More on Barcelona. Who has eaten my butter?

[Guest guest]

Dear friend,

Some thing happened for youu at Barcelona?. Share the moments with me.

Arati Samajpati, Director, parivartan

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Who has eaten my butter?

From Paris I took the flight to Barcelona to attend the International AIDS

Conference. My anxious look was sent to all directions to find them, the

organisers. A sigh of relief was an automatic reaction once I saw them standing

at a strategic point with the prominent symbol of the Conference painted on

their white T-shirts. Once they identified the participants or we, the

participants located them, common greetings were exchanged and we waited for

further instructions. After a while, when a large number, enough to fill the

bus, was assembled they directed us towards a bus that was to take us to the

destination.

During the forty minutes journey, the splendour of Barcelona slowly unfolded

before us and we witnessed an unparalleled view - beautiful trees, lush green

hills and meadows and a plenty of over-bridges and cross roads - all along the

way. The fresh air and the picturesque landscape took away my fatigue of the

past few days of journey and excitement. The bus brought us to the Campus of the

University Hostel, where we - the participants - were to be accommodated.

After registration. I moved towards the apartment that was assigned to me. It

was a three bed-room apartment, meant for four persons. Being the first one, I

had the chance to make a choice and preferred the single one, which allowed me

an incredible pastoral view from the window.

The other occupants came soon after and settled in the big rooms. An Estonian

lady coupled with a Brazilian one occupied one of those rooms and a Nigerian and

a Mexican lady shared the other one. On their arrival, I greeted them and

exchanged pleasantries. By that time I was quite hungry and went to the kitchen

to look for some eatables (I need to mention here, the organisers informed that

it would be a self catering accommodation with essentials provided by them) and

opened the refrigerator to find nothing at all. Some utensils and an electric

stove stared at me from the kitchen platform.

Next day I brought some tidbits and opened the fridge to keep them in it. Bingo!

A loads of food stuff greeted me. There were packets of biscuits, different

kinds of bread, a football-sized packed cheese, a few rolls of sausages and a

big box of butter. Enough to last five breakfast for five of us I thought. I

took a packet of biscuit and munched on it. My usual breakfast consists a plain

glass of milk and one or two biscuits. So I was not interested in bread and

sausage in the morning and by the time I returned from the Conference, I was in

no mood to eat those things. My Bengali taste bud missed the typical rice and

fish curry. It is not that I could not do without it at all, occasionally I

would not mind some egg preparation or even dal with rice but in no way I was

ready to tolerate those bread or sausage in the end of the day. Usually after

the conference I ate something from some eating joints that were situated near

by.

However, an experiment of a day or two, I could bear the smell of sea food and

olive oil no more and decided to buy some rice, potato and eggs from the

supermarket in the campus and made my own food. Only item I used from the fridge

was the butter. I also noticed no one else barring that a stout 60 + Estonian

lady was interested in those stuff that was supplied to us and she used it to

the fullest.

Any way, my experiment with rice, potato, eggs and butter continued and on the

fourth day I finished the butter totally. Next morning when I was getting ready

for the Conference, the Estonian lady came to the kitchen, opened the fridge and

exclaimed, " Where is the butter! " I was very much present there and replied, " I

have finished it. " " You have finished all of my butter? " There was a hint of

shock, surprise and hurt as well. " Excuse me! Your butter? " " Yes, my butter. "

" Of course not, they have given this. " I argued. " Who are they? " She asked. " The

organisers " , I confirmed. " No " , she said, " I have brought it from Estonia – all

the food stuff, Yes! " .

I was dumbfounded. " Really? " , I asked. " Gosh! I have even eaten a packet of

biscuit too " . " I know " , she stated with a finality .

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Arati Samajpati, Director, parivartan

E-mail:<parivartan@...>

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