An afternoon @ ‘The Masi’s’

…Dark clouds had painted the western sky since morning. We were in our usual classroom, just outside the main college building…I mean, at our favorite masi r dokan, with only a couple of blue tarpaulin sheets, with white polka dots(courtesy: ‘The Kolkata Birds Association’) to save us from the impending rain. Eventually, the rain came down, unsettling our afternoon gathering. Immediately, we tried shifting the benches under the covering of the tarpaulin sheets, which seemed as unachievable as a panchayat under an umbrella. By the time things got adjusted, one of the benches was already half wet. My Lee Cooper and someone else’s Levis saved the other half…
The benches are usually set aside for esteemed customers like us. The rains bring a flavor of its own to The Masi’s - water pouring down the edges and through the gap between the two loosely hung tarpaulin sheets; someone standing with legs apart, in an attempt to save his newly bought Reebok or Woodland. There are others trying to keep the raindrops from making a rainy cocktail out of masi’s hot tea, skillfully balanced in between two fingers. Again there are some who, in an attempt to remain centrally warm, are seen mining the gold out of Gold Flakes. Masi’s tea with a share of chanachur at times, and the dampness of cigarette smoke in the rainy ambiance does add that special touch to the afternoon, that ordinary people who have only sipped crushed ice with coffee in life, won’t understand.
I feel (and I’m sure the other members of SIMD [Seasons In Masir Dokan] will agree), that if you really wanna enjoy life, enjoy it to the fullest…We love the centrally ACs, but we never miss out on the centrally rainy either…At our ‘Masi’s’, Reeboks and Woodlands happily stand on water at times and Lee Coopers do get wet…