Sitting in a restaurant, waiting for my Idlis to be delivered at Indra's Sweet and Spice, i noticed the empty table opposite to me. The two customers, judging by the number of plates, had left. The waiter was busy taking orders, and the plates were not cleaned up. It had the leftovers of Masala dosa on them. I found it absolutely fascinating, more than the actual dish in fact.
The same dosa had been ordered and devoured by both the parties, but the leftovers were different. One consisted of potatoes, and the other, just crumbs and sambhar. Each plate of leftovers narrated the personality of their patrons.
I'm no expert in reading left overs and predicting the future, like a lady does from coffee cups. But being in the restaurant business for quite some time, i can speak with some authority.
The health conscious eater, trying to reduce the beer belly, did not dare touch the potatoes, but just had a mouthful of them. He devoured the sambhar though, as was evident from the empty cups. He probably ate the dosa starting from the edges, as the crisp crumbs were missing. He was probably a guy, guessing from the stains of sambhar in the chutney cup, which was half empty. He drank his coffee and took his time at that.
The person opposite to him was probably a lady. She must have eaten her dosa starting from the middle, as the crumbs were there on the plate and the table. The chutney was empty, but the sambhar was still there, and they were not mixed. There was hardly any trace of the potatoes. She had her coffee in a hurry, and must be a housewife. Her empty coffee cup was placed right next to the plate, and was neatly arranged. The mouth fresheners with the bill was probably pushed by her towards the man. I'm guessing that they were husband and wife. The bill had some stains of sambhar on it, which proves the husband, as always, footed it.
I enquired with the waiter and found that my wild guess was true. Satisfied that i was one step closer to becoming a Zen Master of Crime solving, i paid the bill, tipped the waiter and moved out with my head held high. The waiter called me. I could not resist to sign my autograph. I was famous.
Or so i thought. I had forgotten to take my parcel.
The same dosa had been ordered and devoured by both the parties, but the leftovers were different. One consisted of potatoes, and the other, just crumbs and sambhar. Each plate of leftovers narrated the personality of their patrons.
I'm no expert in reading left overs and predicting the future, like a lady does from coffee cups. But being in the restaurant business for quite some time, i can speak with some authority.
The health conscious eater, trying to reduce the beer belly, did not dare touch the potatoes, but just had a mouthful of them. He devoured the sambhar though, as was evident from the empty cups. He probably ate the dosa starting from the edges, as the crisp crumbs were missing. He was probably a guy, guessing from the stains of sambhar in the chutney cup, which was half empty. He drank his coffee and took his time at that.
The person opposite to him was probably a lady. She must have eaten her dosa starting from the middle, as the crumbs were there on the plate and the table. The chutney was empty, but the sambhar was still there, and they were not mixed. There was hardly any trace of the potatoes. She had her coffee in a hurry, and must be a housewife. Her empty coffee cup was placed right next to the plate, and was neatly arranged. The mouth fresheners with the bill was probably pushed by her towards the man. I'm guessing that they were husband and wife. The bill had some stains of sambhar on it, which proves the husband, as always, footed it.
I enquired with the waiter and found that my wild guess was true. Satisfied that i was one step closer to becoming a Zen Master of Crime solving, i paid the bill, tipped the waiter and moved out with my head held high. The waiter called me. I could not resist to sign my autograph. I was famous.
Or so i thought. I had forgotten to take my parcel.
