THE
LOST DELIVERY BOY
LT
COL NOEL ELLIS
20/VI/2022
It
was Father’s Day. Bang at midnight I received a sentimental message from our
daughter. She has grown up and almost ready to face her challenges. I too
closed my eyes and remembered my dad. What a way to start a new day, I thought.
God bless them both.
We
were preparing to go and meet Mother in love. She too must be missing her
partner in life. We too wanted to celebrate papa’s life. In the evening we made
it a point we give are company as the other folks at home had gone out for a
weekend.
I
asked my wife before leaving, are you making anything special? That’s when she
broke the surprise, which the ‘mother and daughter team’ were planning. Dinner
had been ordered online by my daughter. Thanks to internet you can now order
meals sitting Timbuktu to be delivered at Dharmi Khu. Knowing her father’s
tastes well, my mouth was watering in anticipation. The excitement started to
build up.
However,
there was a change in plans. As we had to go to MILs place, we told our
daughter to change the delivery address. Wife had already prepared something
for MIL for a change of taste. She hadn’t been feeling well lately. The choice
was to cook at her place but wife preferred to cook and carry. I was not in a
mood to eat ‘ghas-phoos’ at all after all it was my day. Waiting for that
Zomato/Swiggy man was now getting difficult.
It
was 8.30 pm already and one was feeling hungry. Before I could ask my wife to
check if the dinner was on the way, she received a call. Daughter
had shared my wife’s number with the delivery boy. A broad smile broke on my
face in anticipation. ‘Madam main aap ka address dhoondh raha hun aur Rana
Pratap Nagar ke mor par khara hun. Aap guide karo’.
As
usual she said, aap ander a jao, ek microwave tower ayega, uske saath wali road
pe seedhe aa jao, end main ghar hai. Fifteen minutes passed by and this chap
did not arrive. Something was wrong. I asked my wife to call him again,
probably he would have missed a turn which people generally miss.
Madam
I cannot find your place, main ‘suratiya shastri road’ par khara hun. Where the
hell is this unheard place, I thought. I was imagining my dinner slowly getting
cold in his box. The aroma must be filling his nostrils. What if he tastes a
portion? What the heck.
OK
Bhaiya aap wahin ruko, hum ate hain. Though we had planned to give Ma company
but we begged her leave as this poor delivery boy was facing trouble. We drove
in our car from where one cuts into that locality. There was no sign of the
man. It would have taken not more than three minutes for us to reach. We were
not dead sure this man was lost.
Achha
Bhaiya aap ne ‘Garden restaurant’ dekha hai, hum uske saamne khare hain aap a
jao. Madam yahan koi garden restaurant nahi hai, he replied. I started losing
my cool as this was getting too much. Even a blind man would locate it on the
main highway. Wife asked him, ‘aap pahli baar aye ho kya is area main’.
Ten
minutes had gone by, wife called him again. Daughter was passing instructions,
wife was passing instructions, I was standing out side the car waving at every
passing motorcycle. Bhaiya, lal colour ki Ertiga khadi hai restaurant ke samne.
The hotel security staff came over to check us whether we were coming in for
dinner or not.
Finally,
the biggest landmark of that area is the ‘Fountain Circle’. Bhaiya aap wahan
pahunch ke wait karo hum wahin milte hain. Madam yahan koi fountain circle nahi
hai. While talking, this delivery boy caught hold of a local and asked him to
trace the location. This man straight away said that neither there is a
fountain circle nor garden restaurant here.
My
wife got a doubt, Bhaiya aap Jodhpur se he bol rahe ho. He said no. App kahan
se bol rahe ho fir. He said, Aurangabad. Our dinner was in Aurangabad, 1200
kilometers away, Now what do we do.
We
called up our daughter to cancel the ticket. She told us that it was
cash on delivery. Treat bhi meri aur payment bhi mujhe karna hai, was the deal.
We told that boy to cancel the order.
With
my stomach in my mouth with hunger, we went to a new joint which many people
had recommended. ‘Bhaiya do keema naan aur curry pack kar do’. Keema nan khatam
& all tandoori items have finished, as it was passed ten. We ordered a
‘parcel’ biryani and fired chicken and drove back home. The dinner tasted so
good.
Father’s
Day was not over as yet. Next day I got a call from our gate for a visitor
approval from the same food delivery company. Our daughter had ordered lunch
but this time she had mentioned the correct address. We relished that too.
The
mystery of the lost delivery boy got solved. We were happy and so was our
daughter. Next time we better go and pick up our food ourselves instead of
ordering and going around in circles. What says you? I wonder!!!!!!!!
JAI HIND
© NOEL ELLIS
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