Awarded the
“Rodinstar” Post
of the week!!
In the mid 1980’s my family moved from Colaba to Grant Road, my grandparents’ home. In addition to all the adjustments one has to make moving home, I had to now wake up earlier in the day as getting to school now meant a bus ride and not just a short walk as before (Campion school where I studied is at Cooperage road). Diagonally across from our home was Golden Wafers. The wafers used to be made on site where there was this giant frying pan and an old, trusted staff who would tend to the chips getting crisply fried, just golden and not brown. I would meet up with the other kids from the “galli” and head there after playing or returning from tuition, for a bag of freshly fired chips or sali (thin shredded potatoes) which we would all share.
If my memory serves me right Golden wafers used to sell Wafers, Sali and Barik Sali (Very finely shredded potatoes) unlike many other farsan shops that sold cheese and masala variants too. They would pack the wafers or sali once you have ordered and paid for it. It was alwaysfreshly produced wafers. At the counter would usually be a trusted Parsi / Irani gentleman or a family member. Boman’s mom and aunt used to run the business.
Each morning I had to pass by the shop to go through a small lane that led me to Novelty cinema where my school bus would pick me up. Boman’s aunt, Khorshed Aunty, would be there at the entrance of this lane and give me and my brother two small packets of wafers wrapped in a white paper bag.
Aunty would remind me to make sure I remove the staple used to seal the packet as a precaution. It was a great start of the day for me and my brother to get these packs of golden wafers each day, sometimes we consumed them before reaching school while still in the bus or during the break. I recall that if aunty was busy or not there, it would be Boman’s mother, Jerro Aunty, who would wave out to me to come into the shop and collect my wafers!
Boman was involved in this business in addition to his theatrical and photography interest. As Alok mentioned a few weeks ago that “fortune and fame can come at any time – usually, later than sooner.”
Who would have thought a potato chip maker would be a Bollywood actor or a sock manufacturer a CEO of a gaming biz & an entrepreneur guru? Besides talent and self belief, sometimes it’s people you meet along the way that knowingly or unknowingly steer you in the direction that will bring out the best in you (a topic perhaps for another blog). Keep the faith once you have found what makes you happy, success is only a matter of time, but define success on your own terms and not that of others.
Now, if only I could turn back time and grab a bag of those golden wafers!