Mangal's Aaloobande

Christ Church does not have a canteen. Instead a guy named मंगल used to come with foodstuff at recess time. You could get आलूबंडे, cold drinks, Lays' chips, toffees etc. He was the one-man-army on a Bajaj scooter. The best stuff used to be his आलूबंडे, really delicious and कैथे की चटनी.Keeping with standard M.P. custom, everybody used to call him भैया , even though he was way older than our fathers. On Annual Sports Day, मंगल used to be a great hit. He used to bring his stove, pan and stuff and cook right in the school compound. Another special thing about मंगल was the difficulty in getting आलूबंडे during recess time. There used to be such a great rush that after bearing all the pushing and pulling, when one looked at the आलूबंडे in hand, one felt like Alexander the Great. My friends made me become Alexander many times.