The Dining Etiquette Lab , with a Fatherly grace ...

Reeling pressure, suffocating heat of sarcastic surprise quizzes , overlapping assignments and tests , technically summarized as ‘rigor’ may drive the experimental GMPians of XLRI to a dreadful, invulnerable donuts but also pushes them to par excellence . When red eyed early morning classes from late night rattas , dropping heads in half understood lectures becomes the order of the day , the dining etiquette lab of our beloved Father A. C. Jesurajan punches in a fresh lease of optimism and desired variation from the stereotyped rigor-, where we not only get good food,free booze but also plenty of dining etiquette tips and a chance to dress and oops ! Impress.

Prior to this lab, in Father’s class the Indian whiskey's myth is broken, beware our desi ‘single malt snobs’. According to Him, Indian whiskey is nothing more than a bi-product of second stage fractional distillation of molasses and hence a mere cohort of not so friendly chemicals. How acid (alcohol) reacts with base (soda) to form salt and water and lowers our mighty ego was clarified with scientific precision. Wine glasses’ use , the choice of restaurants across the world , the cuisines , the pre dining etiquette , table mannerism, time constraint … were all splendidly explained with a true cosmopolite elegance.

Tonight, this practical lab showcases His genuine effort to crystallize these theories into practice and a crisp controlled array of sequential mannerisms, filled in with the right ambience and a li'l nervousness of over drinking ..

Being informed well ahead where to go , and aware of the fact that we are simply thrown out of class had we been 1 minutes late , cheerful yet cautious junta arrived at the stipulated time , all dressed up gentlemen and ladies ,to be greeted generously by Father , his assistant Freddy, and the softly played country numbers ..the fillers .The scene somehow reminded me of a famous cat-mice cartoon sequence !! Conspicuously, the evening started well. We were guided to our seats, and directed to go over the counter for beverages. Blenders pride , Rum and Smirnoff were served in measured 60 ml pegs (just the opportunity we were waiting for , in spite of its whatever chemistry ) . The snacks (chicken, mushroom and mixture )were excellent and the liquors, as always ,didn’t let us down .

After a couple of drinks ,as expected there were no more order or round robin in getting alcohol from counter , alcohol has somehow always worked to coalesce humans to the same emotion level (proportional to the number of pegs). Then there were photo sessions ..for ,with and by the Father .Just at the right moment when we thought that we should venture our 4^th peg of alcohol , we were asked to join the dinner at the ground floor.

It was a wonderfully lit room , each table smitten by candles whose fluid light was ecstatic for the already intoxicating evening ..We settled in our positions ( or should I say already reserved tables) and began our dining …

Using napkin, cutleries - outside in ,from course to course, guided by father at every possible steps effused perfection and His tremendous commitment to us .We learned to be managerially efficient hosts with proper etiquettes in the best possible way (well almost ! we heard few forks and spoons dropping down the floor ) .After the soup , starter, salad , interesting main courses we passed one over another to the end of the session to finish up with a beautiful dessert .Father’s announcements between the dinner courses channelized the flow and did let us know what we were doing. Again a pleasant surprise was evident. We had two birthday boys and the details didn’t go unnoticed by Him. Two delicious cakes glided in , were cut by the birthdays babies ,photographed and justice done by us to the cakes .In short every moment was savored.

Like all splendid spells, this also came to an end and it was called off with an introduction of the serving staff , who were not only hospitable but were extremely efficient to manage 60+1 odd of us (not everybody in the best of their senses after intoxication) seamlessly . We concluded by thanking the maestro of perfection, the ‘Communication Guru’ with a standing ovation ….

Thus we wrapped up one of our best nights at XlRI,a night marked by the epitome of dining etiquette connoisseurship,a lesson learnt in the finest details, a knowledge that will definitely remain ever embedded in our empirical etiquette DNA.