Remember the days when our mothers would make us empty our plates, by guilt trip empathy of how people in India were starving?
A restaurant experience by film story writer Ruhi Rawail of Bandra. THE MUMBAI MILLENNIALS. GENERATIONAL CHASM (Millennials v/s Baby Boomers.) I was totally flummoxed a couple of years ago, when I had dined at a well heeled restaurant in South Mumbai, that was being patronized more so by young people. Not that my friends and I are cane-abled or wheel chair trapped, we are the Baby Boomers; but those I am talking about are the mobile obsessed Millennials! Bombay or Mumbai as we all know is a cosmopolitan Mega Metro of India. Mumbaikars are a trendy lot. Even the humble population of the city living in the slums and shanties are by far more upmarket than their counterparts in other cities of India. Back to the South-Mumbai restaurant.......... They were a curious motley bunch. Seated at different tables they presented a bizzare show of strength in the Theatre Of The Absurd! There was a quartet who sat at one table obviously known to each other who through out the evening didnt exchange a single word, they just kept staring at their mobile screens while their fingers danced over the keyboard texting furiously....I have an uncanny feeling they were texting each other because when the fingers stoped flying on one mobile a ping was heard coming from another!?!? I think they even texted their order to the Steward because their food just arrived at the table without any interaction with the staff! They ate without looking up at each other or the food!?!? Around another table sat a trio of girls. They too clutched their mobiles for dear life but thank God they seemed normal as they chatted animatedly and giggled waiting for their food to arrive. The food made my eyebrows arch with shock! Wow! I thought these anorexic looking girls sure can eat like a KING! how do they manage to stay so painfully thin when they consume such high calorie meals? Well, I thought, they are blessed with super active genetic metabolisms....but a niggle kept saying.... All Three???? Then I thought Ah.... yes! Its the wretched GYM! There was a platter of a whole roasted chicken with golden brown butter fried potatoes, A super large Pizza bursting with the works! And EXTRA CHEESE! Pene Pasta in thick Cream Sauce A Big Red Velvet Cake!?!? AND.... A DEATH BY CHOCOLATE CAKE?!?! I was again a bit confused....why has the desert been served with the main course and why so much food for just three girls??? The girls let out a loud yippee!!! And said lets "Tuck In!" What I found strange was that the middle aged waiter who served them had a forlorn look on his face and let out a silent sigh of discontent. The trio jumped out of their chairs and positioning themselves at different angles started taking SELFIES WITH THE FOOD!!!! Click! Click! Click! They fussed and twittered around the humongous spread taking photos from every angle. Squealing with delight they at last sat down on their chairs and played around with the food.... A single pasta went into one mouth.... The tiniest sliver of the roast chicken into another mouth..... A quarter of a quarter of a single pepperoni from the Pizza into the third mouth...... They gazed longingly at the two sinfully beautiful cakes, sniffed at them; and in unison cried "Nah! Nah! Naughty! Naughty!" Then signalling to the waiter asked for their check!!! They paid the bill, and kept clicking pouted selfies while walking out of the restaurant. The expensive food was left technically untouched!!! The waiter while passing by, on seeing my utter shock whispered "Madam this happens every month" On a table next to me sat a lone girl with a mouth watering 'Knickerbocker Glory' placed before her. Curiously she kept talking to it. I inched closer to hear what she was saying to the Ice Cream Sundae. To my shocking disbelief this is what I heard! " Dont you try and tempt me.... I will certainly not eat you! Though you are achingly delicious looking with your divine three decker sumptious flavours, syrups, cherries, jam, cake layer, biscuit and dollop of thick sweet cream..... I still reject you! I will not break my diet! I will achieve a size zero! I WILL NOT EAT YOU... YOU DEVIL...I HATE YOU!!!! She now pulled out her mobile phone like one would a gun; and clicked a photo of the Sundae saying "THERE!" She then jumped up! slammed the table hard! And marched out of the restaurant! Emotionally gutted, I looked at my friends around our table. We were all in our Sixties....happy, chatty, eating, drinking, laughing, cracking jokes... Thankfully looking and being a Generation that was ....... AS NORMAL AS NORMAL CAN BE. Roland. Toronto.
