Chez Moi

Once upon a time, there lived this little boy called, let’s say, P. One day, P went on a play date to his best friend, K’s house, which was a good distance away. He reached there alright and played till sun down. Then, K’s mum said ’snack time’ and gave the boys some yummy thingummies to eat. P, who’d never tasted something like that before, stuffed his face and asked K’s mum for its name, so he can ask his mum to make it for him.

K’s mum replied: ‘it’s called kozhukattai, P’.

Soon after, it was time for him to leave. He asked the aunty for the name again and to make sure he did not forget it, he kept repeating it to himself. ‘Kozhukattai, kozhukattai’ mumbled he as he walked back home. On his way, there was a short ditch and the man walking ahead of him took it at a running leap, exclaiming ‘athiri bacha’. P too copied him, with the requisite ‘athiri bacha’.

On he continued with his mumbling: ‘athiri bacha, athiri bacha’ and reached home soon.

The minute his mum opened the door, he went, ‘ma pls make me athiri bacha. K’s mum made it and it was real yummy’.

And she went ‘athiri bacha? what is it?’
He replied ‘athiri bacha, i want athiri bacha’ and started whining.
After a few more mins of this, she lost it and said ‘I shall give you athiri bacha’ and gave him a smackeroo right on his cheeks.

P started wailing and by dinner time, sported two huge swollen cheeks. His dad looked at his swollen face and went ‘look at the poor child’s face, kozhukattai maadiri veengi pochu’ and P shouted ‘kozhukattai, kozhukattai that was what K’s mum made yayy’.

His mum laughed and cried and went ‘oh u poor mutt, I shall make u loads of kozhukattai’.

That, is the story of athiri bacha.