Friday, April 20, 2012

Happy 420: A Tribute to the African Herbsman

Potheads all over the globe would have instantly gotten the connection between 420, ie the 20th of April and the late great Bob Marley, but for those of you who didn't fear not I shall explain that bit of logic to you. As most of you'll would know Tuff Gong a.k.a Bob Marley was the pioneer of the Rastafari Movement and it is in this custom that people celebrate 420 as a day dedicated just to Cannibais or Marijuana. Needless to say this is one festival all my friends were anxious to celebrate and I am sure they would have done absolute justice to Bob Marley and Rasta's all over this world. I really don't think there is even a single person alive who knows music and doesn't know who Bob Marley is, I mean even those die hard Taylor Swift and Bieber lovers would have the common sense to appreciate the true genius that is Bob Marley. I myself have 2 T-shirts, one poster and although my lifestyle is nothing compared to Marley, I'd like to think of myself of a Rasta. (who wouldn't).

You know in a lot of ways I do know a lot more about weed, marijuana or this J-phenomenon. For a guy who has a moral highground of never ever touching a cigarette, I do spent insane amounts of times with people who basically live to smoke. No judgement here, its just a lifestyle choice and for better or for worse, I had decided to refrain from that filthy habit and I'm gonna stick by it. But I think its a miracle to have only non-smoking friends in this day and age, with the amount of stress and the sheer ease in access of this "funny tobacco" as my friends mom would call it, you can't fault for having so many friends who are well how do I put this nicely - POTHEADS. It's not like they are going to mind at all but for privacy reasons I shall not take any names but please note that I will give subtle hints so that if you really read between the lines, you can really figure out who's who in my very awesome yet very messed up Entourage. Yes its another poem, yes I will take about Bob Marley too and Yes I will also save space for a place where you get insane Tibetean Food. Buckle up folks, this is gonna be a long one:

He was called the "African Herbsman" by everyone from queens to nerds, 
I'm gonna talk to you'll about my gang's "Buffalo Soldier" and his Three Little Birds,
I won't be as good as the "Redemption Song" but I'd sure as hell give it a try,
And like every Entourage's motto - "No Woman, No Cry".

First and foremost we have to talk about the so called bad influence,
The guy who started the youngest and is now Powai's supplier in every sense,
This proud Marathi Manoos is easily the leader of the wolfpack,
When this guy hits a winning streak in FIFA/Poker, you should see the size of his winnings' stack.

Then lets talk about my nigger from Malawi,
Its after the 19th of April now, so he's finally free,
A two time Marathon finisher this nigger is,  who no one calls by his first name,
An absolute lightweight he is but he's only 21 but one has to admit the kid's got game.

Moving on to the NRI Punjabi who jump ropes from Pune to Bombay,
He's my fellow Gooner and this kid's got some capacity I must say,
This punjabi bastard can outdrink anyone but he ain't getting thinner,
And despite what 15-20 attempts he's still not a FIFA Tourney Winner.

Now every entourage has a person who's an absolute wildcard,
Ask him where the North Star is and you'll think he's an absolute retard,
But there's no denying we've had many laughs thanks to this Khajoor - our gang's joker,
I especially enjoyed our brief time together as one of the two non-smokers.

If Khajoor's the wild card what about my man Rambo?
With great power comes great responsibility as he's the gang's roller on the go,
He's always suggesting new places to eat and go THOK,
But this guy's cricket and football agility is an absolute joke.

One such place he suggested was this Tibetean restaurant called SERNYAA,
They've got the best Momos in town, I'm not gonna lie to ya.
Chicken & Pork Momos for under hundred bucks,
The only drawback is that its at Andheri West and Malad, where finding a parking spot really sucks.

Still its the ideal place to go hogg when you're talking in terms of value for money,
After like 6 rounds of Mindspace(doing you know what), we order pretty much the entire menu its not funny,
The soups are also insane, you should always go for the Thukpa, its ample quantity so it should suffice, 
A couple of starters, soups, momos and always just ONE Bamboo Rice.

So this is pretty much our weekly J-trip from Powai to Malad, 
They smoke so many that they eventually get the munchies - so proper food must be had,
The best thing about Sernyaa is that it's open the whole day,
And their sauces are the best I've ever had with Momo's - there's really nothing more to say.

So there you have it folks, my so called entourage. I have very little in common with these people, in every sense of the word, but for better or for worse, they are some of my closest friends and I can't deny I've had some mad times with them. Sure sometimes these motherfucker's hotbox me against my wishes, but what the hell - talk about taking one for the team right? But when the chips are down, or I am a lot of drinks down, I can always count on any one of these guys to make sure I'm safe and that's basically what every entourage does now isn't it? Its a shame this is a food and music blog so I can't really talk about the other awesome things we've done, but nevertheless Long Live that old uncle at Sernyaa's, long live the Rasta spirit and Hail Bob Marley. As my fellow pothead friends would say today, "Ek Joint Bob Marley Ke Naam".

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