Vada Paav : Bada Bhaav !

Doesn't need much inspiration to click this, and doesn't need much inspiration to write about this. The smarter ones simply and quietly get on with the eating.

Blogger friend , Magiceye, immortalized Mumbai's staple snack, Vada Paav, in this visual that he posted as part of his "Mumbai Daily : ABC Wednesday-V" series. Available in every corner cart, small shop, or eatery, featured by 5 start hotels, on their days dedicated to "roadside eats"  , this is India's answer to McD : cheaper, vegetarian, better tasting, and keeps the profits within the country.

Sometimes , I think it represents the Mumbaikar. Brand Ambassador for Vada Paav.

You can also make poems on it, and avoid the calories. The photos are so good, you feel you've eaten it :-)

(photo by Deepak Amembal Magiceye)

The Mumbaikar.

Full of energy,
occasionally spicy,
sometimes so hot
as to make tears,
wrapped up
always
in "besan-nic***" dust,
and fried
in a permanent
hot and wet summer,
he is
like the vada,
enticing,
golden,
rich,oily,
almost like a politician.

But the humble paav,
the Bread of Life,
baked
in tough times,
but still
soft at heart,
wraps itself around it,
saying,
regardless of
where we came from,
we must mix
in peace,
bring out the best
in each other,
be there for everyone,
rich and poor,
young and old.

Sometimes
we need to be tough
and dangerously red,
sometimes,
benevolently green
on the paav.

But this variety
in Mumbai
makes for
such
an excellent combination
that it would win
hands down
if it stood for
a civic election...


***Besan : garbanzo flour, used as paste to cover and fry.