The Quest

The sun was raining down with all its might on all the hapless souls who had no hope of finding shade in the small city called ,Calcutta, this city on the "date" 11th May 2011 has a story to tell to all other mortal souls. A story not to be forgotten but to be retold again and again to the generations to come , this story is about 2 young men who are to face the elements for a quest, a quest that for some would be insane while some wouldn't dare think about doing the said deed.

There comes a time in everyone's life when they have to complete a journey, something that bonds people, reminds them of the journey, something that changes you inside and gives you a reward, these 2 souls, one a brilliant student , topper of his school, always a straight 95% student,musician and a Chelski fan, the other soul, with his obnoxious laughter, stupid jokes, with no road sense but with a killer tag line "jeet ke aaoge!", decided to go on such a journey.

The fateful day didn't have the feeling of the "quest" to either of the souls , they met after the obnoxious one had reported for his slave drivers(office) and had found a quick escape route away from the dungeons that had chained him for the past 2 weeks, broke away from the shackles did the fat obnoxious one. The other had finally run away and come back to his mother land, after giving his life for 4 summers and winters at a far off land where no one could meet him so that he could turn into something else other than a bong, to turn into a mallu, the transformation was easy for him but not for his 4 good men, who tried every time to remind him of his heritage and change him back.

These 2 brave souls met in front of a great clothing store that most of thee locals knew, a certain shop called "Pantaloons" ,the cool breeze blowing from the inside was almost irresistible but they had to move on, the smart mallu one was wearing something that made him look like he was new to the place, with half of his trousers missing, something dark to protect his eyes, and a covering for his head,he looked quite off . The obnoxious one was wearing his kryptonite , coverings that are called "formals" because of his dungeon.

The two of them decided to go and watch the theater , some live play about cars, fast and guns, the actors in question were big and strong from some other far off land, the cost was a lot, but to cover it up, a bargain was struck with the evil ticket seller, we would sit right up in front to watch the show for a lower price, our necks would have to croon high to see the show and our backs would be bent but a price we would pay was worth it.

Lunch was our next bit where to eat in the scorching heat of the sun?, close by to the theater was a little eatery , a gem in its own right, finding it would be hard as the mallu had not been to these streets in over a year and the fat obnoxious one was never good at finding out places or remembering stuff, but lo and behold! The Lord was with them and they toiled and found the place, the fat one remembering how a whore was paying off her "owner" (dalal) the last time they had been through the same alley, this was the landmark he used to get the two hungry souls there.

The food was all about a close neighboring land and while the mallu took pork , the obnoxious one due to some religious facts stayed with the chicken, stuffed up to the brim, off they went to search for something to quench their thirst, this is where the quest began, the search for the "Shikanji" , a soda drink which is perfect on hot morrows like this. Though they searched for a long while they had to settle for some lemon drink which although was good but it didn't hit the spot for the brave young ones.

A third mortal met up with us, this freak was a typical son of the land,(bong) ,another great scholar who had now gotten an opportunity to continue with his education in the land of the white she devil, the same land where our theater play was made. This hapless soul was having problems with his "intake and outage" system but a good rant form the obnoxious one soon fixed that and he had no option but to join the other 2.

The show was a waste, those white foreign devils could not keep us satisfied with their fast moving vehicles and nonsensical story lines and the hope for a concubine on stage was also not met though no children were allowed to view this story. Upset and filled with rage the 3 went off from the theater , while the freak white devil education went away, the obnoxious one and the mallu stayed behind, in search of the DRINK! The SHIKANJI.

The heat was getting to them, and they were in a plight to find the drink that they wanted so bad, the urge in them , would they "jeet" or not that was the question.
The souls braved the heat and walked on about, minutes were ticking by, landmarks and juice stalls were passing but to no avail, there came a time in the search where the fat obnoxious one almost gave up but the mallu came up with a song on his ukelele and played at a local amphitheater, with their spirits buoyed they marched onward. The two best friends walked for another hour in the sun and finally when they had thought of heading back home in disappointment they saw a little shop hidden between a couple which did provide them their elusive drink. Salvation ! the feeling of joy was almost overwhelming and the heat just did not seem to exist, when the two finally got the drink they were pleased as punch and though the drink did not live up to the expectations, they knew, the quest may not have given them the required reward, the drink was not up, but the quest in itself was the actual reward.

Two men and the search for the Elusive Shikanji