The Appetizing Atho !!

Being born and brought up in an orthodox Brahmin family, I have been subjected to the rules and customs as in an usual and traditional TamBrahm family. Though I had understood that the rules laid out by the forefathers were for the benefit of the pursuer, I have always wanted to traverse and explore the limitless boundaries beyond the limited regulations set by the authorities. One such item on my agenda was to discover and indulge my taste buds to newer and fresher savories to satiate my hunger for different and exotic food. I will never ever deny that 'parupu sadham' with 'vetha kozhambu' and 'vendakkai' is a deadly combo but I have always had the opinion that experimenting with food enables an individual to be multi-minded than be an one trick pony. So, after trying out my hand at Mexican,Italian,Chinese,Thai and Greek , I had wanted to sink my teeth into Burmese food and relish their unique tastes. As luck would have turned out, one of my friend was from Sowcarpet. He knew completely on the ins and outs of the mouth-watering street food in and around Sowcarpet. He suggested that a street parallel to Chennai Beach station is entirely dedicated to Burmese food. He particularly asked me to try out their signature dish 'Atho'. Ever since my friend recommended this place for Burmese food, like the King of the Jungle circling and waiting for the opportune moment to pounce on its prey, I was bidding my time and patiently waited for the right opportunity to have an open battle with the Burmese!

A stroke of luck combined with right decision making helped me to see the inaugural ISL season 2 ceremony at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. I decided that the time was ripe for me to wallow myself in the street food of Parrys. So, once when the match was over, I had asked my friends whether they would be interested in trying out Burmese food for dinner. They readily agreed and we were off hunting for the exact location in an auto. After zig-zagging through the crowded Chennai traffic, we finally reached our destination - Chennai Beach station. But, there was not even a single food stall in sight. Initially, we felt that our timing was awry. It was already 15 minutes to 10. But, I am not a person who caves into disappointments. Using the best GPS in the world - my mouth, I enquired the nearby autowallahs to the whereabouts of the Burmese food. They gave me the directions with simple and understandable landmarks in the vicinity. We followed them to the t and was welcomed rather ceremoniously by the sweet smell of tantalizing aroma coming from both sides of the roads.

What I initially thought was tantalizing aroma was actually the filthy smell of rubbish and garbage that were strewn out shabbily on the roads. I was so intoxicated by the mere thought of Burmese food that my sense of smell delved into a delusional state! So, after the bitter knock on the head, I was walking up towards the left side of the road when I saw streams of people standing in front of a brightly lit food stall. A big smile dawned upon my satisfied face on seeing the helper shouting "tasty atho tasty atho". It was finally time though the time was just past 10pm.

The roadway leading to the shop was very insanitary and unhygienic. The entire place was squalid and disgusting. If any girl would have come with us, then her only reaction would have been to scoot out of the place at the earliest whiff of that nauseating odour! I had many an experience to eat out on road side food stalls during my numerous trips to various places. So, when I had to compare those places with this ambience, I felt this place was rich and healthy! Though the place did not a provide a clean and salubrious sight to the eyes, I was able to clearly distinguish that unique flavor from the hot Burmese Atho even in that stench which reeked with sewage and rotten garbage. I strictly told the helper that I want a veg atho. To which he politely replied that all the items are only veg. So, I asked him about the other varieties in their a la carte and he told me to start with soup. It was not just any soup. But, banana stem! Even as a child, I hated the raw banana that was used to be served by my mom as a part of our normal diet for a healthy meal. I wondered what different it would be this time. Surprise Surprise!! The banana soup was steamy hot and spicy. It was just disappearing into my mouth like a famished Kumbakarnan! Now, emboldened by the brilliant taste, I was bold enough now to taste the banana stem which was floating like a boat in the soup. My Gawd! It was heavenly with ginger, pepper and other spices. Once I scrapped out the last drop of soup from the bowl, I was ready for the next course - Atho! My friends ordered an Egg Atho and I had ordered a Veg Atho. 

Atho was nothing but short and thin noodles that was tossed up with a host of vegetables whose list included long and finely shredded cabbages, carrots, fried onions, beans and spices. Even if I had been on a quarter filled up stomach also, then I would have really ended up wasting at least half of the wonderful contents! Luckily, I was so ravenous that the Atho was fast disappearing from my plate like the athletes in a 100m dash! For a moment when I realized that I had eaten fully , I pondered as to what would be the cost of such a gigantic dinner plate. To my utter surprise, when I heard it was just Rs 20 for a single plate, it was too good to be true for such a quantity yet that was the truth!

Finally, when we started to bid adieu to this place, my eyes lingered on a Kolkatta pan shop. I have always had a weakness for sweet pan ever since the old woman in front of Sathyam theatre asked  me to try one during my engineering days! Crunching and munching on the sweet pan, I made a hurried walk towards the station to catch the 1040 pm train. We had 10 minutes plenty of time ahead in front of us. The evening was not only truly scrumptious but truly memorable as well.