It is a small round dumpling made of atta
and stuffed with joy. It’s the pet passion of little children and kitty
party behnjis whose belly is as stout
as the filling of this crisp ball. Each evening around 7 o clock, the nukkad is buzzing with Pandeyji ki 4-pahiya
chatpati mobile cart that people flock to like bees thronging a beehive. Or
else how would they happily gulp down boss
ki khitpit ya saasu maa ke taane ya long distance
NRI wale ki romance waali mail.
This is India that unites people of various caste, creed and tastes. How
irresistible is the sight of watching old grandma with ‘artificial teeth’
devour golgappas filled with tangy imli
liquid and spices or paas wale senior
citizens ka group who tell the golgappe wala to put more sweet chutney in the paani so that their throats get delighted
to heart.
Every city has its share of favourite shopping zones. And Delhi is filled
with eatery hubs that are the first point of attraction for tourists. Few of
the well-known places include Shahjahan Road, C R Park, Bengali Market that are
institutions in serving golgappas since yesteryears. The golgappas and papri
chaat served here will fill your stomach as satisfactorily as a five-course
meal in a 5 star hotel.
The taste and culinary magic of any ‘puchka’ as it is called in Kolkata is
incomplete without the dust and the loo of the street or the sweat trickling down
from the arm of ‘paani puri’ vendor while he dips his hand into the green and
red chutney and sinks them into the golgappa. After all, ‘teekha’ tabhi hoga when it is filled with the
tradition of love served by roadside vendors.
So if you want to relish this Indian street chat delight, forget glorious
things like hygiene and health. Sometimes, it fills your heart more than
anything when you blindly give yourself into this fat and tasty dumpling.
