Dehradun, May 17 -- Culinary Chronicles

Following an early dinner of "gobi kulcha" (oven baked flatbread filled with spiced cauliflower) ahead of the evening blackout orders in Punjab, most of us remained glued to the screens, monitoring the news updates and frantically checking WhatsApp for the safety of our families and friends. Operation Sindoor!

The needles of the clock froze at 0110 hrs on the night of 9-10 May 2025, just after I had decided to catch some sleep. A sudden, sharp, thunderous crack broke the silence of the night, immediately followed by a fading, heavy rushing air roar.

Unusually petrifying and nothing similar to the screech of a fighter jet. As if, hundreds of motor valves crossed over the roofline.

India was awake...