Gajar ka halwa.
What can I say about the gajar ka halwa from Manali Sweets in Manali that will ever do justice to its taste. Nothing I’ll say will ever, but here I go anyway.
I had it tonight with my friend Yash in what has become a post-dinner ritual since a week. And I’m blown away every night.
Imagine me lounging in chair, happy — remembering every crush of the halwa in my mouth — when I felt I could see through the concrete ceiling above: a sky of stars and vague clouds in low moonlight.
Imagine me thinking I had some stars with moonlit clouds for dessert, not the halwa.
Imagine me trying to argue that the halwa is better than starry skies, better than moonlit nights.
My tongue is inadequate against the full spectrum of the halwa’s taste, which lurks and lingers for hours and days after leaving the tongue. This is why I never drink water after the halwa, even if it means going to sleep thirsty. Drinking water would mean inviting a more troublesome thirst, that of the halwa.
It is never enough no matter how much I eat it. I’m the hungriest person in the world after having had the halwa.
PS: I wanted to add a photograph of the halwa and it was on my mind earlier today to take one before I eat it. By the time I remembered to take the photograph, I was staring at the white bottom of the bowl.