Tuesday was the wada-pau day, it seems. Who decides, and how such days cum anniversaries get alloted/determined is quite curious. I would someday like to analyse and understand the entire process. Is the decision a result of ethnographic research, i wonder. Most probably must be, I guess.
Well, for me , wada pau is quite a cultural symbol. No, i am absolutely not interested in the political overtones. From gulli to Dilli, there are enough 'intellectuals' of all shades, hues, and stripes to attempt that kitschy job!
Let us look at the popular (not the populist! Let us leave that wordy stuff to the worthy critics mentioned above) appeal of this dish. First and foremost, it is a fulfilling dish for the common man. It fills the stomach, tickles the taste buds, and is rather friendly with the purse strings.
For the well off, this dish can emerge in very trendy, happening forms. It can be enriched with pomegranate seeds, it can have a cheese slice, and what have you.
Whichever economic group you may belong to, wada pau is one of the "on the go" dishes, especially suited for the hectic, busy life of a city. If on a particularly busy day, you could not manage the breakfast, or even the lunch, this "swast and mast", that is, 'cost effective and fun' dish is a must. It does not need any sambar, any chutney, no nothing. If you have it with the green chillies a little fried, it is literally the 'five star' feel, though by the road side.
In my opinion, this street smart dish is a wonderful symbol of the typical all inclusive system of the metropolitan ambience. Just as it is a combo of the Indian (wada) and the western (bread), of the sharp and the spicy, so is the city life, a combo of all sorts of people, of all varieties of experiences.
A student to a CEO, all are equal at these road side eateries, like the typical city feel that wipes out most all typical differences, and divisions.
Similarly, quite like the urban lifestyle, it is unhealthy, too, at least if eaten in excess on any one day, or if eaten, every day, for all the three meals. Yet this fault is in/of the eater, not in the dish itself that is now part ń parcel (literally, given its 'take away' funda, too, though no, no 'drive in and away' possibilities here) of the international scenario.
A folksy food for all seasons, wada pau, like the bhajji, tastes the best when it is drizzling a little. At such times, the 'half cutting chai' with it is quite the elixir of life.
Papa used to savour it, though he preferred it homemade. One of my regrets is not preparing the dish for him though he wanted us all to eat it together over a family chitchat. Though i did make the shimla mirch bhaji, i thought the bread he bought was for bread chiwda, another hyper tasty dish that Aai adored.
In brief, a mix of bitter sweet memories, wada pau is quite 'amrita tulya', like the half cuppa that goes with it. Long live wada-pau!
Pratima@ Bade bade Shaharon me, wada pau jaise mast, mast khane chalte hain!
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