Once upon a train ride: Celebrating April Fool’s Day with strawberries and Bhakarwadi

If you ask me about April Fool’s Day, I will tell you about strawberries and sunshine and travelling with Veena tai on the aptly named Matsyaganda Express from Mumbai to Mangaluru. It was the first and the last time I saw Veena tai, but like many train friendships, she was unforgettable. When you are stuck with someone for over 12 hours, you learn to gauge their personality very quickly. And for me, a poor student who was perpetually hungry, the only gauge was the size of my fellow passenger’s tiffin carrier and the generosity of their spirit.