THE LEPRECHAUN RESTAURANT

There have been societies and societies; Societies, which have always tried to curb the simple impulses of Man. Societies have attempted curbing man from drinking, narcotic or psychotropic drugging, womanizing and what have you; but no society has ever curbed man from his impulsive feeding, nay eating, if I may….?

Yes food is a very basic need as much as Air and Water are to humankind. Because of their basic nature and knowing full well that Man cannot subsist without any of these, commercial marketers have been having a field day and making Air, Water and Food as three mere consumables to be sold across the counter or the table as it may be..

However, there are some unique humans who having understood the true nature of nature continue to serve these three sacred elements to Man, without greed but with fervor and devotion to their chosen occupation.

One such person was our Chef, the great Chef Cool as he was called. In fact it was very few who knew that his real name was Kooliappan a family deity of the region. Even as a child, Chef Cool used to enjoy visiting his Mama’s Kitchen not to create dishes but to obviously raid and feast on the cashews, the almonds and raisins that Mama so faithfully stored in her larder. Chef Cool, did not allow any one to call him a Chef but was proud to call himself a cook for he didn’t dig hypocrisy and liked to call a spade a spade.

It was as a teenager that Chef Cool, nay cook Cool as we may henceforth address him found his true vocation. The first dish he prepared was at a community feeding event organized by a local youth body. The person who was supposed to cook the food that day did not turn up and our friend comfortably slipped into the role of a cook and created a masterpiece of a meal which would have put to shame any of the master chefs of the region. It was then that cook cool realized his true vocation. 

Cook Cool was indeed a free and carefree spirit for he would cook wherever he was invited to cook and partook of the meal with them and would then move on to cook at another venue the next day, happy to use his hands to make tasty food for others to enjoy. On hearing of the innate talent of Cook Cool who was a completely uneducated person, the best of hotels and restaurants vied for his services and offered him astronomical salaries to make him cook in their kitchens. However Cook Cool as his name assures us was indeed a cool son of the soil and could make out the commercial angle of these hoteliers who merely wanted to make money out of his talents. Cook Cool kept away from these enticing offers and continued to cook for free in community kitchen, marriages, festivals and feasts.

It was at this stage of his life that Kooliappan or Cook Cool as he was popularly addressed met his future bride. It was at a religious festival in his native village where it was a custom to annually worship the family deity in a gala festival of fun joy and worship. It was there that he met his goddess. She was first seen carrying water from the river to the kitchen which had been set up in the middle of the village. Cook cool always prepared himself for the work at the kitchen with a brief prayer requesting the almighty to help him make the food tasty and also bless all those who ate the meal with happiness in their hearts. It was after this brief prayer that Cook Cool opened his eyes to see this girl again busy cutting vegetables in the kitchen. 

Sparkles was what her name turned out to be; a name so befitting for she really did sparkle in the kitchen making things easy and smooth for Cook Cool to go about his duties. It was the best meal that Cook Cool ever cooked in all his unmarried life for in the cooking of it he had been happier than ever. The suave and cool demeanor of Chef Cool indeed attracted Sparkles too and she followed the charity cook who just went around cooking and making people happy. 

The arrival of Sparkles in Cook Cool’s life resulted in the commencement of a new phase in the life of Cook Cool. All requests and invitations to Cook had to be judged differently and Cool could not accept some of the invitations as he had to think of distance and the convenience of Sparkles. He had to diligently consider the availability of suitable accommodation and all the other creature comforts required for a Goddess in the form of Sparkles.

Cool’s hesitancy to travel too far away from his base camp to cook for others was noticed by a few of the hoteliers who were interested in obtaining Cook Cool’s services. They noticed Cool’s proximity to Sparkles and realized that there was developing a weak link in the armour of the free spirit. 

It was one such promoter named Steep who went to meet Cool. Steep was a very deep guy who knew the ways of the world. He knew how to cast his bait in a smooth and calm fashion and it was thus that he precisely presented his case to Cool. He cautioned Cool and advised him that since he was now becoming a family man he needed some stability and earn a living for Sparkles and himself as well as his future children. Even Satan could not have presented a better case to Eve as did Steep to Cool. Cool realized that there was some truth in what Steep was saying for he was entering that phase of his life as a family man. 

Cool discussed Steep’s offer with Sparkles and she too felt that it was better to cook in one place than go around the country side cooking at all the fairs, festivals and melas. Steep for his part offered Cool a huge individual residence surrounded by a well endowed garden for Sparkles to enjoy. Steep also took care of all their needs and gave them money from time to time whenever they required the same. However Cool insisted that he would not work in an existing restaurant but would prefer to create something afresh which would take the food and beverages industry by storm. Steep agreed and thus was born ‘THE LEPRECHAUN RESTAURANT’ in the heart of the city. 

The name was chosen by Cool for he considered himself a Leprechaun of sorts. Initially the response was thin but as word spread of Cool and Sparkles’ kitchen and the amazing food dished out off the same, “The Leprechaun” became a big hit. 

The restaurant would commence operation at eleven in the morning and was so full that they could not to close to take a break at three in the afternoon after the luncheon service but continued to stay on and serve guests who wished to have a quick bite before the dinner service. Steep was overjoyed by the developments at the ‘Leprechaun’.

Meanwhile Cool and Sparkles were officially married in a quiet but elegant ceremony organized by Steep. The staff of The Leprechaun and the guests too rejoiced at the union of Sparkles with Cool. We can say that this period of Cool’s life was the best part ever and truly his heyday phase. 

Steep was mighty pleased with the success of The Leprechaun restaurant. It was the crowning glory amongst all the restaurants and other enterprises which he had promoted. The success of the restaurant made Steep devote greater attention to the restaurant and therefore spend more time there. This led to a greater and deeper bond between Steep and Cool. 

Steep became the father figure that Cool never had in his life while Cool became the son that Steep had never found time to produce in his life. Steep also was very affectionate towards Sparkles. He provided for both Cool and Sparkles and ensured that they had all that was required to lead a happy and comfortable life.

The fates or destiny or the forces of nature always have a tendency to be drawn towards things which are hunky-dory and then upset the apple cart. Various cultures have described this in various ways. Some cultures have even attributed this to the jealousy of others and have termed it the evil eye. Whatever it may be it appeared that the forces of nature were also not happy to witness the bliss of Cool and his family. 

Steep was slightly over middle age when he shortly discovered that he was suffering from some kind of skin disorder which made him look hideous and gory. It was around this time that Sparkles conceived and bore a female child whom she and Cool named Light. 

Shortly after Light was born Steep’s health worsened and doctors diagnosed him to be suffering from a form of skin cancer. Shortly thereafter Steep passed away and Cool was truly grieved that he had lost a precious friend, mentor, guide and father figure. Cool became very moody and despaired badly; in fact he believed that it was his trying to make money out of his cooking which had caused Steep’s ill health and untimely death. He kept urging Sparkles to agree to shut down the restaurant which according to him was the cause of the Jinx.

Since Steep had died without any family he had bequeathed all his worldly possessions as per his will to Cool, Sparkles and their new born child.

Shortly after Steep’s death, Cool fell ill. Cool was now a rich man thanks to Steep’s bequeathed wealth and could afford the best of doctors but his health worsened and doctors were unable to diagnose what was ailing him.

Sparkles was indeed a very worried woman for she worried about Cool’s health and also about how Cool’s ill health affected their business. His presence in the Kitchen was vital for the quality of the food. The customers felt that only food cooked by Cool was tasty and anyone else cooking using his recipes could not produce the special flavor that only he could.

Sparkles would attend to the restaurant and also take Cool everyday to some Doctor or other whom she had come to hear about as an expert in diagnosis but to no avail. Doctors could not understand nor diagnose what ailed Cool. Meanwhile Cool physically wasted before everyone’s eyes. What had once been a handsome physique gradually turned skeletal. Doctors tested him for tuberculosis, cancer and all other infectious as well as genetic disorders and could find no cause for what was wrong.

Some of Sparkles family members even mentioned that somebody who was jealous of Cool and his growth had cast an evil spell on him. Sparkles who was by now was grabbing at every straw of hope immediately began to believe that this could be a possible explanation and went around taking Cool to all the witch doctors, sorcerers and black magicians to whom she was introduced by well meaning individuals.

While the said witch doctors, sorcerers and black magicians appeared to be experts at making Sparkles’ money disappear into their pockets they were unable to cure Cool and kept saying that it was the handiwork of a very powerful sorcerer and that they would have to perform special rituals to overcome the spell and that it would cost much more than what sparkles had provided.

Sparkles was willing to pay for it but Cool was dead against the idea. He did not believe in these so called witch doctors, sorcerers and black magicians but only believed in the divine force which he was sure was responsible for his ailment and punishing him for his sin of earning money out of cooking for others.

Cool had always believed that he belonged to a special category of spirits or Devas as found in Indian folklore who could reveal hidden treasure to those who catch them and it was his being captured as it were by the promoter Steep which was the cause of the wealth earned by Steep as well as both Steep’s death and his own ill health. It was infact, this belief which had motivated Cool to name the restaurant as “The Leprechaun” Restaurant due to the Irish Leprechaun’s similarity to the Indian Deva spirit.

Time moved on as it always does and it was soon Steep’s first death Anniversary. Cool in spite of his failing health celebrated Steep’s death Anniversary by serving free food to over ten thousand of the city’s poor. After the austere celebrations, Cool felt better for a few weeks prompting him to repeat to Sparkles that it was his trying to commercialise his cooking which was making him suffer.

However, Sparkles did not accept his explanation and insisted that to live in this modern world it was vital to have sufficient money for the family to fall back upon. Light was by now a bubbly baby and Cool tried to spend as much of his spare time as he could with her in spite of his failing health.

Shortly thereafter Cool realized that some sort of infection was eating away his fingers and he brought it to the notice of Sparkles who was alarmed and immediately rushed him to a Doctor who immediately diagnosed it as a form of leprosy. Cool and Sparkles were devastated on hearing this while Light could not comprehend the significance of the diagnosis. Sparkles cried bitterly while Cool became silent and morose.

Soon word of his being inflicted with leprosy spread and even his most devoted customers who would eat every day at the Leprechaun stopped visiting the restaurant and Cool and Sparkles were not able to sustain the business.

Cool kept cursing himself for not listening to his inner voice and allowing himself to sacrifice his principles and start cooking for the purpose of making money. Sparkles tried to console him but failed and finally told him that they could give up the restaurant business if Cool felt that his commercial venture into cooking was the cause of his ill health and their suffering. Cool then suggested that rather than give up the business they could convert the restaurant into a not for profit venture and feed the poor of the city.

It is now over two years that “The Annapooran” was created by Cool out of the framework of “The Leprechaun Restaurant”. The leprosy left Cool within a month of his creating “Annapooran”. Every day about two to three thousand of the poor of the neighbourhood walk in to be served free meals at any time of day or night. The local community has also now started supporting Cool in his initiative and though Cool does not accept cash donations, the local community contributes in terms of raw materials in his endeavour to serve the poor.

Cool now plans to extend his service and open up five more such free food outlets in the other parts of the city. Sparkles and Light are happy and they have now been blessed with another baby boy whom they have christened “Bright” Nobody knows Chef Cool as Cool anymore. They only refer to him as "The Annapooran".

THE END