Roti King - Short Story

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Roti King
A disastrous experiment . . . One never to be repeated.

In a moment of inspiration, Chon had decided to make rotis a different way. He was now so adept at it. So much so, that his sister-in-law had titled him 'The Roti King'. It was now automatic. Warm the water. Get 2 cups of flour. Pinch of salt. Mix. Make well in the middle. Pour warm water and knead. Not too soft. Not too hard. Else rolling it would be a problem. The amount of water and its temperature were critical. Chon could test the water temperature with his hand and decide how much water to add. Others would cheat and add milk or oil to the flour to make it easier. Not Chon. Then cover with wet cloth. Chop vegetables. Cook vegetables. At the same time heat up the frying pan. Roll rotis and bake. He would have the hot, tasty Roti with Subji prepared in 20 minutes flat.

But today was different. As he was kneading the dough, he realized that the flour first formed into little flakes. Why not let it stay that way and bake it instead? More like a rice dish than a bread. On a whim, he went with it. And hence the disaster. While baking the flakes Chon realized that they were not all the same size. Some were very small - flecks almost, while others were large and quite fat. The little ones stayed at the bottom of the pan and burnt black, while the big ones stayed uncooked in the middle. He tried salvaging it but nothing worked. Dejected, he decided to give up.

He was somewhat upset, hungry and had nothing to show for his effort. "I should not even have tried this" - he lamented.

But Shastriji's words came to his mind. Shastriji was his teacher and spiritual guide. Chon loved him dearly and looked up to him. "Son, failure is a part of life." - he'd said. "Any growth requires attempts and attempts will sometimes result in failures. So one should not take failures to heart. The wise man extracts the lessons from his failures and sets the rest aside. It's not easy but one must do it nevertheless". Another time he'd also said - "A man with no failures is not living up to his potential, let alone not growing."

With a sigh, he decided to admit and face his failure. "Well, I better start cooking normal rotis if I want something to eat" he decided. Suddenly, he remembered the strange feeling that had come over him while he was trying to bake the flakes. He had realized that someone else had encountered exactly the same problem and had hit upon the idea of rolling it into a pie instead. What an elegant solution! The dough needed to be thin, even and flat to bake properly and what better way than to roll it into a pie. What an eerie connection to some one who had lived perhaps tens of thousands of years ago! In a strange way Chon had shared something unique with that pioneer. Who knows how many other brave souls had risked trying the flake idea and discovered just what he had found. All brothers in spirit! Chon smiled.

He was about to throw away his failed experiment when he remembered the carp in the lake. What wonderful creatures - he thought. So gentle and graceful. He had fed them several times before - mostly bread. At times there would be a dozen of them. It was so peaceful and serene to watch them feed. Their smooth, rhythmic motions as they circled waiting for the next piece. No sign of animosity or hostility as they vied for the next morsel. Every once in a while one would mistake a floating leaf for bread and poke its head above the water. Looked so much like a beautiful woman with pouting lips. So beautiful and so gentle! Even the little ducklings attracted to the food were not afraid of them, although they were no bigger that the fish's tail. Chon was happy that the food would not be wasted after all.

Chon cooked and ate Roti with Subji. A short nap later he headed to the lake. Unfortunately, the dock was taken up by others - one boy and 3 adults. They were fishing. Chon decided to find another place to feed the fish. "Not fair" - he thought of the group fishing. Where was the sport here? The fish were so accustomed to being fed, that catching them would be like … well, shooting fish in a barrel.

He walked back and forth along the shore. Yes, the fish were there. He could see them scattered, a few feet from the shore. Most were wary and would dash off into deeper waters at his sight. He walked to a berm where he could look further into the water and waited. A fish swam by. Chon tossed a flake at it, but the wind blew it away. A few minutes later there was another one. But the fish got spooked as he threw the flake and it dashed off. It was obvious that the fish were not used to being fed near the berm. Had it been the dock, there would be about 5 swarming by now.

Chon waited for some more time. Another one, a biggie swam near the shore in 6 inches of water, looked up at him and scooted away. Chon was fascinated. It appeared as though they remembered what the shore and berm looked like and were scared off by his new big shape. Hmmm, the fish were smart. They knew their area like one knows one's room and were alarmed when something strange was there. Several minutes passed. Three more swam by, fairly deep. He threw some more flakes in their direction. The flakes after a little splash, slowly made their way to the bottom - swinging about like a kite with a broken string. It was difficult to see the fish. They would appear to be in one place, disappear and then reappear a few feet further away. But one of them seemed to have taken a flake. Chon threw some more. This was definitely harder than the dock. The fish circled back and took another one. Its companions, realizing that there was food to be had, had swum back and joined in. Chon was happy. In another 15 minutes he had 8 large carp circling and anticipating his treats.

Chon glanced over at the dock and was surprised at what he saw. The people there had also started feeding the fish. One of them was still fishing but it was evident that he was using artificial bait - no good for carp. "I hope he doesn't catch anything" - he thought. "How could anyone want to catch and harm such peaceful, beautiful creatures"?

Slowly, Chon realized that the people at the dock were not interested in catching the fish at all. They were just out for fun and had decided to pass the time fishing. They knew that the fish were feeding on the bread. So by switching the artificial bait for some bread they could have caught the carp very easily. But they had chosen not to done so. They were out to enjoy themselves and watch the fish feed. Just like him. How interesting! He had been completely wrong about them. He had thought that they were on the other side of the fence but all the while they were sharing the same experience and feeling. Strangers but not so strangers. Hah!

What a Sunday! It had started out gloomy and rainy but had turned out to be so bright and cheerful. A Sunday he had dared to make rotis a different way.