My Name is Chotu. And I Sell Pani Puri.

A typical Panipuri

The Panipuri (pānīpūrī), Hindi: पानीपूरी, also known as Gol gappa, Urdu: گول گپّے‎, pani ke bataashe,Marathi: पाणीपुरी,Gujarati: પાણી પુરી, term used in Western India, phuchka (Bengali: ফুচকা), or gup chup (Oriya: ଗୁପଚୁପ୍)) is a popular street snack in the Indian Subcontinent. It consists of a round, hollow puri, fried crisp and filled with a mixture of flavored water ("pani"), tamarind chutney, chili, chaat masala, potato, onion and chickpeas. It is generally small enough to fit completely into one's mouth. It is a popular street food dish.  - Wikipedia 

Chotu

I come from a village near Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. It is a beautiful village. There is no pollution and everyone lves in harmony. I came to Bangalore 5 months back. My age is 12 and I studied till 4th grade. My elder brother brought me here saying business is good and he needs help to sell pani puris. I love my elder brother and will do anything for him. He is 18 years old. I like Bangalore and its people. All of them are friendly to me. Bangalore has beautiful weather too. It is a nice city.

There are many panipuriwallahs on this road like me. All of them are from Uttar Pradesh or Bihar. 9 of us stay in a room in Bannerghatta Road. We wake up five in the morning to make the puris, masala and pani. I come here by three in the afternoon and we stay till nine or till the puris last. By evening, the street fills up with people.

There are many North Indians in this lane (JP Nagar). Every evening, they come here to have my

A Panipuri Stall

panipuris. My panipuris have a loyal following among the Kannadigas too. By around 4-5 in the evening, my stall is crowded with office- goers, hungry school children and slum dwellers. They tuck in at least four to five plates of my panipuris. The migration workers dine on my panipuris. They lose count of the number of plates but they always leave with a satisfied smile. I get best business during weekdays after office hours when everyone feels like having a snack.

I sell both sweet and spicy puris. It is served with a dash of aloo masala, chick peas and onions. Each plate costs Rs. 15. Most of the locals like it spicy and tangy. Few adults ask for the sweet puri. But the kids love them.

During the Holi and Diwali festival, we go to our village. I miss my home a lot. I am just 12 and I am away from my folks and friends. I miss my mother the most. But I have my friends here. We stay like a family. They make sure I never feel home-sick. I want to continue my studies one day. Hopefully this year when I go back, I won't have to return. They say education is everything. I want to study hard and be an engineer one day.

Grandpa I'm Coming Home..

There is something about Royal Enfield Bullet. It's a beast of a motorcycle. A machine that literally gives you adrenaline like no other. It was a while since I had visited my Grandpa in Vellore, Tamil Nadu. I decided to put the Bullet on a road trip to Vellore. The roads are good so why not.

My cousin decided to tag along and we departed Bangalore in the wee hours of the morning. We packed light since it was a 2-day trip and wore leather jackets and helmets. Now this might appear like a cliché but leather jackets are the best thing n windy conditions. There is a reason why bikers around the world prefer the same. I had leather gloves as well but did the mistake of wearing jeans. Now wearing jeans on a 250 km trip is not exactly a bright idea. After a while the jeans starts to bite into your skin and it is anything but comfortable! A valuable lesson learnt which was corrected on the way back.

We took the Hosur Road and since it was early there was not much traffic around. We went onto the Electronic City flyover which is about 9 kms long leading into the NH7. I always wanted to test the potential of the bike and with a pillion rider reached top speeds of around 110-115 kmph. I'm usually a safe rider so decided against any outlandish stunts of high speeds on the highways. Besides the whole point of riding a Bullet is the pure adrenaline rush and ride satisfaction. We took water breaks every 50 kms to stretch out (mainly because of the jeans condition!) and had breakfast along the way. 

The scenery is beautiful. Since this was December the climate was cool and cloudy. Up till Krishnagiri the villages and towns have the Karnataka influence on them. But once we took a left and thundered down the highway towards Vellore, one could see the real Tamil Nadu. A lot of industries and factories exist all along especially after Hosur. Famous automakers have their plants or assembly units on these highways. With a constant speed of 85-90 kmph we reached Vellore in almost 4 hours. The delay was mainly due to the Jeans condition and also traffic at Hosur junction.

Vellore till recently was a town but eventually qualified to be a city after fulfilling the population requirement and other infrastructure/connectivity needs. On the way to my Grandpa's

place, we passed by the famous Vellore Fort. Wikipedia describes it as "a large 16th-century fort situated in heart of the Vellore city, in the state of Tamil Nadu, India built by Vijayanagara Kings. The fort is known for its grand ramparts, wide moat and robust masonry." For a while it was also used as a prison. With a bloody history involving many dynasties from Marathas, Mughals, Mysoreans (Hyder Ali) to the British who held it till independence, the Vellore Fort is a popular tourist destination now.

The old town of Vellore reminds one of the British rule. But slowly the old buildings, architecture and other structures are giving way to a modern city in the making. The transition is still taking place in the hot dusty old town. A few of the areas transport you back by at least 30 years. The open drains, old Havelis (private huge mansions) to the simple people of the city all reminds one of simpler days. Some of these Havelis have the year of construction marked on top of them. Some date back to even 1905! In and around Vellore there are many places of interest that one can see. Many dams, forts, temples, hills, waterfalls, museums etc. exist which one can see on a trip here.

We finally reached our Grandpa's house and thanked the Almighty for bounties like cold drinking water, clean restrooms and cotton pyjamas. The weather was cool (this is rare since heat rules Vellore for about 9 months a year!) and Grandpa started his war stories from the olden days. We barbecued chicken that night under the moonlight and it felt so peaceful and perfect. This was the Vellore I always knew. Grandpa, his stories, Aunt's yummy food, cousins and lots of mosquitoes. All was well.

Cricketers, Passengers & Some Pondering..

A few months back I had gone to the airport to pick up a friend. The flight was delayed by a couple of hours for arrival. Now since I couldn't leave without him, I was deciding how to kill the time. I picked up an over priced coffee and sat down at one of the many tables outside the Arrivals at Bangalore International Airport.

The Champion's League was going on then in October, the final was staged in Bangalore between Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings. The KKR team had just landed and out came the players and support staff. I did a double take and noticed Wasim Akram walking towards the team bus that was waiting for them in the VIP driveway. I ran up to him and shook his hand while clicking a selfie with the greatest cricket bowler of all time. Before I could digest what was happening, the remaining players and staff strolled out. I kept shaking hands with them and wishing them luck for the final. Jacques Kallis and Gautam Gambhir along with Robin Uthappa came walking briskly and the eager fans were all taking pictures and wishing them luck. The last man out was Yusuf Pathan who obliged for a picture with me. I noticed he wasn't that tall as he appeared to be. It was a fun sport celebrity spotting moment.

With a good 1 hour and 45 minutes to pass I looked at my phone to discover the battery was just 20% left. That ruled out any browsing or games to pass time. So I ended up looking at people. Wondering what emotions must be going on with different people departing and arriving. The son leaving his parents for higher studies abroad is all excited and nervous but at the same time full of sorrow of leaving his folks behind. The parents are all proud and joyous but worried about him too. A couple getting separated as the husband has to travel for his job. A sad wife looks on as he walks away from her. A family leaving for a holiday all bubbling with excitement. Looking forward for a good time. There were single passengers too. Business trips, visits to hometown, weekend getaways etc. Whatever the occasions you could literally read off from their faces.

I got up and strolled towards the Arrivals and saw a different set of emotions here. Mostly happy faces. Except for the odd ones that left their loved ones behind. An airport is a nice place to ponder and remember about who and what matters to us.

So finally I'm writing after 3 years. Life has changed a lot since then. More to come.