Samosa of Memories

One of my favorite snacks is the samosa. What’s not to like? Crispy flour shell, spicy potato filling (with the occasional rude interruption by an errant green pea) - it’s the perfect accompaniment for a kadak chai or a strong coffee.

I particularly enjoy having samosas from my college’s “North Square” - a plaza of indeterminate geometry, located vaguely to the north side of the campus, serving up treats.

The person making the treats knows me well by now - I don’t have to tell him to add extra sweet chutney on top of the samosa!

The plaza has many trees - and benches beneath the trees. On a summer evening, as the sun begins to set, it’s a beautiful place to sit and enjoy a snack. You can watch the masses of students and even the occasional professor unwinding after a long day, enjoy a soft breeze and admire the glint of the sun through the canopy of foliage.

It’s also a time and place that lends itself well to contemplation. Usually, I engage in very high-brow debates - whether Virat Kohli is indeed an excellent batsman, or whether dosa is the ideal breakfast. But sometimes, I find myself alone, and my thoughts begin to drift.

College is difficult - there, I’ve put it plainly. The daily grind is enough to wear down even carbide inserts, and you feel like a titanium part on a slow CNC pass - more than anything, you are being work-hardened :D

And yet - amidst all this pain, the softer moments shine through. Be it enjoying a treat (like I am wont to do), or attending a club meeting, or simply chatting with your friends - those moments are the ones that will stick in your memory.

I am in my 5th semester now. So far, I’ve dealt with my share of pain - errant teammates, difficult assignments, long nights, tough grading, illness.
Yet, when I look back, all I remember is the fun moments…
In my first semester, one of my classmates surprised the Python professor with a cake on their birthday - leading to a spontaneous and joyful celebration in class.
The first time I participated in an event in the technical fest - an ideathon - where I managed to win an Amazon gift card - which I promptly used to buy a new bottle of ink :D

The tough moments are long gone from my memories - except for a couple of truly challenging times. Kinda like the green peas in a samosa, now that I come to think of it.

And that’s when it hit me. The memories I’ll carry of college are like a samosa - the crispy shell is the nostalgia (that somehow hits even while thinking of the previous semester). The spicy and hearty potato filling is the happy memories, while the green peas are the times of severe frustration.

In the moment, it is very difficult to see these bright spots. If I tell second semester Ram Sundar trying to finish a 50 page assignment for Differential Equations that one day, he’d look back and laugh at the scenario - I would probably be met with a shoe coming my way at high velocity.
But the only way we can retain our peace is to focus on the happy moments.

Sure, challenge maketh man - but they can tarnish one’s memories, irrevocably.

After all, the more potato filling you stuff into the samosa, the tastier it gets, and the easier it gets to ignore the peas. (Is it too obvious that I dislike green peas?)

So - keep stuffing your samosa of memories - because, when you look back, it’s the happy moments that make it all seem worth it.

Here’s to many more samosas! Or at least, as many as our digestive systems can tolerate.