finding real inspiration for Olive Oyl & Wimpy, he also came across a one-eyed pipe smoker with a penchant for fist fights. Frank Fiegel was a little guy like Popeye. He often got into fights and didn’t lose many.
Fun Fact: In the comics, Popeye originally derived his strength from rubbing the head of the Whiffle Hen, which was later changed to spinach in 1932.

As poised as Poppins: PL Travers’s immensely popular Mary Poppins is the star of novels about a no-nonsense magical nanny who was modeled after her own great aunt Ellie. Ellie was a spinster who lived with two dogs, carried a carpetbag and was practically perfect in every way.
Fun Fact: Mary Poppins gave us something that always makes us win arguments, “First of all, I would like to make one thing clear: I never explain anything.” How supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!

As serious as Snape: Severus Snape, the Slytherin Headmaster and Death Eater in the Harry Potter series is a cold, unsmiling Potions master whose mysterious appearance astonishes everyone. He is loosely based on JK Rowling’s former chemistry teacher, John Nettleship, a strict man with long hair.
Fun Fact: He was the only Death Eater who could conjure a Patronus.

Now that we know our favourite characters are real, we can even hope to meet them one day and say, “Hey, I think I met you in the book the other day!”