A sudden sugar rush attacked my body. Out of nowhere. Unprovoked.
It felt like Willy Wonka himself had sent me a personal summons: “Go. Eat dessert.”

Yes, I’m a foodie but a selective one. I don’t eat desserts casually. This was a very specific craving. I wanted something hot, melt-in-the-mouth, chocolatey, velvety… the kind of dessert that understands you emotionally.

Choco lava cake?
No. I already had that yesterday.

Waffles?

I paused.

I had never been a waffle person. Never understood the hype. Why is everyone so obsessed? But as the saying goes “you never know until you try.” And clearly, the universe wanted me to try waffles!

There were local cafes, yes. But the only waffle brand my brain could immediately access was The Belgian Waffle Co.. I opened the menu and instantly regretted it. Too many options. Decision paralysis kicked in full force, my ADHD said hello.

And then… my eyes found it.

Naked Nutella Waffle.

No thinking. No second-guessing. I hit the order and began waiting like a child staring at the oven door.

Two thousand years later…

The order arrived.

The smell?
Divine. Holy. Borderline illegal.

I carried the bag to my work desk like it was sacred. I opened it slowly, dramatically and immediately felt a rush of ecstasy triggered purely by aroma.

Fairy lights? On.
Room? Silent.
Vibe? Cozy-core perfection.

I took a bite.

And BOOM.

I was transported to another dimension. Stars. Planets. The Milky Way Galaxy. All in crisp 4K resolution.

It felt so good that I instinctively started playing opera music while devouring every bite because obviously this moment deserved a background soundtrack. And just like that, it was over.

Too soon. Always too soon.

I was so happy that I sent voice notes to my close circle, passionately narrating the entire experience like a food documentary. They responded by recommending more things to try and honestly? They were right. I loved those too.

It might seem small. But my inner child was thriving. Jumping. Celebrating. Living her best life.

And somewhere between Nutella and fairy lights, I realised something: adulthood might just be about finally giving ourselves permission to enjoy the things we once dreamed of!

Is this what we call serendipity or was it just a really, really good waffle?!

“You know I went to this reception of a couple from the Marwari community. They have 6000 people gathering. It was such a lavish affair and don’t get me started on the variety of food they had - Chaat, South Indian etc.”, said Amma.

Another reason why I know I belong to this family - we live and die for food!!

Then her voice shifted.

But you know what felt odd? All the women were wearing ghunghat - each one of them including the bride. Although she wore a frock in the start, she changed to some traditional wear with ghunghat. I was scared as hell but it felt as if I were watching a horror movie!”

I paused. I wasn’t expecting Amma to say this. She has lived most of her life shaped by quiet rules and unspoken expectations set by patriarchy, yet here she was naming her discomfort out loud. It stayed with me.

I asked her a question, “ If you were told to wear a ghunghat for the rest of your life - would you do that?”

There was absolute silence. I could sense that she was hesitant to answer the question because my Appa was sitting beside her. She was trying to distract the topic by talking about my work and weekend plans.

I firmly bought it up again and asked , “Amma, if you were told to wear a ghunghat for the rest of your life, would you do that?”

Yes, I would wear it because that’s tradition, right? I can be a modern person but we still need to follow certain traditions, right?

There was radio silence.

“I have to go”, she broke the silence. “I need to cook breakfast!”

I cut the call with a heavy heart.

Amma, I want to say this while I hold your feeble hands: Ghunghat is not a sign of tradition, it is oppression. I am sorry that you still have to hesitate to answer this freely because of the deep rooted patriarchal mindset. Although I am actively trying to educate you on these topics, we still have a long way to go. Until then, I will never stop calling out these crap ideologies that patriarchy has imposed on us!

In your face, patriarchy!

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