Today I was returning from a poetry reading
driving on route 680
It was a real hot day
I had my windows down
just as I passed the Automall Parkway
A smell pierced in as usual uninvited
Not that of a skunk that was ran over by wheels
Nor was it anything else I can explain
but a very familiar one
for a moment I thought
I was not driving
I was sitting in a bus
en route my home in Calicut in India
I looked to the side of the freeway
hoping to see a curb that will bring me back
But I saw houses with dim lit windows
small townships with TV shops and Paan shops
a little market place
I saw people gathered with their kerala Lungi
folding and unfolding them so frequent
that you feel it was a mode of communication
there was the smell of porotta and beef
two kids doing doubles on an atlas cycle
returning from their tuition
I saw a bakery that was so bright lit
with glass bottles neatly arranged
one was filled with masala biscuits
before I could count them Someone honked
and I woke up
A huge truck brushed past me
I slowed down moved to the right
I followed behind the truck, till my exit came
The smell had gone, so were the images
But I guess the masala biscuits will still be there
in those glass jars
I wonder how many were there….
Will they make new ones tomorrow
I have never seen them here in the US
I don’t know if anyone knows about it here
It was my addiction back in school
Masala biscuits spicy, sweet and tangy…
the bits of curry leaves shining out at you
jeera, pepper and garam masala
Let me go online find a recipe;
I need one now Masala Biscuit….
Not just any….
the authentic Kerala style….

Categories: Poetry

Tags: Masala Biscuit