“Fresh lime soda?” I ask
“Cold drink asaa.” The staffer serving me says.
“Get me a fish thali,” I ordered, “also some sugar”.
The nameboard read Hotel F…. Family Restaurant and Bar. It seemed the right kind of ‘shady’ place to beat the Goa sun. This exchange happened then between the staffer and me.
I said no to his cold drink offer, ordered a fish thali. And the sugar – just wanted something sweet at that point. No other thought to it.
The staffer took my order and left. I looked at the tables around me. Everyone was drinking. And then it struck me.
My drink fresh lime soda – its ingredients, namely tonic water, sugar & lemon were being served separately as accompaniments at most of the tables there. Then why?
I inspected the space more closely.
There was a certain ease to the room. A deliberate slowness be it a crooked smile, slanted necks or tilted spines – all signalling one thing – ‘relax, everything else can wait.’
I decided to look at each table closely.
To be continued…
appam stew n prawns patiyo 