Once Upon a University Campus

Zaalim Singh Oberoi

It was past lunch hour, Annika was hungry. She almost regretted not tagging along with Daksh when he headed out for lunch. There was no facility in the hostel mess where they could get packed lunch early in the morning. That the breakfast hour started early, was in itself her current good fortune. Had the hour been a little late, she would have been reduced to one meal a day. 

It was also strange that nobody seemed to take a lunch break yet though it was well past 1 PM. Mess would be almost closing by that time. She could steal glances at Mr Outsider who had been at his desk the whole day and still continued to be there. No sign of lunch. Khanna ke bacche was also at his desk. It did not look like he took a lunch break either. So was Tina. Gauri and her bunch of intern were not to be seen. They might be at lunch or at something else. How in the world did these people survive without lunch Annika wondered. It occurred to her that the team lunch the other day was also pretty late in the day and also people seem to be drinking hot beverages all the time. Many of them carried their own mugs to the cafeteria for refills. A few of those mugs looked big, with capacity running into quarter or half liter. Those cups made the 50 ml paper cups in which dhabas on her campus sold Chai looked like Lilliputs.  If only she could get a cup of Chai for now, she could easily work for a few more hours.

She decided to explore the cafeteria. She hoped to find one of those huge thermos with small taps attached filled with Chai, just like her hostel.  But to her surprise, there were no thermos or even kettle. There was just a strange looking machine. Sure enough the machine looked like it could dispense Chai, but how the hell did it even work.

At a distance she noticed the interns noisily packing something. Some were working on gift wraps, some were attaching notes. Poor kids they were not at lunch break either. Gauri noticed Annika and waved at her.

'Di, come come, look at these beautiful packages, Lodhri presents for all staff. Mr Oberoi had given us a budget and we shopped and now packing of these. It has Gajak, Chikki and assorted dry fruits. Would you like to sample some Gajak and Chikkis? Since we got a large order, the sweet shop folks gave us a couple of boxes as samples.

Annika was more than glad for the samples. But Mr Oberoi's thoughtful gifts never seem to end. She had never heard of presents for Lodhri. Diwali presents are a norm, her father used to get a bunch of gift boxes and gave away a bunch too. Some people gave gifts for Dusara too but she had never heard of gifts for Lodhri. Strange are the ways of these rich people Annika concluded. Very hesitantly Annika asked if Gowri knew how to operate the machine for a cup of Chai.  Gowri was of course very kind.

"Di, if you want Chai, you can choose this pods that says chai latte, insert it here and press the button. Sometimes the machine will need to be emptied for the used pods. If you see a message there, call me and I will show it you. This is an imported machine Di, these pods also imported from Italy and America.' Gowri ended up making Chai for Annika this time around as she demonstrated how the machine worked.

It was a nice cup of Chai and Annika's hunger momentarily abated. She could not take her mind of Chai 'latte' though. ''Chai and latte? Do Mr Outsider's Chai going to give us laatein? As in Kick us ? Not only Mr Outsider, but his Chai ka machine also has its own tante. Chai ko chai ki reheno do, koi naam na do'  a silly version of a retro Bollywood song started playing in her mind.

As she walked walked towards her desk slowly making sure that her to the brim Chai would not spill,

"That is funny Ms Tridevi, Chai ko Chai hi rehene do koi naam na do ? Kamoshi?" it was Mr Outsider

"What Mr Outsider is now able to read my mind? Wasn't I singing to myself ?" Was Annika's first thought before the cup slipped out of her hand and landed on the floor, splashing chai on her and Mr Outsider.