Laddoos, with Love (Diwali Special)

Chapter One

I stirred the batter enthusiastically, careful not to form any lumps. I then took a perforated ladle and passed it through the batter which made small drops of flour. I poured these drops of bhoondi onto hot oil and fried them. I added sugar to the mixture and made small balls of laddoo which I decorated with a cashew and a pista each. It looked absolutely delicious and I felt very proud of myself as I took a picture and Instagramed it immediately.

The whole process took me only twenty minutes. However, I was not good with measurements, so I had made more than what one person could eat. Technically, these were only 'test laddoos'. I wanted to know if my aunt's recipe would work out for me. If everything went well, I'd prepare them on the day of Diwali, so that they could be savoured fresh.

As expected of me, they tasted absolutely delicious!

But, I wasn't too much of a sweet tooth and by the end of the day I got really sick of them. I had to find a way to get rid of them, without having to throw them away. Throwing away food is a sin, the basic lesson every Indian parents teach their children.

Suddenly I had a light bulb moment. I could give these away to the new neighbour who'd just moved yesterday. Seriously, the moving guys were making such a racket that it had disturbed my peace when I was eating my precious bhel puri. I didn't even know if they were a family or a single person. Now would be a good chance to get to know them.

I put the laddoos in a Tupperware box and made my way across the corridor. After three rings, the door opened to reveal a tall guy wearing black tracksuit and white shirt. He had very angular features. He looked at me with confusion.

"Sorry, I didn't order anything." He said. His voice was very manly. How nice. He mistook me for delivery service.

"No, no. I am your neighbour." I said, pointing toward my door. "I just bought these to welcome your family into the apartment."

He eyed me and the box in my hand, very suspiciously but he welcomed me in. "Oh, sorry about that! Nice to meet you, please do come in."

I took in the appearance of his room and it made me frown instantly. He'd just moved here yesterday and his house was already this clean? I hadn't cleaned my home in over three weeks. He looked like the kind that would wipe his hands with a germicide after shaking your hand. I was filled with equal parts of admiration and disgust in an instant.

"Nice interiors." I said, after a few moments of scrutiny.

"It's just the first day, so it's not very clean. But I'll try to make a better effort in the future." He said, with a small smile. I tried not to roll my eyes.

"Nice. Here" I said, and I handed him my laddoos.

"What is this?" He asked me, as he opened the box to see my precious laddoos.

"I made some earlier. Just think of it as a way of welcoming your family." I smiled.

"Really? Thank you very much!" He said, as he made his way towards his kitchen. I followed him. His kitchen was spotlessly clean and he had all sorts of utensils and appliances. I felt jealous instantly. He transferred the laddoos onto a plate and washed the box I gave him. "Thanks, again." He repeated, as he handed over the box to me.

"My pleasure." I said, and I waved my hand. "When is your family moving?"

"No, it's just me. But my mother may visit sometimes." He said.

I watched him as he inspected the laddoo, placing it in front of his eye, exactly how my biology teacher used to eye his specimen. He then broke the laddoo into two parts and put one on his mouth, chewing and nodding to himself just like a host on a cookery show.

He nodded once again, and he finished eating the entire laddoo. Then he spoke up.

"This laddoo reminds me of my grandmother's."

Why, that was the greatest compliment anyone had given for my cooking! Were my laddoos really that great that it reminded him of his grandmother? Heck! I'd give him all the laddoos he wanted! I could forgive him for his probable OCD. What a cutie pie! I had judged him so badly.

"Why, thank you!" I said, as my cheeks felt hot.

"Yeah, she went really crazy near her end and her taste buds became very weak. She often mixed up everything." He said, thoughtfully.

I was stupefied. "W-what are you saying?"

"What I am saying is that, your laddoo is too sweet. The essence of a good sweet is adding the right amount of sweetness. With the amount you've added, you won't even be able to finish a single laddoo; because of the sweetness. My taste buds will be damaged, just like my grandmother's. Do you get what I am saying?"

Did he just- did he just insult both his grandmother and my laddoos?

"Even if we ignore that mistake, there's another issue. The laddoo is a little horrible to look at. The texture is not right. The laddoo is too loose." He continued.

How dare he? How dare he? What a horrible person!

"What's loose is your brain, you stupid laddoo-face! How dare you insult my ladoos!" I said angrily. "My laddoos don't deserve you, you triangle-faced samosa!"

I threw my laddoos on to his face and stormed out of the apartment.

This is the first chapter, there will be five!

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