Our college and the entire campus were at the outskirts of Guwahati city. There were a few dhaba’s within the campus but everyone had to go to either Panbazar or Maligaon to bite some yummy stuff. Panbazar is at the heart of Guwahati city and is quite far from our college campus and Maligaon is at a distance of some 5-6 KM. The “Ritz” restaurant in Maligaon was quite popular among us. We really enjoyed the food out there and it also had a wonderful bar. I and few of my friends used to visit that restaurant quite often, usually in the first week of every month when our pocket was in a little good shape. The most popular dish out there among us was “Chicken Butter Masala and Butter Nun” , wow! it was so delicious and my mouth is already filled with water. I don’t exactly remember the price but I very well remember that for one full plate they used to give 8 huge pieces of chicken. Whenever we used to go as gang of four we usually ordered half plate of
chicken butter masala and 5-6 butter nuns, but on few occasions we had 2 pieces of chicken per head as well.
Sinha was a real foodie guy and was never satisfied with one or two pieces of chicken even though the pieces were big enough. He was the kind of guy who could finish a full tandoori chicken without much effort. One day Sinha was on his way to hostel and he was quite hungry that moment. As soon as he reached Maligaon and came across the Ritz restaurant he couldn't resist himself and immediately got down from the bus and entered the restaurant. One waiter approached him and asked for the order. Sinha had a close look at the menu for a few minutes and order one full plate of chicken butter masala, one full plate chilly chicken and 3 butter Nuns.
The waiter asked Sinha “Sir, are you expecting some friends?”
Sinha replied “No, what’s the matter with you?”
The waiter said very cutely “I think the food you ordered would be too much for you”
Sinha was little embarrassed and replied to him with a smile “you don’t have to take tension and better concentrate on your work”
Sinha enjoyed his meal graciously and took his own sweet time. He felt little uncomfortable whenever the waiter who took his order used to stare at him each time he passed by.
Sinha took more than half an hour but still had to finish 3-4 pieces of chicken and his tummy already became a tight balloon. Initially he thought to parcel the remaining food but the waiter’s glances didn't allow his inner soul to do so. Later he thought to leave the remaining chicken pieces just like that, pay the bill and leave from there. All of a sudden the waiter passed by Sinha and starred at him as well as his plate and gave a cute smile. Sinha’s ego was badly hurt and he took it as a challenge. He took few more minutes and unwillingly tried to finish the stuffs. He was almost done and just one more chicken piece to go. By that time his tummy reached the threshold level and could have bursted any time.
Sinha was not sure what to do? His prestige was at stake. He gave himself some more time and somehow managed to finish the last piece. What a relief ! Sinha paid the bill and just before leaving had a look at the waiter and made a proud smile. As soon as he came out of the restaurant he wanted to have a cigarette but he didn't want to take any risk as anything might have happened that time. His stomach could have bursted or the stuff inside it could have passed through some alternate route.
