This week: The Definition of an Emergency Edited by: THANKFUL SONALI Party Hopping!  
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I was telling a friend about an incident in my family when it struck me that we created a lot of drama over what my family definitely calls an emergency!  |
Dear Reader,
My childhood was replete with picnics with the family. And I use the word 'replete' deliberately. We had the food we packed from home in the main hampers (meal) and the sub-hampers (snacks) and our designated food-halts along the route to pick up additional favourite items.
Typically, about twenty of us spanning three or even four generations went on these day trips. We drove three hours each way to have our swim in a river surrounded by greenery. Three or four carloads sang out of tune on the way to and dozed (except the designated drivers) on the way back.
One of the most awaited food stops was the one for IDLI. Idli is a South Inidan staple food - rice dumplings served with coconut chutney.
This is how it worked. The cars pulled up next to the restaurant, one or two people from each car disembarked and brought back the takeaway idli packets to their respective cars. We'd then unpack and eat immediately (hey can't let idlis get cold) while driving along the way, with someone feeding the designated driver as he or she kept both hands on the steering wheel.
The idlis were packed in banana leaves to make them seep-proof. Then, the chutney was ladled in and another layer of banana leaves, followed by newspaper all neatly tied with string. So each packet was self-sufficient, containing four-to-eight idlis and the requisite amount of chutney to go with them.
Now one time, I was riding in the back seat with three cousins in the front and two others at the back. The 'go-for' handed me two newspaper parcels and climbed in, and we went on our way.
Opening the first parcel, I found only one layer of banana leaves and --  only idlis with no chutney! Hastily, I opened the other packet and found, to my relief, that it contained a generous helping of chutney. I proceeded to distribute the food.
"Something seems to be wrong," the cousin at the wheel said, suddenly. "The other cars are signaling."
The rest of us paid attention. Sure enough, the other cars were giving the code horn and code tail-light flashes for 'stop on the side of the road'. This usually meant that one of the drivers had felt some car trouble coming on, or (rarely) someone was unwell or something. But it was unusual for more-than-one-car to be signaling simultaneously. We hadn't noticed any roadblocks or anything, what could be the matter, something that all of them had spotted together and we hadn't?
When we managed to get to the side of the road alongside them and halt, we heard a chorus of panicked voices, "We have to go back, the guy forgot to give us any chutney!"
I was the heroine of the day, the rescuer of my family. Triumphantly, I brandished the only-chutney packet. "No he didn't forget, he just packed it all together," I announced, to heartfelt sighs of relief.
The distribution of the chutney had to be done quickly -- the idlis were already less than piping hot! The task accomplished, we embarked on our journey again and had a lovely picnic.
Everybody agreed that no chutney  was a signal-worthy event. Our family has its own definition of an emergency, and creates sufficient drama when one occurs!
Thanks for listening
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Drama: September 24, 2025 Issue [#13356]
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