Dehradun, July 13 -- Culinary Chronicles

I remember that monsoon afternoon on the10th of July, 1990, with unusual clarity. Mussoorie had dissolved into a charcoal grey blur and the only sound was the steady drumming of rain upon the tin roof.

The final bell had rung and we were preparing for our usual hurried departure when a single voice held us back.

"Stay back, everyone. Please." It was Ms Rema Vijayan.

Had any other teacher detained us on a cold afternoon, it would have felt like a punishment. With her, it felt like an invitation. To be in Ms Rema's classroom was to be in a sanctuary where the chill of the highlands could not quite reach us.

We were, to use a kind phrase - a group of misguided missiles. Full of chaotic energy, er...