The Chapati Hustle

Ram was fixated on eating sambar and aloo fry all his life, and when he was a bachelor, he used to run errands around curry points. But when the lockdown was enforced, all the curry points were shut, leaving him with no option but to cook.

As part of his cooking journey, he decided to learn how to make chapati. It took him nearly six months to master making a properly shaped chapati, at least one that was identifiable. During this chapati-making hustle, his attempts sometimes resembled a Chinese map, and other times, a Russian map. His roommates would tease him, saying, "Are you trying to send some corona genome sequences as cryptic messages to China or what?"

Since Ram had embarked on his fitness journey, he preferred chapati for dinner every night, while his wife Ayyira preferred rice. Ayyira complained that if she ate chapati, her tummy would demand a second meal at midnight, and it would be Ram's sole responsibility to fulfill her hunger if he suggested having chapati for dinner.

One evening, Ram returned from the office looking tired. He dropped his bag, leaned on the couch, andput his hand on his head. Ayyira noticed his distress, sat beside him, and gently cradled his head in her lap.

Ram began to share his troubles from the day, but Ayyira interrupted him, saying, "Just relax," as she brushed his hair. Leaning forward, she kissed his forehead. Ram responded with a heartfelt, "I love you," and closed his eyes, drifting into sleep.

Ayyira gently placed a pillow under his head, then went to the kitchen to prepare chapati and his favorite chef's special tomato curry. After a while, she woke him up and encouraged him to freshen up for dinner.

As they sat at the dining table, Ram noticed there was no rice on Ayyira's plate and questioned her about it. She replied, "I made chapati for both of us."

Ram protested, saying, "Come on, you don't have to do this. You can eat rice."

Ayyira responded, "The rice bag is empty, my dear stupid husband. Now shut up and eat chapati." She extended her hand to feed him a chapati.

Ram teased, "Now this too? I'm supposed to feed my girl with my hands daily, right? Isn't that part of our deal?"

Ayyira smiled and said, "Yes, husband, but today your wife is doing it. Now eat." She demanded and fed him.

They chatted for a while, and then Ram went to bed, while Ayyira resumed her work and attended calls.

When the clock struck midnight, Ram sneaked into her workspace. Ayyira was in the middle of an internal team call. Ram unmuted the call and said, "Hey Elisha and Sandeep, sorry for interrupting. Can I take my girl for one hour, please? I'll be back soon."

Since Ram had befriended Ayyira's best friends and colleagues, they laughed and agreed, "Okay."

Ayyira turned red and said furiously, "I'm in the middle of something; you can't interrupt like that."

Ram pleaded, "I'm chorrrryyy, just come with me."

Ayyira demanded, "Okay, but where are you taking me?"

Ram replied, "Just follow me." He drove to Naturals Ice Cream at Jubilee Hills.

At the ice cream parlor, he ordered Sitaphal ice cream with two spoons.

Ayyira asked, "But why an ice cream treat all of a sudden?"

Ram flirted, "I know you would be hungry after eating chapati for dinner, so I thought this would make up for your hangry."

Ayyira laughed and said, "Nice one, but I'm not sharing my ice cream with you, go and eat your diet food."

"Please, Ayyira, I am hungry too, just one spoon, please," Ram pleaded.

Ayyira chuckled and relented, "Okay, don't cry, have it, here." She shared the ice cream with Ram, and they both laughed and enjoyed the ice cream together.