My Dosa Memoir

Current Status: May 2019, College Campus, India, temperature 40°C (104°F), Budget: 45 rupees ($0.6).

I don't want to move at all now; I want to stay asleep, but I am hungry. I have been doing this for over a month now, and I have lost 5 kgs, even when my weight is already below average for my age and height.

I got stuck in a loop for over a month now and cannot come out of it but am completing it. 

I am still in my college after completing my first year because of some incomplete work that I need to do. Yes, you guessed it right; it is a little too much for cover-up. I am staying in the summer to clear my backlog. 

Agh! Electrical.

Our college allowed us to stay in our rooms, which they allotted during our first semester, but we need to pay for the mess. 

"Who pays for the food that we don't even eat?" That is what we thought, but we clearly did a mistake, and it is too late for us to go back. 

We wasted too much money on an 'air cooler' at the start of the summer and spent more money on food than necessary. Now I am struggling because of those mistakes, but I am confident that I can manage with the money I have by cutting unnecessary spending.

I became conscious; then I figured out most of my money is spent on food. Now I have to figure out how and where I can eat more food on less budget. 

I found a place, so did other students, and so did the owner of the place and increased the rates.

Then I changed my routine; I slept until the classes began so that I can skip breakfast, then go to class. After class, I go to lunch at a new place I found, SLR (Srinivasa Lunch Room). I go there to eat 'One plain Dosa' for just 25 rupees ($0.3). Ah! I can't call 25 rupees 'just' with the money I have.

But it was weird; one plain Dosa completely satisfies my hunger, but it has a big demerit - to walk under 40°C (104°F) daily just after eating full, and it completely digests as I reach my room because of that I had to stop playing cricket in the afternoon. 

For dinner, I have two options; I can eat plain Maggi or a parotta for 20 rupees ($0.2) before I go to sleep. I continued this pattern till now.

And today is the last day; I currently have 45 rupees. I can buy a Dosa and even order a banana juice for 20 rupees, but after eating the Dosa, my hunger is satisfied, so I didn't order it, but I think I am going to miss these days, as I am going home tonight.

Now, I am proud of myself that I can live on a single Dosa daily for an entire month and also Maggi/Parotta, of course.

After a spending few days at home…

Current Status: June 2019, Home, India, temperature 27°C (80°F), Budget: Nil.

I thought I can now live on One Dosa so why is this happening. Why? Why am I still hungry after eating 5 Dosas? How is this possible?

I am at my house; I haven't wasted any energy. The temperature is normal, and I got nothing to do after. So why am I so hungry after eating 6 Dosas? Is it what they call a miracle? No, it is magic, pure magic; it's my mother's magic. 

I ate 13 Dosas that day and served 4 each Dosa to my parents and my sibling. I ate more than all of them combined.

I have become a glutton that day, and soon I gained weight, and now I am normal for my age and my height.

Written by

Arjun Sahasya

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Originally published Medium.