School was finally over. Papa was not his useful cheery self. Mo could sense why. Two of his four daughters – Sohini and Rohini, were no longer in Gangtok. The elder one was in Chennai and the younger one, in Bangalore. They had taken up jobs in beauty salons and had settled to the rhythm of life in the big city. His wife was leaving no stone unturned in convincing Mohini that this was the right thing to do.

The Lepchas were a family of six, living in the pristine environs of Gangtok. Mahesh Lepcha worked as a store clerk. His wife, Suman, managed to make ends meet, with a small barn and the little that her husband earned. They had four daughters. Mohini was the third.

Things had changed six years ago, when Champa, their neighbour’s daughter, visited Gangtok. Champa had been living in Chennai for nearly ten years. Her occasional visits to Gangtok brought a windfall of money and goodies for the Bhatt family. After two years of living in Chennai, she had brought home her husband.  Another three years later, she brought her two children. All the neighbours looked up at the Bhatt household in awe and admiration.

Sohini, the eldest of the Lepcha girls, got to know from Champa about the amazing life that a beauty salon had to offer. Life in a metro, the rich and amusing clientele, the generous tips, and the prospect of marrying a ‘city boy’ … Champa had sold her a dream!

One fine morning, Sohini announced her decision to leave for Chennai. While Mo’s father would not approve of it, her mother’s joy knew no bounds. “We don’t have to worry about her marriage now, papaji”, she told him. “We have three more daughters to take care of. Let her go and make some dough”. Reluctantly, Mahesh Lepcha agreed.

Sohini took up a job in the same salon as Champa. The big dreams sold to her blinded her from the untenable conditions she now lived in. She was one of six girls, crammed in a girl’s hostel. The girls told her that marriage was the only way to afford a separate space for herself. When she returned home for a vacation after two years, she was the urban face of the family. But Mahesh was worried. His daughter was barely a reflection of her old self. With amusing gaudy nails and pink -tinged hair, she was behaving in a very impersonal manner.

Mahesh Lepcha held Champa responsible for distancing his eldest daughter from him. And to add insult to the injury, when Sohini returned to Chennai, she took her second sister, Rohini along with her. Rohini wanted to break free from her elder sister and prove herself to the family. Within months, she moved to Bangalore.

Sohini married a year later and gave birth to a girl child. Mo visited Sohini during her school break and doubled up as a baby sitter. She would take her niece to the beach and would spent time watching the hawkers there. In this way, Mohini learnt to cook. When she returned to Gangtok, she spent every other day cooking South Indian food at home. Mahesh Lepcha resigned to the fate that Mohini too would leave in two years from now.

By the time Mo completed high school, Sohini had found a spot for her in the salon. Mahesh felt lonelier than ever before. Had he failed in life? Why did his loved ones leave him like this? 

The 18-year old Mo found the air-conditioned salon cold and impersonal. Every time she was called to trim eyebrows, tears stung her eyes. She could not see herself doing pedicures for the rest of her life. The constant training and pressure to upsell services, when she was not convinced about what she was doing, troubled her. Every time she looked out of the window, she felt like a prisoner. Her sister consoled her, saying this was a small price to pay for a bigger life. She would get used to this soon. At the end of every day, Mo wanted to rush back and hug papa. She missed living in the lap of nature, in her little piece of heaven. But what would she do once she returned? Her mother would send her back. If not now, she would be married to someone and sent back. This was not the happy ending she wanted.

Eight months later, without saying as much as a word to her sister, Mo quit her job. Mo’s sister was keen on convincing her to return to the beauty salon. But all Mo did was play with her niece and go to the beach every day. She made friends with a family of hawkers and offered to help them with chopping vegetables and serving customers.  She also taught them how to perfect the Channa and Dal. They were happy to have her around. A ‘Hindi’ girl, as they called her, was part of their team. She had helped them expand their menu and attract new customers. While this job did not pay her much, the pots and pans made her heart sing. Mo used the opportunity to learn how to make South Indian food. They gave her some money, which she used  to buy kitchenware.

When no amount of convincing worked, a disgusted Sohini decided to send Mo back home. Probably a good lecture from mother and miserable days in Gangtok would fix her. As Mo boarded the train, Sohini advised her to rethink her decision over the next few days. It was more of a threat, than sisterly advice. Mo knew one thing for sure. She would not come back to this again. Raja, from the hawker’s family, came to the railway station, to send her off.  He gave her a tiny box of idlis for the journey, with his number written on the lid. “Go home, phone, teek hai?" he told her. Mo grinned. She loved having these conversations in a mixture of languages with this family. They somehow managed to understand each other. It made work fun.

Mo did not receive a warm welcome from her mom. But papa was happy to see his favourite daughter back. “Do you really want to go back?” he asked her. Mo just grinned. Over the next week, Mo’s mother advised her at every opportunity she got. “Don’t stay here, Mo. You will end up with a life like mine”, she said. “Do what your sisters have done. Go away and only come here for vacation. Have you seen how well your brother-in-law is doing? Don’t you want to marry someone like him?”. But Mo was getting other ideas. Sitting in her barn, feeding the cows, Mo’s dreams began to take flight. “Why not open a food stall right here?” she thought. She wanted to serve the best ‘Madrasi’ food in Gangtok. Mahesh Lepcha’s eyes lit up as his daughter unveiled her dreams. Together, they made a plan. They would start a takeaway service first – serving just idli, bajji, dosai and chutney. That did not call for too much investment.

Raja kept in touch with Mo. They communicated through funny pictures and emojis. Language did not look like a barrier to them. One day, she told Raja about her dream. After this, Raja seemed to talk to her less often. By the end of the month, all communication stopped. Mo felt a part of her drifting away.

Mo and Tara, the youngest of the brood, bought some old newspapers and plastic covers to parcel food. Her mother refused to support Mo’s crazy idea. But papa jumped into action. This was his only chance to prevent the fate of his other two daughters from befalling his dearest Mo. They started by offering idlis for free, over a weekend, outside a monastery. This attracted many people. Every evening, one of the three would sit outside the monastery and canvas their tiffin. Mo shared her phone number and offered to deliver freshly made ‘Madrasi’ food at a call. When an order was placed, Mo would cook and Tara would deliver the food by bicycle.

After 3 months, they managed to turn in a small profit of Rs 2500  Papa was ecstatic. Mo used the profit to buy a broken, wooden makeshift stall.  Soon she decided to accept party orders. The pricing made it affordable for middle class families to plan parties.

One fine Saturday, Mo received a call against the backdrop of trains. It was Raja. “I Gantok Mo!”, he told her, in all excitement. He had brought some utensils and spices along with him. “I help Mo, teek hai?” he said.

Papa sold some land and bought a small garage for Mo. The jovial young Raja seemed to have comfortably settled into the Lepcha family. With Raja to support her, Mo could offer a greater variety of food for her patrons. Tara made hand-written menu cards. The garage worked like a street food joint. Papa took up the job of cashier. Mohini and Tara would handle service and delivery. Raja sold the Gangtok dream to his friend, Murugan. Murugan joined him in no time, and Mo now had two chefs. Ma now reluctantly managed the PRs.

Papa was a happy man. For every person who had left him, he had gained more now. Raja and Murugan, who never knew a place or language beyond a fishing hamlet in Chennai, were cooking their heart out. And with the steady influx of customers, he was no longer a lonely man. Mo was now an entrepreneur in her home town. Raja found his home with Mo. 

Here was Mo's fairy tale. Tara soon decided to become a tour guide. Mo had shown Tara that a beauty salon was not the end of the world. Unlike the two elder sisters, these two girls did not have to undergo the agony of living in unknown cities to make a living.  Five years later, Lepcha’s Idlis, featured on the list of must-visit tourist spots in Sikkim.