Story of a Sweet Box

It was the year 2019. I shifted to Hyderabad after spending over a decade in Bengaluru. Hyderabad city, a city that is renowned as a city of pearls, a Vibrant city, Bhagyanagar, Film Nagar etc, etc. But after living here for a few months, I realized that this city is known for something else too: that is BIRYANI. Yes, Biryani !!

Every time I inquired my local colleagues, about what is special about Hyderabad city they would almost instantly say, “Biryani”. As I was not a big fan of Biryani, was not overwhelmed by this response. However, out of curiosity, I wanted to try. So, I took my family to a reputed restaurant and ordered the much-hyped Hyderabadi Biryani. 

Wow! It was delicious. Nothing like the Pulavs or the Biryanis that I tasted anywhere. Hyderabadi Biryani stands out! It hits the right places for your taste buds. My wife and daughter loved it too. We started exploring more places for Biryani. Every restaurant we visited, did not disappoint. It was tasty at every single place. I realized that Hyderabadis had mastered the dish. There is not a place in Hyderabad where Biryani is not available. Every nook and corner, every street, every hotel, every restaurant, Biryani is never off the Menu. 

It can cost as cheap as 60/- to over 1000/- rupees depending on the place. All price ranges! Common man to Crorepati. Everyone’s favourite. It’s the lifeline of Hyderabadis. No wonder they eat it daily. It satiates the hunger and quenches the taste. I got lost in this Biryani wave and I wanted to give a new name to the city. Hyderabad, the ‘City of Biryani or ‘Biryani Paradise is even better. 

Soon, I got busy with office work and it overshadowed my Biryani exploration. Life went on. Days passed. Time flew.

Hurray!! Biggest festival of the year. Diwali, the festival of Lights, approached. We received a Diwali greetings email from the HR. And next day, a Diwali gift also arrived at the desk. But wait, it was just a sweet box. Duh!! Who wants a sweet box as a gift in the IT company? Everyone wanted a good hike or a bonus in the salary. Some people started criticizing this uninteresting Diwali gift. I joined the gang too. The whole day was spent discussing what would have been a better Diwali gift. We never concluded. At the end of the day, we said goodbye to each other, exchanged Diwali wishes and left for home. 

I slipped the sweet box into my bag and left. The next day morning, the Diwali holidays started. As per our plan to go to native which is about 200 km from Hyderabad, we packed our luggage and while loading it into the car, I remembered the sweet box which I had completely forgotten about. I brought it and handed it to my wife. She put it on the tray above the back seat and we started towards the native.

One thing about Hyderabad, is you take out your car, you enter into a racing arena. Free roads, less traffic but too many rash drivers. Everyone is in a hurry or maybe it is the empty roads that tempt Hyderabadis to go faster? I wonder what! It reminds me of the terrifying traffic of Bengaluru.

I surpassed this challenge and drove out of the city. I was still new to the route; however, I did not use Maps. How hard it could be, I thought. So, I drove swaying to the music of my favourite songs. One hour passed. Roads and places did not look familiar anymore. We had lost our way. The wife was ready with her tantrums and started her commentary. She looked up in the Maps and found we missed our turn long ago. I had to give in, surrender myself to the Maps and begin to take instructions from the phone. This new route was taking us through villages & farmlands. Soon, we found a stretch of fields that had different types of flowers grown in them. Beautiful scenery. Colourful Marigold flowers everywhere.

My wife told me our daughter could be hungry. We will have brunch here. She spotted some farmers having food by the fields under a tree. I stopped the car. Went out to check if we could eat there too. The farmers were friendly. So, we joined them. Gazing at the mesmerizing flower fields made my wife’s food tastier than ever. I did not dare to compliment her though. While enjoying the food and scenery, I asked them if we could take some flowers in exchange for money. They agreed. We finished our meal quickly and entered the fields.

After clicking selfies and photos, we began plucking flowers. We collected as much as we wanted and came back. We asked how much we should pay. The farmer said we brought too less to charge. I insisted on paying but he refused.

The lady with him was telling others in her Telangana slang “These city guys don’t know anything about plucking flowers. Took so much time and brought only this much” and started giggling sarcastically. I was a little embarrassed. I was afraid I would offend them if I insisted on further to pay. So, I thanked him and returned to the car.

As we were getting ready to go, my eyes fell on the sweet box in the car. I thought we should offer the sweet box to farmers. My wife liked the idea too. So, I went to them and greeted them with “Happy Diwali” while offering the sweet box. Farmer accepted the box happily. He opened it and started distributing it to others. He offered it to me too. The box had a variety of sweets and had a nice aroma. They loved it as they savoured it. Seeing them happy, I was happy too.

As I was about to bid farewell, the lady who criticized us before shouted “Wait, Brother”. And she jumped into the fields, like a robot, she started plucking the flowers and within no time she came back with many flowers. To my surprise, she offered them saying “Baga chesukondi Pandaga”. “Celebrate well” she meant. I stood there like lightning struck me. I was overjoyed by her gesture. She sensed my gratitude and smiled. As I brought the flowers to my wife sitting in the car, she jumped in joy. The frustration of taking the wrong turn was gone. It turned into fun.  

We IT guys wanted money, not the sweet box. Farmers liked the sweet box but rejected the money. What a contrast! What a world!

For me, this box of disappointment turned into a box of delight.

Hyderabad is not just a City of Biryani. It is a city of joyous people. Happy Diwali!!

–Sridhar Laxman Boyini