Maha Prasad

Family get togethers were always reasons to celebrate. In honor of our visit Kuldeep chachaji decided we would have chicken for supper. Cooked chicken was also called 'Mahaprasad' (blessed food of the gods) and the way it tasted you had to agree. Bhabiji was a strict vegetarian and stayed away from us all on these occassions. Early morning chachaji tickled my foot and woke me up saying,

"Hey! want to come help me pick a rooster".

I threw aside the bed sheets and ran to put on the shoes. Other kids in the village went bare feet but Biji would not let us go out without socks and shoes. Chachaji opened the shed where the roosters and hens spent the night to let them out for the day. I sat on the ground peeking through the low door trying to decide which rooster was the fattest. After the night's congested quarters the birds were eager to get out and start looking for grain. Many of them flew straight from the perch to the outside right above my head and through chachaji's flailing hands. Before we knew, all of them were out and we had no rooster in hand. Chachaji sat down on his heels laughing.

"Death be on you! What were you doing taking so long to pick the rooster".

Without wasting time we quickly ran after the flock that by now had scattered in ten different directions. I quickly zeroed in on a tall, arrogant looking bird that was staring back at me. Chachaji also liked the this one. So we started stalking him. He was one smart cookie though. He gave a cackle of screams and flew into the neighbor's angan (walled yard) to become one with the flock inside. We entered this house right after him and seperated him out visually. After leading us through a chase around the cows and the cots he slipped out into the gali. We ran after him and spotted him on another neighbor's wall. By this time the children of the village had been alerted and they surrounded us as spectators. The rooster had a keen, alert air about him and knew he was the target. We followed him in and out of many homes and galis but to no awail. The children soon joined in the chase with many a cunning schemes but that rooster flew out every time he was cornered. The women laughed behind their chunnis and men pretended to be busy with their tasks but there was no doubt as to who they were rooting for. Chachaji grabbed one bed sheet and tried to trap the rooster under it. But the rooster had more at stake than we did, I guess, and escaped us every time. Finally a fatal mistake was made by the harried bird. He ran into its shed. Chachaji instantly closed the door and within a half hour presented it defeathered and chopped to chachiji and Biji for cooking. Then he lay on the cot and took a nap. Mohinder chachaji mused that the rooster had lost half its weight in the catching.

Chachiji chopped some onions and garlic and sauted them in butter till they were golden brown. Then she added tomatoes and cooked some more. She then added salt, ginger, turmeric and garam masala (a mix of many spices) and cooked till the butter seperated. Then she added the chicken pieces. She let all this cook on medium heat, stirring intermittently to prevent burn. The smell wafting from the chicken was so appetising that all of us sat on the floor, surrrounding the pot, chatting and waiting for the chicken to get ready. Mohinder chachaji and Papaji brought a bottle of liquor and made great ritual of drinking it from clear glasses. All of us took small samples of chicken pieces with our fingers, right out of the pot, to check the salt and doneness of the chicken. Even Biji joined in, licking her fingers clean afterwards, just like us. The chicken was all finished before it was done. Then Kuldip chachaji woke up and walked into the kitchen.

Horrified as they were, Biji and chachiji could not help it so they dug their heads into their knees and suppressed their mirth. Papaji and chachaji however lost control and rolled on the floor with laughter. Kuldip chachaji did not find this amusing even one bit. Kuku and I stared from one member to the other and alternated between laughter and horror and knew not what to do. It took two bottles of wine to placate Kuldeep chachaji. Then the three of them spent the rest of the night laughing while Biji and chachiji took Kuku and me to bed.