Surprise lunch with Superstar Vicky Kaushal

Some days of life are unexpected. We may have a hundred plans but nothing goes the way we planned, yet we love the unexpected. This an excerpt from my life of an unexpected event. On 23rd February 2020, on a weekend I was just surfing through twitter as usual and I saw a contest held by Zomato called #PricelessFoodMoments. The thing that induced me to play the contest was the gift that the winner would receive was a surprise. Without much hope of being the luckiest among all the Indians playing this contest I participated.

My Winning Tweet

Next day when I checked my phone I got a message "We have a #Priceless surprise coming up for you in New Delhi on the 2nd of March." Since I am staying in Pune and I didn't like the idea of going to Delhi but as they were providing flight tickets I thought I would regret it if I missed such an opportunity because earlier also I got many opportunities which were unusual in an ordinary middle-class person's life but I didn't go and now I regret that. I have observed that in my life most good things happen in a way challenging me because I didn't know where I was going as it was a surprise, what will happen because again it was a surprise and what if something wrong happens on the way as even God can surprise me most unpredictably. The only belief that kept me strong was the fact that I was observing 50 days lent so God had a liability to protect me. A day before travel my spoc(Single Point Of Contact) person Sikander texted me, a driver Rudmal's number and the vehicle Innova Crysta details as he was going to pick me up at Delhi airport. I said "yes" to the trip but on the day of my travel my heart was beating so hard worrying whether I took a wrong decision so I called Sikander. Even though he was a stranger but when he assured if something goes wrong to call him I believed him as I felt he is genuine or you could think that I had no other option than believing him.

Breakfast in SpiceJet

On 2nd March 2020, I woke up at 4:30 am for a flight of 7:30 am. By 5:55 am I was in the airport because there was no rush on the road. I know from our place, without any rush, it takes 45 minutes yet I left early because from my childhood my father taught me punctuality so well that I usually get to a place at least 15 minutes before but this time it was like I hit the punctuality limit. Finally, after a huge wait, I got into my Spicejet plane and I was sleeping even though I had a window seat because I am not a morning person and I don't wake up this early. Finally, I was awake when an air hostess brought breakfast for me. I was amazed to see their breakfast tiffin (It contained Masala Dosa with tomato onion uttapam and Kanjivaram mini idli sambar along with coconut chutney besides this it had a croissant, Amul butter and paper boat mango juice) and was thrilled to have breakfast somewhere in between Pune and Delhi up in the clouds for the first time.
When I reached the airport I contacted Rudmal he asked me to come to the exit gate. As I reached the exit gate I saw a man holding my name and standing. For a minute I thought it was the best surprise I ever got in my life as we say in Hindi "Ek celebrity wali feeling aa rahi thi" but it was just a beginning for a wonderful day. As he saw I was looking at him he understood I was that person. He still confirmed my name then where I was supposed to go. For a second that question amazed me. I asked him "You don't know where you have to drop me?". He said, "I know you have to be dropped to The Oberoi Hotel I was just confirming it with you." As soon as I knew where I was going I texted my parents. He told me to wait for a minute as he will be bringing the vehicle from the parking. I asked him "Whether he doesn't want to wait for other winners?"

Shantipath

He said the car was just booked for me and the authorities have assigned him for my ride whole day saying this he went to take the car from the parking. I was so happy that for a day the vehicle was booked just for me and must say I felt lucky when each surprise unfolded. As I got on the car I was quite silent. He was playing FM. After a while, he asked me "Whether I came to Delhi before." I might sound stupid but I told him the truth that I know nothing about Delhi except few places which I have learnt in Social Studies and General Knowledge book. He was a good person because after that on each road he told me the way we are going, important things around us and at few places its history too. The route he took was through the best road I ever travelled in India even if I travelled only a few places still the best of them is Shantipath there I saw most of the foreign embassies in the Indian capital such as Embassy of United States of America, France, The Russian Federation, Japan etc, also the road seemed so beautiful surrounded by a green landscape.
As I reached The Oberoi and stepped out of my car I could sense what luxury means seeing the smile, greeting and hospitality of the commissionaire. The interior was incredibly good as well as the staffs were excellent. I called Sikander and he took me to the event place. When I reached there I understood it was not just a Zomato surprise instead this event was some collaboration of Mastercard, Zomato and RBL Bank because around me I could see their logos. Then Sikander introduced me to Deepika who was helping the winners to get mic attached to them for a shoot. I didn't expect for a shoot so my clothes were simple if I knew it was going to be shot I would have worn something accordingly. After that, the anchor of that event Liza came and she tried to break the ice between us by asking a few questions like our name, place, favourite cuisine, job and how we won this contest. She was quite friendly and because of her, I interacted with a few people who play contest like me on Twitter. I quite don't remember everyone's name but I have a clear memory of Abhilash and Mehul.

With Anchor Liza

We waited for a while and then we went to a room where the video shoot was going to be done. Everyone was asked to take a seat for lunch. I was the last to get in that room and yet the first seat was empty I had no other option than sitting there. As we all seated few waiters came in and picked the napkin from the table and took our consent to place it on our lap because of that hospitality I remember his name is Ketan. Liza told us that before starting we have a contest and the winner would get a hamper. The game was that we would be blindfolded and then would be presented a few dishes all we would have to do was to guess the dish and its ingredients. We were asked not to remove the blindfold until Liza says so. We all wore the blindfold and food was served to us. I tried using a spoon but I was not able to figure out where the food was in the plate so Liza told us if we wanted we could use our hand instead. It was a great relief I took a bite of the first dish it tasted like Pani Puri, the second one was Aloo Tikki and I didn't know there was a third dish too so I told her my answer. Then those who had said their guesses were asked to remove their blindfold. As I heard it I was the first one to remove it and then she completed her sentence in a minute. I looked at her and smiled as I turned around towards the host seat on the table it was the Superstar Vicky Kaushal and I was speechless and clueless. I never expected such a big surprise from Zomato. Seeing me spellbound and my eyes continuously staring him like a 'Bhoot' he came to me and said 'Yes, I am here for real. Are you fine?' I said "First of all I want to congratulate you for the National Award. Trust me never in my life have I thought that I would congratulate you personally for it.' He smiled and said "Thank you'. The second thing I asked him was a selfie. He was so generous he said, "Ok first let's take a selfie." As I was clicking the picture my hands were shaking and I looked at him. He smiled and said "Give me the phone I will take the picture" and he took the picture.

With Superstar Vicky Kaushal

After that waiters came in and gave us a card having information about the special menu prepared for us. Before they served the dinner they asked our preference for veg and non-veg. When they asked me I said I am a temporary vegetarian. Everyone looked at me with a question mark so I explained to them that I am a non-vegetarian but I have promised myself I will not eat non-veg in the lent so basically I am a temporary vegetarian. I didn't break my lent you may call it my commitment or fear of God. Then they served the dishes one by one even though I couldn't figure out what was it but it was delicious. After taking a few bites of a chicken dish Vicky said, "I have eaten Non-veg from different places but this one is truly delicious." I thought in my mind God doesn't leave a chance to test human being. I am in The Oberoi and I am a foodie, I like non-veg but due to my lent, I cannot eat it even though it would be a signature dish of a chef. Then Liza told us the speciality of both veg and non-veg dish. Then Vicky asked us about how we won the contest. He also told us about his rare gift from God that no matter how much he ate he doesn't gain weight. For him, it's a challenge to gain weight. I smiled and said, "Even if I smell cheese slice for a second I might gain 2 kgs." At my comment, all started laughing. After that Liza told that there is one more surprise for us as Vicky would give his autograph in a souvenir plate. He told Liza to get an extra souvenir plate as he would like to have all our autograph in a souvenir plate for him as a memory for this day. He said it was his best day because he was asked to come for lunch with his fans. As he came near my place to give an autograph on a Souvenir plate he said: "You have a beautiful smile" and at that moment I thank God for a second as never in my life I have got a compliment like this mostly I heard were things like topper, book nerd, teddy bear, panda and cute but this meant a lot. Then he asked me what I wish to be written in my souvenir plate by him the first thing that came on my mind was my book 'Eyes Scream: Arin's Mystery' because I gave my years and efforts for that book and I wrote a book summary to all the publishers to publish it and all my known people to buy it for free when it was free in Amazon Kindle for a week but it never got acknowledged the way I wished it might be because I am an amateur writer and I was not born with a silver spoon to spends lakhs on promoting it. I couldn't have a book launch or a success party for it but the best thing I could get for it is the best wishes from the National Award Winner, Vicky Kaushal so for me he wrote best wishes for my book on that souvenir plate. Later we all did autograph and gave that plate to Vicky. He looked at the plate and then said to me: "You have a good autograph." I smiled and said, "Thank you". After all, it was the first time someone asked me for an autograph so it indeed needs to be my best one.

Souvenir Plate

Then Liza asked us a fun question to guess the dessert of today in Hindi as it is called "Sweet Curd" in English. My first thought was "Shrikhand" and I said it aloud. She said "No". Then she asked once more but no one knew it then finally she said it is 'Mishti Doi'. The dessert was served and the chef who prepared it came in. In dessert, there were three things Mishti Doi, Strawberry Icecream and Chocolate Syrup. Chef told us to first individually taste it and then try to mix it and make your special dish according to your taste. He said even though the ingredients are same but each of our desserts would be unique. I guess he was right. Our lunch got completed and Vicky was taken for an interview. Then we all were asked if we are still hungry we can have food in buffet area as well but at that time among us, few people were asked to stay in the shoot room to share their experience about the #PricelessSurpriseLunch and I was among them. Trust me I was for the first time in front of a camera and I was not scared at all in that shoot instead I was excited. As our shoot was over and we were leaving we were asked to stay back for a few minutes as there would be a shoot of Vicky Kaushal again in the video shoot room. As Vicky came in all were preparing and for a minute there was a silence so I said to Vicky "I wish to make How's the Josh dialogue video with you?" He smiled and said, "Okay, let's do it". As we have made the video they have prepared set for Vicky's shoot and I saw an ad shoot so close for the first time in my life. As the shoot was over he left by saying 'Goodbye and it was great meeting you all.'

After I went to the buffet area and there I saw many mouthwatering dishes and the red dot beside the dish name reminded I shouldn't look at it. I knew it when I decided to come to The Oberoi I was prepared to take the bitter with the sweet and I know one thing that lent teach us is self-control. I was standing in the middle of strangers and one total stranger came to me and said "You did an awesome job in that video I just saw it. It will be played in Mastercard Edition Card Launch event in some time and you should not miss it." I went to the launch event room many speakers came in and told about the Mastercard Edition Card. Then one of the winner Abhilash too came in and joined me. Then finally our video was played and it was again for the first time I have seen myself on the screen with a room full of audience and at the end when they clapped I couldn't write down those emotions. That moment was a surreal experience of my life. In that emotional moment, I dropped my phone somewhere and Abhilash helped me to find it. Then he asked me about my return flight. I said, "I have a GoAir flight on 6:15 pm so at least I have to reach by 5:30 pm." He asked me when I was leaving and I said: "Right now as I have a plan to see India Gate because I heard it's on the way". He too had a Bangalore flight to catch so he told we can both leave at the same time.

Mastercard Edition Card Launch

It was around 2 pm when we left the Oberoi and we went to India Gate on our respective cabs. Later we walked to the nearby National War Memorial and there we saw four concentric circles signifying different values of the armed forces which are Amar Chakra (Circle of Immortality) which consist an eternal flame, Veerta Chakra (Circle of Bravery) which includes a gallery of murals made of bronze, Tyag Chakra (Circle of Sacrifice) which is a wall with Martyr's name and Rakshak Chakra (Circle of Protection) which is a circle of the tree representing soldiers. I saw this place in the news when Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated it on February 25, 2019, to honour the Indian Armed Forces but on actually being at that place and experiencing it then you feel overwhelmed on the reality that how many soldiers has sacrificed their life for this country. It was 4:30 when we got back into the cab from India Gate and Rudmal said "Parliament Of India was nearby if you took less time in India Gate I could have shown you that too but now all I could do is drive you there without stopping" because of him I went there too. On the way, Rudmal showed me Rashtrapati Bhavan, Prime Minister's Office, PM's residence. On that drive, I got to know an interesting fact that PM's residence complex is officially called Panchavati and he gets a Special Protection Group coverage which even President of India doesn't have. Finally, by 5:10 pm Rudmal dropped me in the Airport.

At India Gate

After done with my security check I went to take my hand baggage the Airport Authority stopped me and asked me pointing to a box whether its mine. I said "Yes. Its just a souvenir plate" and he said, "You need to open it and I need to see what's inside the box". By his face, I felt there is some problem. I opened the box and showed him then he removed the plate and checked the box there was stand for the souvenir plate and its shape was like a gun. His frown looks changed and said, "You can go". Then I went to check my flight details in Flight Information Display and it was delayed for an hour so I called Dad to inform him about the flight delay and sat down in a waiting chair. After my call ended a man sitting beside me said: "Are you a Malayali?" I smiled and said "Yes". He said to me "Yesterday I came to Delhi from Dubai for a conference and wherever I go I meet a Malayali." I smiled and said, "Yes they are everywhere." He asked me about me and I said to him that I am UI Developer and I came here for an event. He said he is a Manager in Nokia. Then we talked for a while and then he went to check for his flight. He asked me "You are going to Pune?" I said "Yes". He said, "I think your gate number is changed you should check it once." I checked and he was right. I said thank you and left to the updated Gate. My flight got delayed again and then after an hour more finally I got into the flight still on the flight I was waiting for half an hour since most seats were empty and they were waiting for passengers. I guess people didn't notice the gate number was changed. Finally, I reached Pune by 10:30 pm and a beautiful day ended so well.

Pune Airport

I am writing this blog because this day I got many memories which I have never experienced before in my life and its the only thing in my life currently which I feel like gloating it to the world.