Masala for the Soul

As we walked in, the hizz sound of dosas getting crisper and the aroma of madras coffee made us feel very much at home and hungry. Sangeeta, this is where my family usually frequented for tasty, cheap wholesome Indian vegetarian food. My family was particualar when they ate from out, my mom wud b more than happy if she cud get peak view to the kitchen and check if the cook washed his hands before he began the chooping and frying!
As mom was fasting the whole day, we walked in around late evening, right in time to break her fast and start the possible feasting. As she settled in for a mini tiffin (an appeatizing combo with a masala dosa, mini idlis, vada, upma, rava halwa and of course a nice steaming filter madras cofee) and a poori bhaji, rava dosa for dad, I decided to go for a paratha and Mango lassi. Something about Sangeetha wat I always liked was the people who came to eat here. You could find young moms relaxing with hot masala milk teas with their little ones trying hard choosing which color chutney shud they dip their idli next in; families with big shopping bags marvelling on their latest bargains over long glasses of watermelon juices ; young lovers conscious of the open places and people watching them, still struggling to enjoy the syrupy gulab jamoons; tired hungry laborers asking in to get watever is ready fast as they cool themselves under the full speed fan! The crowd just fascinates me. Its such a thrill to hear indians speaking in Hindi, Tamil, Telgu, Malayalam, Bengali, Gujrati and so many other indian languages with the hotel staff as they walk in. It is absolutely fine to speak loudly, laugh heartily and feel Indian here!
Like any other day today was no different. The same type of crowd, the familiar faces, the appetising aromas, the very much Sangeeta feel which I was enjoying while i sipping the cool mango lassi. As I try to get a peice of the juicy mango from the lassi, my eyes see a difference in the crowd and begin hearing something which i am not used to hear in this place. it was not the usual 'vanakams' or the 'kemo nachos' my ears were accustomed to but this sounded like a dozen of ducks quacking. It was not those with the red round bindis or brown skin but with paper white pale complexions. Maybe China, Japan or Fillipines they came from!
Everything around me became blurred as my focus shifted to this school of people who occupied 3 tables all together and trying to decipher whats written on the yellow plastic menu card. as the energetic waiter comes with his white notepad in hand to take the order from this special group, the guests struggled to pronounce uttapa (oodapa? or was it odhapas?) to puliyogre (pooligaras something like that), doubts regarding the difference between paper dosa and neer dosa ; is mini idli a kids combo meal (maybe they had HappyMeal from Mcdonalds in mind) and many such queries which the waiter tried to answer with his broken English with lots of Tamil backing! After an unsuccessful whole 2 minute struggle between our continental guests and the periye waiter anna, a smart kid from them points to the plate at the next table and says "Get me that!". "Masala Dosaaa" exclaims the relieved the tamil waiter as he happily scribbles in his notepad and begins to look around at many plates around and taking the orders as many of them decides to point around to others' plate.
As i walk out behind my parents I enjoy the sight of the gleam in the eyes of the 'Chinkis' (popularly people with oriental looks are referred to in the southern states of india) as plates of dosas and vadas arrive with small steel bowls of sambar and an array of green-red-white coconut chutneys!