Chocolates

  My old classmate gifted me a packet of dark chocolate recently. When I was discarding the wrapper this week I realised it was a Vochelle. My friend had bought it locally .At least that is what he told me though I had teased him that he was passing the buck and he had protested vehemently. With local supermarkets flooded with various brands of goodies and with liberal sprinkling of foreign brands decorating the shelves we are now spoilt for choice. Moreover friends, colleagues, relatives who travel on work or holiday often distribute chocolates on return. As a result I have now tasted chocolates from places as far as Ukraine. I also love giving chocolates to dear ones hoping to sweeten up their lives momentarily. The best display of chocolates that I witnessed many years ago was in Switzerland. The generous spread of heart shaped chocolates was a treat for the eyes.

However I find the chocolates made in India best suited for my taste buds. A young boy from UP who works in our office canteen and has tasted imported chocolates from his childhood, his father was also our colleague till he retired some years back, is also a staunch supporter of desi chocolates. He has a very poor opinion of foreign varieties of any kind of chocolate .Not that he is a true son of the soil but because he dislikes the taste of imported chocolates. I am happy to have a fellow champion of swadeshi chocolates. Though I know the brands I love are not strictly swadeshi.

It is a common notion amongst people of my generation that eating dark chocolate is good for the heart. My colleague who suffered a major heart attack at the age of forty-nine has been advised by her doctor to eat dark chocolates .How delightful! Such doctors should be awarded gold medals.I am sure my friend also had a prescription in mind when he gave me the Vochelle “a remedy to lift the mood of a menopausal woman”.

I can’t be bothered and loved this chocolatey gesture of friendship.