B’s pekoe

twenty-five chickens
fed a hundred people
twenty-five chickens
and two men on a rickshaw
pull into silpukhuri

the rolls could easily
beat calcutta’s nizam’s
and there was nothing
like the mutton singras
that was her specialty

every thing
had to meet Kaka’s exacting
impeccable standards,
(including this poem)


then, when you could’ve
try the afghan paratha
it’s secret is minced meat
another one of b’s tricks
something else she brought

for the people of 1976 gauhati
a pioneer of fast food,
innovation and creativity
no wonder the little tea retail centre
grew to be the beloved,

ever-memorable b’s pekoe.
four children and two parents
together, now a community of
strangers, familiars,
forever sharing a lost space.