IDHAR UDHAR KI BAAT 86- CHILDHOOD PERCEPTION Brig PS Gothra (Retd)
"Is Saapad ready?" asked my father, handing over his empty tea cup to the mess boy. I was four. My sister was three. We exchanged that look—the look that all siblings with an age gap of three years or less know too well. It was the silent confirmation of a shared mission. Something new and exotic was about to be served for lunch. Saapad. I leaned in, whispering with all the wisdom of my extra one year of life, "It must be tastier than Papad." Our expectations shot through the roof. This had to be some royal feast that only officers were privileged enough to eat. We happily trotted along with our father to the officers' mess, stomachs grumbling with anticipation. And then— the betrayal. What arrived on the table was plain dal and chawal. Where was the Saapad?! Unable to contain my disappointment, I turned to my father and asked, "But where is the Saapad?" ...
