The way to a man's heart

by rituja joshi
It is dawn. I hear the birds chirping as the aroma of fresh coffee rouses me from my slumber. I turn over to look at Sanju. I love to see her tousled sleepy face in the mornings. She looks so beautiful, so carefree this time of the day, her hair spilling all over her face. Even after all these years, I can still spend hours gazing at her gorgeous face! She continues to captivate me, to enchant me!

Sanjeevni is not in bed, she's probably making the coffee. It is a special day, today. It is our wedding anniversary, our tenth wedding anniversary. It has been the best ten years of my life! We've shared such beautiful moments together. Sweet tender moments, priceless moments, oh the precious memories!

We are going to celebrate! No, it is not an expensive bubbly or romantic candlelight dinner at the Orchid. It is something even better, something dearer. We are leaving for Pune, this morning. On the cards is wada-pav at Joshi wadawalla stall in front of Sambhaji Park. I am keeping the promise, I'd made to her all those years back. I still remember the day ……………………… .

*******

Fourteen years ago….. 

"The way to a man's heart is through his stomach", they say. Well in this case, I was talking about a woman. I sure hoped and prayed that I'd find the way to her heart. The girl of my dreams was Sanju, my precious Sanjeevni. I could die for her, though I don't think that would have impressed her! Sanju was a tough lass, a tomboy. She could definitely fight her own battles; slay the dragons on her own. Charming Sanju was no easy task; she was a feminist even before the term feminism was coined. It had to be something different. No expensive gifts or romantic dinners for her, besides being a student I was always broke. So, instead, I hoped to amaze her with my culinary skills!

But looking at the mess in my kitchen, I should have used the word 'un-skills'! My very first attempt in the kitchen had been a total disaster!

"Pavbhaji and fruit-salad, easy and simple," Smita and Viren, my confidants had proposed the menu.

"It is pretty clear-cut!" Smita had said. "Just like the TV ad says; Some potatoes and onions, some tomatoes and peas followed by Everest pav-bhaji masala. And don't forget to top it with butter!" she'd exclaimed.

But of course it was not at all so 'clear-cut'!

How in god's name was I going to impress Sanju with all this mess? My comprehensive plan was to woo my lady over dinner, a home cooked meal, cooked by yours truly!

Sanju and I, we had been friends forever. We'd grown up together. We'd climbed trees, played with marbles even hunted for snails together! You name it, I am sure Sanju had played every game in the boy's book. But a girl's game? No way! I don't think Sanju ever had even a single doll! Being the youngest in the family and the only girl, she had her way right from day one. She had two elder brothers whom she idolized and who pampered her equally. From the time she understood things she had always insisted on being called Sanju instead of the girly Sanjeevni and of course her favorite and only outfit outside school had been jeans and t-shirt.

Sanju my best pal, had always been one of the boys. But not quite! I first noticed how pretty she was when my lab partner had commented on her.

 "Hey your neighbor Sanjeevni is quite something, introduce kar na yaar!" Of course I hadn't done the good deed, no way!

Well anyway, on that particular day I was in a state of total despair, yeah the bhaji was beyond repair! It had dawned on me that peeling potatoes was an art in itself as was chopping vegetables, especially slicing onions! No matter how much masala I'd added, it still tasted horrible and I think that there was way too much salt. I had adding water to dilute the taste, had heard about that trick from someone. But the end result I'd produced was brown water with vegetables floating on top! And the taste, well rather not comment on it! There was no fruit salad either because there was no milk. It had just boiled over while I had been engrossed in the intricacies of making the bhaji.

It was almost time for Sanjeevni's arrival, when the phone rang. It was Sanjeevni.

"Tushar, could you meet me near Sambhaji Park?" she'd asked. "I know we were planning to meet at your place, but could you just come here, instead?"

"Sure, why not." I replied. Yeah why not, there was no food anyways!

As planned I saw Sanju sitting on the bench near the entrance of the park. She was looking so pretty, in a plain white salwaar khameej. Sanju and salwar khameej! Something was definitely amiss.  I was amazed to see her in this attire! She also has a small package in her hand.

"Tushar, thank god you are here!" she thrust the package on my lap. "Tushar, there is something important I want to say to you, well ask you," she sounded flustered. "I don't know how to go about it. Well, I really really like you. Well, you know what I mean?" she asked. Breathless she continued, "They say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach and well I did try to cook myself. I had tried to make some Pav-bhaji on Smita and Viren's suggestion. Well, but .," I could see the disaster which she must have cooked , stamped all over her face! "Open the package," she said.

Puzzled I started unwrapping. And guess what, inside were four wada-pav's from Joshi wadawalle, my favorite! Sanju didn't really have to say anything further. Not that she had to say anything in the first place, she was already occupying the special place in my heart!

*******

The rest is history. Yes, we sure have shared a lot of such delicious moments together! And I am looking forward to many more, just as promised fourteen years back. Joshi wadawalle, here we come! We've been doing this every year on this special day. Today is twenty-third of March, this day Sanju had proposed fourteen years back, the same day four years later we'd gotten married. And on the menu was ..