Masala Muudhi

It was 1 in the afternoon. Rohan and Bunty were at the school cycle stand. Rohan reminded, " Are you ready? Remember you can't back off in the middle, you can't blame at the end. All you can do is now. Think again if you really want to put the bet". Bunty was still a little confused. He knew how good Rohan was in a cycle race. At best he can come just close to him. He knew if he put the bet, it surely will be a losing bet. But he couldn't back off either. It would be worse than losing. He put his hand in the pocket and took out the coin as bet - a 10 rupees coin and said, "I will win back my masala mudhi". So it was a cycle race with a 10 rupees bet and the winner will take 20. They are usually great friends but when it comes to cycle race they are fiercest rivals. However, the winning crown often lands on Rohan's head. But since today morning, Rohan was out teasing Bunty over this. So much that they ended up putting a bet, although merely 10 rupees but it was their mini masala mudhi (tangy spicy puffed rice snack) for the day - one of the reasons they turn up at school everyday. Since the cycle race was a cost of their masala mudhi, it was all set to be the deadliest race ever.

Taking the 10 rupees coin with a deadly look on his face, Rohan said, "See you on the track". They both began marching with their cycles to their racing track. It was a little distance away from the school. It was the site of an under construction building around which they had to complete 1 lap in a square path. The road was usually less crowded at that time of the day. So there was hardly any risk of accident. This gave them enough room to try their daredevilry. "Faster buddy", screamed Rohan taking his position. "If you got this sort of power in show, then better back off ", still in his teasing senses. Bunty was still confused in mind. His masala mudhi was at stake. But at the same time his pride was also at stake. On hearing the piercing words of Rohan, he pounced back, " Dont worry, I wont be this slow at eating your share of masala mudhi". Although dark clouds of an imminent loss had already taken over his mind. They both had reached the starting point and the race was about to begin. They shared a devilish look at each other. Rohan started , " 3 " Bunty replied, " 2 " Rohan : " 1 " Both placed their right feet on the pedal Bunty : " for masala mudhi " Rohan : " for Rohan " The clash began.

As completely unexpected it was Bunty to lead. Yes beating all his anxieties, he led the way. But the best of Rohan was yet to come. His strength has been the control he maintains at turnings and they had 3 turns in their way. The 1st turn was barely 50 metres away and Bunty began to slow down but not Rohan. This made Rohan make up for the slow start. The turn was sharp and so was Rohan's technique. So, as expected Rohan now took the charge. Once Rohan takes charge of anything, he hardly looks back. This won't be any exception, particularly when masala mudhi was at stake. Bunty, on the other hand, was staring at an imminent loss. The thought of no masala mudhi was punishing enough. The 2nd turn was close and this further extended the Rohan's lead. In the next lane, Bunty decided to fight. He thought one more serious try might not do any worse. He took a deep breath.

As he exhaled, he charged at the pedal. His love for masala mudhi made him push limits like never before. The last turning was at sight. This meant all his extra effort to narrow the gap will go in vain. But as rightly said, God helps those who help themselves. Completely against the notion, Rohan couldn't maintain balance and slipped. Hadn't he jumped off the cycle at the right time, he could have faced a major accident. His cycle was lying down about 12ft away. Bunty, although shaken by the scene, soon understood that if he had any chance to win then this is it. He increased his speed. Rohan quickly went for his cycle. But by the time he reached it, Bunty had reached him. They once again shared a devilish look as Bunty overtook Rohan. 

Now Bunty was in the last lane and had already picked up speed. There wasn't any more turning that could put him at a disadvantage. It was as if his masala mudhi was waiting at the finishing line. Barely 50 meters away from the line, Rohan sprung up a surprise and was just at Bunty's right. A heated contest continued and just about 10 metres away from the finishing line, Rohan gained back the lead. Bunty was heartbroken. It wasn't the first time that he had lost to Rohan, what made him lose peace was no masala mudhi for the day. Rohan came to Bunty and said, " Did you just realize how close you were to winning this ? Congrats buddy. This is just because you had a motive which pushed you. But maybe my motive was bigger, hence I could win this". A dejected Bunty replied, " Yaa I know your motive was to eat up my share of masala mudhi... " To this Rohan laughed heartily. " What happened now ? What was so funny ? ", a confused Bunty enquired. Rohan still fighting for a breath in between his laugh said, " Come out of it buddy. Life is much more than masala mudhi. Come let us discover my motive "

Suddenly, Bunty couldn't feel the pain of loss anymore. It was overshadowed by surprise. He could not figure out what could be more important than masala mudhi. On the way he did try to solve his anxiety, " What are you trying to do Rohan ? " Rohan replied only with a smile. He was smiling and whistling all the way which further increased the suspense. They stopped at Aahar kendra - where people were given mid-day meal at subsidised rate. Obviously there were a no. of poor people who still couldn't afford it. They both put their cycle on stand & then Rohan asked Bunty to come with him. They went inside and bought a meal with the money. They both stopped near an old lady on the footpath clad in a torn blanket.

Finally, when they gave her the meal and she responded with a deep teary eyed smile with lots of blessings, Bunty understood all that had been going on since morning. On the way back, Bunty & Rohan were friends like earlier. Rohan had no ego of a win, neither Bunty had any bad feeling of a loss. Rohan was happy to fulfil his wish & Bunty was happy to realize that real happiness of life doesn't lie in masala mudhi but in being the reason for a smile.