Essay: The Lunch Break: 1983 – A Day in the year by Cherian Philipose

In this essay, Cherian Philipose takes us down memory lane as he shares the conversations around the 1983 World Cup and how cricket shaped most of the discussions that year.

We were diligent students. We came to school, paid attention in class, and took notes. Our lives revolved around subjects like algebra, physics, and chemistry. On this day, our history teacher, Ms. Gomes took us on a mental tour of the 1940s and managed to convey to us, something of the tumult of the Quit India movement. In later life, we would come to appreciate Indian history more. But just then, we were restless adolescents. We boys were growing taller; sprouting moustaches; the girls, pretty and ponytailed, alarmed us with the wonder of their bodies; a budding breast, or rounded hip, would be enough to take our minds off the lesson.

The bell rang. It was time for lunch. Glad to put our books aside, we made our way to the lunch shed, collected our dabbas, and laid the compartments out, eager to see what our mothers had sent us. Steam arose from the food; succulent prawns; tender potatoes with crunchy cauliflower; biriyani fragrant with saffron and cardamom. We started eating; and soon, the shed was full of the clink of cutlery; and the hum of our voices.