Food Tales of Carmel School

It may be extremely tough to believe this... as a kid, I hated food and was tiny for my size. This is the truth and most of my friends in Carmel School, Digboi, will attest this.

I was put in the hostel at the age of 4 as my father was a tea planter and tea plantations were often in very isolated places. All my friends from the neighbouring gardens were put up, and so it was a huge family residing together, where everybody knew everybody. 

As the school was a convent, our Sisters were very particular about wastage. There was just no way one could get up from the table without finishing the food. Sister Almina, nicknamed Alu, was a demon in disguise. She would just sit in the table waiting for me to polish off my plate. 

This torture continued till I was 7 years old.. by then, I had hit upon a novel idea of finishing my food.. I started dumping the food in my panties, walking out, rather awkwardly, to the bathroom and flushing it. This continued for 3 years, until one day...

For evening tea, we were served boiled chick peas. The kabuli chana was the pits... I continued with my modus operandi, put the peas in my panties, and walked out of the dining hall. Unfortunately the damned peas began spilling as I sauntered out. 

By jove, I got a hiding that nearly had me flat on my stomach for a week. The bums had turned black n blue. Worse, all my friends, my friends parents, their siblings... the whole school, society for chrissake knew about my escapade. And my mother finally figured out why my white panties always had yellow stains.

For years, at every reunion, this story was the most narrated and also the one that got the biggest laughs. Now, I rest it in peace... so, all u Carmelites, stop the sniggering... it's buried for good.