Many years ago, when I was in Bombay, my office at Clarion (the Advertising Agency which today calls itself Bates) was in New Marine Lines very close to Churchgate Railway Station.

The agency was very well located. The next building housed the Syndicate Bank Branch so we could all hop over anytime and deal with the bank work. At Churchgate there were a lot of eateries and small drinking joints. Metro Cinema, Liberty Theatre etc. were just down the road. We even had a hospital a few hundred yards down the road. We had a Khao Galli next door which served delicious pav bhaji and chaat. Nirmala Niketan was so close that we used to think someone had planned for eye candy to be available to us at stone’s throw.

But most conveniently, there were a couple of Udipi kind of restaurants on New Marine Lines that most of used to frequent, more in the interest of time and money than any preference for their cuisine.

One of them was Balwas.

Balwas continued to be a part of my life even after I moved to Hyderabad because Suresh Sheth who was a photographer I used quite regularly in those days and Multivision, the Audio Visual facility set up by him and run by his children (all of them being staunch vegetarians) depended on Balwas for their client servicing needs. Snacks, Lunch etc.

All in all I can confidently say that between me and my colleagues at Clarion, both past and present, we contributed substantially to Balwas’ prosperity. How can I forget my late friend Anil Jagga who introduced us to the Rum Coke & Tandoori Chicken combo that we used to consume in large numbers almost every evening.

If you are wondering where this blog is leading, please bear with me. I am quite confused.

Ever since someone pointed out that some of the money, maybe just a fraction, but some of the money that the Balwas scion used in the recently uncovered telephone scam may have been ours, a few of us Balwas regulars have been having sleepless nights.

Can the money trail be traced back so many years? Did we leave any tell tale evidence that we had made huge payoffs at Balwas? Did we ever give money directly to the son? After all these years can we be involved? Apparently there is no statute of limitations on economic crimes.

So I spend hours waiting for the knock on the door or the call on my phone. As a precaution I have advised my children never to go to Chutney’s, Shanbagh etc. If they feel like some Udipi they can always ask for take away. Who knows what plans are being hatched at these innocent looking restaurants? Who knows what the owner will turn out to be? Now that digital archiving has arrived, footage of them eating at these outlets can be preserved for years and can be used as evidence against them if necessary.

Oh My God. The very thought gives me the heebie jeebies. And things are not made easier when my children inform me that the cigarette shop that used to supply my cancer sticks a few years back was owned by someone called Suri who killed some Rayalseema goon and was also killed in retaliation.

Forget it. I don’t want to go to Tihar. And neither do I want my friends and families to be invited there. If that means I have to live only on my cook’s rock hard idlis and out of shape dosas, then so be it!!!