A Kadhaa
He said ‘Mai poora peeyega’ (will drink it all) challenging himself to do the unbelievable this evening. This perhaps reminded me of the young Sachin Tendulkar standing against the mighty Pakistani pace attack; he uttered ‘mai khelega’ (I will play) despite being hit on his face and the blood continuously flowing through his nose.
This story is about my roommate, his courage, and newly found love. Today he had surpassed even the likes of Sachin with his courageous gimmick. It all started with a simple cough. Yes, you heard it right my roommate Mr. Keshav Gupta (name mangled) suffering from acute dry cough gave birth to this short piece.
We came back to Bengaluru after spending a month in our hometowns. While there was nothing new about to and fro from Bengaluru but things were slightly different this time. Keshav was all glowing, giggling, and smiling as he landed at the Kempegowda International airport. Well, it would surely be a surprise if a shy, introvert guy tried to start the conversation with full enthusiasm. This was all justified as my dear friend had just got engaged 💍. It seemed as if he was the happiest person on Earth as he re-narrated the entire episode to me. That day we also decided to take a public bus instead of a private cab just to make up for all the extra expenses Keshav will have to go through post-marriage (jokingly).
Just like every light has a shadow my friend also brought an unwanted guest along with him. After weeks of allopathic medicines, the condition was only worsening. His mama (mother’s brother) owned a pharmaceutical shop back in his home town so instructions were traveling across lands and seas.
But none of these obstacles seemed to deter my friend, he was glued to his mobile all day and night. Love was in the air, and Keshav had learned to smile simply by staring at the mobile. Hold on this doesn’t look like an arranged marriage setup to me but nevertheless, I have strong reasons to believe it. Keshav belonged to a place where love marriage was a sin. He even feared his name to be dropped from the ownership of an ancestral house if he married someone outside his community (not joking). I was very happy that he had finally found his love, Miss. Gauravi Bajaj from his own hometown Khargone this monsoon.
One fine day Keshav came up with a list that had landed straight from Gauravi’s mouth. This was a list of ingredients to free my friend of the troubling ailment. So we went on a hunting spear in search of these items. The demand was coming from Khorgone how could he deny it? A person who had never spelled Ajwain (Celery) was today searching for it in the racks of Top n Town (a local shop cum mall). The hunt began for black pepper, ginger, and how can I forget tej patta (bay leaf) which he confirmed twice with the shop owner. And thanks to the covid era we got Tulsi drops or else we would have to rob some leaves from the neighboring garden. We were able to get almost all the ingredients required for this magical kadha (decoction).
We came back delighted as if the first step of the treasure hunt was completed. Keshav immediately jumped onto the second step and followed the recipe that came all the way from Khargone. He was now ready with a glass full of kadha. He offered me some to taste and I was sure I am not drinking this. The taste of it would have killed me overnight. But such was the power of love this guy said ‘Mai poora peeyega’ and drank the entire glass in one sip. A person who used to be so particular about food; one who only ordered plain Margherita pizza to avoid capsicum and dried tomatoes, today drank a glass full of God knows what.
And, I realized love can make you do weird things, and change you for good. I don't know if this kadha cured his cough or God just rewarded his courage by revoking the cough but his fiance would surely be smiling after listening to this. I would never be able to drink this for sure even if it was for my fiance. To my fiance, if you ever stumble upon this, don’t be disappointed, I might not drink a kadha for you but I will hold on to you forever and love you more than anyone could ever!
