Kolhapur Chronicles

10. kitchen

"But I have never made dosa in my life dada!"

"You will have to today, Raghav! Do anything and everything in your power, learn now, use your skills, we cannot disappoint today, do you hear me we CANNOT DISAPPOINT!"

Dada literally screamed and startled Raghav. Dada was busy the entire week and so it was an open demand- or what Pallavi and Aaji may call a challenge- by Vahini that he will cook for everyone through the entire weekend. Raghav was pleased with the relationship they shared and he was glad Vahini could make such demands which dada happily fulfilled, but alas good times don't last in his life. Sona had asked everyone on the dinner table whether it was a girls vs boys competition, and Pallavi had taken up the opportunity to declare that it was one, making Raghav and Dada incharge of the weekend breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Raghav had never even boiled water in his entire life.

When he and Keerti were kids, Amma would do all the cooking and they would not have to step into the kitchen. They did help with other chores of the house, but then life took a dark turn and everything went downhill. Raghav managed to put something in his stomach two times a day anyhow, and then when he had the power and money to hire humans to do everything - right from picking his dropped sock to cleaning the entire mansion for him - he did not take the pain to do things on his own.

Many may judge him on this behaviour of his but he is least affected. Having lost everything in his life in a snap, he never lost any opportunity to make himself feel better, and that includes being respected, being feared and being the devil as people called him. When he doesn't have to do a thing for anyone, not even himself, he feels as if he is in control of his life, and in moments when he feels lost, these are the things that make him regain his confidence in himself.

Judge all you want, Raghav Rao literally doesn't care.

But today, at this moment, he cares. He has to win this so-called competition at all costs, and even if it means burning his hands in the process he will. Dada had explained everything that they were supposed to do within the next 45 minutes and Raghav had noted everything in his mind. So what if he hasn't cooked a day in his life? He will succeed today for sure because there is nothing Raghav Rao cannot do.

It took less than 3 minutes for his belief in himself to break, along with two bowls, and Raghav knew this wasn't easy.

He had begun by breaking the coconut, but it ended up falling on his feet and swelling his toe. He had used a gun on multiple occasions, but he couldn't hold the coconut in one hand and break it with another. Dada in one attempt broke the coconut in half and gave it to him to grate, and it took him a minute to figure out how to use the grater. It was not automatic, it was manual, and even though dada explained to him twice with examples of how to hold it and do it, he almost grated his finger twice in the attempt. After watching him struggle with the first half, Dada gave up and decided to grate the rest himself, telling Raghav to arrange the ingredients for the chutney. Thankgod vahini had labelled all the containers in the fridge and outside it, and he took no time to find the green chillies, coriander, garlic, ginger and salt.

Finally a victory.

Breathing out loud, he prepared himself for the next task. Till now it ain't going good, but he can make it better. The batter was already ready for the dosa so Dada decided to go ahead with it, while Raghav decided to grind the ingredients in the mixer. The coriander leaves were already separated and so all he had to do was peel the garlic. Dada had suggested beating each garlic clove with the pestle of the mortar, and he picked it up to do the same. Placing a garlic clove on the kitchen table, he hit it with all his strength. Alas, the direction of the blow was missed and the clove was hit in a corner, causing it to fly out of the kitchen window never to be seen again. Dada gave him a look that said I-expected-better and Raghav just apologized with his eyes. Placing another clove on the table, he picked the pestle and hit it again, this time with a better judgement, and the clove flattened, making him the happiest since morning. Flattening the other cloves, he peeled each one of them.