Sharma Ji Kulfi Wale

No this is not a rip off of “Sharmaji Namkin”, the last hurrah of Rishi Kapoor, this Sharma ji is the best Kulfi-wala in Mhow. On his trademark Lambretta scooter with an earthen pitcher (matka) on the carrier full of kulfis, adorning a white helmet calling out the potential customers for their favourite post lunch sweet dish delivered at their doorstep, that is the picture which emerged from deep recesses of my memory when I heard his shout again today. The scooter was a swanky one, an ice box had replaced the earthen pitcher, the helmet too had changed, the man had greyed considerably sporting a beard, but the call was the same, it has a magnetic charm like the Pied Piper and we the innocent rats just followed the call to get  taste of this heavenly frozen dessert. The lingering taste in my mouth took me back three and a half decades…here I was after all these years getting a taste of his trademark stuff and I must admit the taste remains the same, only it is served on the stick now unlike the olden days “Dona”(bowl made up of leaves) and in keeping with the Information age payments were on Paytm. I relished it, savouring every bite and glad that I was back in Mhow where I could enjoy this treat again on a daily basis. In fact his kulfis are now available in the Officers Mess itself on demand so one needn't wait to get back to one's room.

Gaurishankar Sharma, the Kulfi wala, understood the customer’s likes and timed his sales appropriately in the afternoons after the boring academic classes or after hectic exercises. His doorstep delivery in the days when Zomato and Swiggy were not even in the figment of imagination, was a surefire formula for success. Mhow is the Mecca of Men in the Military, every officer has to pass through the Jam Gate either during his baptism as a Young Officer or later as a budding Company/Battalion Commander, irrespective of his arm or service. With three major training establishments based here, Infantry School, Military College of Telecommunication Engineering and Army War College, you can’t give this place a skip. In the good old days when clothes were still stitched by tailors, Mhow was also famous for the stitched clothes of Sattar, Balchand, Soni, Loyaa’s and many more. The officers would be decked up by these tailors in the finest outfits both military as well as civil, best of Lounge Suits/Blazers which could give Savile Row a run for their money. Naturally the officers were the best dressed gentlemen in the country. Anyway I am digressing the tailoring prowess of Mhow can be discussed some other time. Here Sharma Ji has endeared himself to his clientele to such an extent that we look forward to his calls for Kulfi Malai. Although Kulfi is a frozen dessert, it is quite different from an ordinary ice-cream, as  gelatine is an essential ingredient of ice-cream where as Kulfi is just pure milk with dry fruits and way more  lip smacking delicious. Given a choice between Ice-cream and kulfi I would any day plump for the desi Kulfi, in any avatar Kesar Pista, Malai, Paan(Betel), Seetaphal (Custard Apple). Though all these flavours have made their appearance much later to cater to the taste buds of the youngsters but Kesar Pista and Malai I think remain the favourites with most of us old fogies.