Kabab war

The decision against the Tunday kababseller in Delhi, Mohd Muslim, came after a complaint by the main outlet in Lucknow, run by the recognised descendants of Tunday  kababi. Muslim, who started using the trade name in the Walled City, claimed that he was the maternal grandson of Mohd Ali Tunday (so named because of a deformed hand) by adoption.

A Delhi court, however, ruled in favour of the paternal grandson Mohd Usman, who said he held the patent. While Tunday started his shop in the Chowk area of Lucknow in 1905, in Delhi the kababs of Masita and Ghummi were famous before that.

In fact, Ghalib was a daily customer of Masita’s, whose shop was closed for some time during the “Mutiny” of 1857, causing much discomfort to the poet. During the 1947 Partition one branch of the Masita family migrated to Pakistan while the other continued to function in the Jama masjid area. But Haji Zahooruddin, a great food connoisseur, used to get his Seekh Kababs by air from Karachi. Tunday happened to be a latecomer on the scene in Delhi.

No alcohol!

Despite information displayed at various points of the airport about the list of articles that cannot be carried in the hand baggage, personnel at the security clearance are seen asking passengers to remove several offending items. On a recent trip to Mumbai, a colleague noticed an elderly lady furiously arguing with the security person. Drawing close to pick up her baggage, our colleague could not help overhearing the war of words.

Apparently, the lady had a quarter of a bottle of a very expensive whiskey brand.While she argued that the content was less than 100ml and that she wanted to take it as a gift to her son, the security personnel stood his ground. He said no alcohol was permitted and, moreover, this was an opened bottle. Even if he wanted to tweak the rules, he couldn’t, he politely said.

To everyone’s surprise, the lady picked up the bottle, marched to a tub, where people can empty their water bottles. She poured out the contents of the bottle as other passengers gasped at the waste of expensive whiskey. She then placed the empty bottle on the official’s table, saying, “If my son can’t drink this, no one else will!”

Smart kid

One generally associates children with innocence. But in today’s world of knowledge overflow, thanks to technology and information technology, it’s less innocence and more of smartness and mischief, a colleague asserted. In fact, most are smarter beyond their age, he said, narrating an incident while returning to Delhi in a train. As vendors made their way through the compartment, a child, around 4-5 years-old, seated across our colleague, was seen pestering his mother to buy the goodies. At first she complied but then she gave him a piece of her mind. Not one to give up so easily, the little boy devised a smart plan. As soon as a vendor approached his bay, he would pick up whatever he desired and open the pack. His mother had no alternative but to pay for it. However, the trick ended with a tight slap that the mother gave to control the little imp.

Honest biker

It is well-known that the owner of the bigger vehicle is usually blamed for any accident involving two vehicles, even if the driver is not at fault. However, a colleague narrated an incident where it was the other way round. On his way to a wedding our colleague noticed a biker lying on the road, profusely bleeding. He had collided with a car parked nearby. As the car driver stood helplessly nearby, our colleague went up to help the biker. Barely able to stand, our friend was surprised as the first thing the biker said was, “Please don’t say anything to car driver because it was not his mistake but mine.” The young man further said he was reciting prayers and thus lost concentration, which led to the accident. This was certainly a rare incident, our colleague thought, as he helped the car driver take him away.

Tailpiece

There’s nothing new in former telecom minister A Raja’s outburst ~ the former Prime Minister was known for his silence!

Contributed by: D K Guha, R V Smith, Rakesh Kumar and Asha Ramachandran