“Do you want your drink hot or cold?” the server at the cafe asked Swami last weekend. We had decided to a try a new one. “Hot,” he said. And I said, “Cold.” Then she went on to another question. “A latte or a cappuccino for you, Sir?” she asked Swami. When he replied, “Latte,” … Read more
“When a piece of music is good, it gets a lot of claps,” Jigneshbhai said last weekend. At the cafe, the instrumental music of Ustad Zakir Hussain was being played. Swami and I were engrossed in listening to it. “When a piece of music is great, it gets silence,” Jigneshbhai added, and that struck us. … Read more
“I think Raichand is back to his shenanigans,” Swami said when we met at the café the other day. Jigneshbhai and I stayed silent. In the past, we had seen Swami suffer due to his boss Raichand’s penchant for making money by hook or by crook. “He wants me to talk to some placement consultant … Read more
“Every time I am unhappy with the work scene, Raichand calls me and gives me some pep talk,” Swami told me and Jigneshbhai over his coffee the other day. We thought maybe he was telling us how he felt like a wanted employee due to that. But it turned out that he was not happy … Read more
“You need to meet Varun, Swami. After all, isn’t he family for you? I heard that he is sad because his parrot in no more,” Raji Periamma interrupted Swami’s coffee the other day when she called him. Swami’s maternal aunt ordered him to do many things. Jigneshbhai and I knew that for the past twenty-five … Read more
“Once this project is over, I think the risk will reduce,” Swami said, as he sipped his coffee. “Raichand has said that next quarter onwards, things might get better and our jobs will be safe. Though one never knows,” Swami continued. Jigneshbhai munched into his muffin with a smile, while I wondered why Swami was … Read more
“We are told be good, do good. But it’s no good to be good,” Swami said the other day over a cup of coffee. He had a fairly disappointed look on his face. Jigneshbhai and I wondered what it was about. We didn’t have to wait long to know. “I know you must be wondering … Read more
“Tell me one thing,” Swami said while sipping his coffee, holding the cup in one hand, and checking his phone on the other. Jigneshbhai and I coughed discreetly, expecting another curious question from Swami. “All these people who post on social media from exotic places, do they actually go there?” Swami asked. “And how are … Read more
Jigneshbhai, Swami and I gulped a spoonful of the thirteenth and last dish participating in the annual organic cooking contest for which we had been invited by Shridhar Mama as judges. As part of the preceding twelve, we had relished whole wheat chapatis, fruit salad based on organic milk, sandwiches with organic jams and even … Read more