A BIGMAC COMBO MEAL

Preface: A part of what follows was narrated to me. I understood what the protagonist in the malayalam movie, "Kadhavaseshan" might have felt when he killed himself "in the shame of being alive". An ametuer scribbler, like me, could articulate myself in this way as i dint want plagiarism to come in the way.

“Mc Donald’s corporation, one of world’s largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, "serving nearly 47 million customers daily. Head quartered at…..” I blabbered at supersonic speed trying to reveal my proficiency on Wikipedia pages as Siddharth pulled me towards a McDonalds counter at a food court in Ibn Batuta. “Not Again” he said complaining about the boring lectures I gave him the previous evening at the ‘Starbucks’ on their strategy. He even doubted if I was in love with Howard Schultz. Not new to him, I have been acting this way as I just graduated a few days ago, and I never left an opportunity to irritate him with my management fundas. “One big mac combo meal, and what about you?” the question was to me. “One big mac combo meal” I repeated. An infrequent visitor to Mc Donalds, I wasn’t familiar with their menu. But this one, big mac combo meal, strode over my memory. I was lost in my thoughts by then and I heard Sidd vaguely, when he said that handsome youngman at the counter, to make it two. Sidd cant beat me on anything but blabbering. He was super excited that Friday as he was back jus the other day after his first ever European trip. And I was the victim for those stories about Glasgow. It was a kind of test on my patience as my ego dint let him win over me on talkativeness. One big mac combo meal, that kept my lips locked. I now recall, she ordered for a big mac combo meal that day. Siddharth scored over me as he went on and on collecting the meal and then at the table, a tide of memories washed my conscious. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. It was the monsoon of 2007. I had made a visit to that city of India, The city of dreams. The city whose spirit never dies. On a solitary exploration of Colaba, I had a jute bag, flat chappals , a glass which I felt made me look like a writer. I loved moving around in such disguise. Mc Donald’s was my last option for a meeting. But my friend, the SLt, under Training then, felt it was the most comfortable place for us to catch up. Give it a try, I felt, for I have always chosen book shops and beaches. Late as always, he joined me after 10 minutes of the scheduled time. Enjoying the burger that he ordered for us, he said: “ Paru, imagine, what if we were sitting like this at a coffee bar in our place?” I just smiled at him, trying to take the first bite of my burger. I spilt a little of mayonnaise on my dress. He was aquianted with the city for the last two years and had a lot to tel me about Mumbai. From the westernization to the so called modern ladies, from dharavi to the brothals, from the floods to the dry summer . “One bigmac Combo meal”, I turned back hearing a loud yet kiddish voice. I was taken aback with the attire of the girl that I saw there. A little girl in her early teens. Her hair unwashed and badly plaited. She wore a frock, a dark red one which was improperly zipped. An overheeled platform sandals. And makeup overdone which gave her an elderly look. I gave a puzzled look to Arun. “This is Mumbai”, he said as an answer to my puzzled look. I kept gazing at the little girl and to my convenience she came with her meal and placed herself comfortably opposite to me. As she started enjoying her burger, I noticed her untidy nails with nailcolours. She managed to finish it off pretty fast without spilling anything or licking her fingers. I knew she was used to it. “How can she afford it, and how often can she? It looks as if she is trained to have it and that she is a frequent visitor” my words broke and I have by then spilt the second drop of mayonnaise. “The ‘Bride of the town’, Nagaravadhu ” he said. “And the means of payoff have changed Paro” he completed to make it clear to me. The woman in me felt ashamed of being alive to a see a rather kid transform to a whore. I doubt she has even reached her puberty. An uneasiness crept in me. “This is life to many” he added as he wiped off the mayonnaise on my dress. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. “The Thousand Island dressing”, its just divine!!! Sidd said as he finished his Bigmac Combo meal and pointed out at the spilt over mayonnaise on my dress. My fingers loosened to leave the burger. “A bigmac combo meal”, her voice continued to reverberate.