Getting Schooled On Food
An after class stroll with Pradeep Phatak
There was a spate of vendors outside our school gate – supari, ice cream in the pink cone (resembling the blotting paper), candy floss, and what have you . .
Most popular vendors were Jadya Babu and Patla Babu. The Patla (Slim) version was a bit refined one – he’d sell the Felix bubble gum - imported one, the Jadya (Fat) version was a bit crude – a bit disorganized, clumsy and did not venture into selling the imported bubble gums. Vividly recollect an incident with Jadya Babu who was on the right side of the gate. He would rest his bubble gum bottles on the grill of the gate and there was a tree behind the gate. One day our classmates conspired to push one of the jars that was leaning on the grill which would fall inside and our friends standing inside were supposed to pick up the jar and run inside the school. Mission accomplished!!! And we had quite a few chewing the cud and blowing bubbles in the school . . . .
In 1965, I joined St. Xavier’s High School in the 2nd standard (II C). Mrs. Fernandes was our class teacher then. Remember my parents giving me a 25 paisa coin just that I have it in my pocket. One day, while exploring the huge premises of our beloved school, I landed up near the canteen during the short recess. Being used to eating bhel with my parents at the Shetty Bhelpuri in Nana Chowk, that was the only item on the menu, I was familiar with. Somehow, managed to reach the counter gaining a foothold on the small slope (inch and a half or so) of the arc of our canteen and ordered bhel. Surprise, surprise the canteen guy (Krishna) returned back 10p. Can you imagine the bhel costed just 15p in those days? Unfortunately, one other guy dashed me and the plate fell down from my hands. All the joy and pride of having explored the canteen and buying the bhel on my own (without any help), just evaporated in a jiffy . . . was sad . . . not because I lost the chance to eat the bhel but because I messed the floor around. Fr. Feuz our Vice Principal would be on his regular rounds and I was sure to get a reprimand from him. Leaving the mess for the “mehtar” to clean up, I rushed to the class with the fear lurking on my mind that at any point in time Fr. Feuz would catch me . . . This was the saga of my first canteen visit.
Later on, enjoyed the school canteen very much from the sandwiches to the bhel, ragda pattice, dosas, mutton cutlets, kheema pao to the ice creams and the soft drinks in those small bottles …. What a pleasure it was!
When my mom came to the school during lunch time, that was a big day as she took me to Raj Mahal restaurant for lunch. On the mezzanine floor, very often you would bump into Mr. Date (Da-tey) – our Drawing teacher – and if you get a seat on the same table as Mr. Date then you had it!! The Raj Mahal thali was a very popular one among our schoolmates – cheap (Rs.1.25 per thali), quick and wholesome … The thali, invariably, had a lot of steel “vaatis” with the veggies, dal, sambhar, rasam and not to forget, the shrikhand. What remains etched in my memory is the way Mr. Date finished his thali. He’d put water in each of these small vaati, scrub every corner of this little thing (especially the one with the shrikhand) and then drank the water … ugh . . . horrible isn’t it?? I guess he did not want to waste anything.
Kit Kat was reserved for the really big day when both my parents would come to the school.
On the way back from school to the bus stop at Marine Lines, cannot forget Café Metro for hogging on the small samosas or a sandwich at a thela (cart) outside Good Housekeeping. My partners in crime would be Kiron Wagle, Snehal Shah and sometimes Mangesh Dalvi.
Nostalgic – isn’t it?? I still try to make a trip to Dhobitalao but most of the times end up eating at Kyani or Sassanian and picking up some mawa cakes and mawa samosa from these joints. Bastani, another hideout, has closed since.
“Last day of school would, sometimes, be with my best friend Chhogolet (Rohinton Chhoga) going to Badshah Cold Drinks for a Royal Falooda.”
When I think of school, my mouth still waters for the 15 paisa bhel, which will always be a dream crashed to the floor.
Class dismissed!
Pradeep Phatak
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