Loaf Aaj Kal: Notes on Friendship, Flour & Midweek Cheer
When your best friend knows your mid-week glucose levels better than you do!
Some people send flowers.
Some send long texts with emojis.
My best friend, Harini, sends cake. On a Wednesday morning.
It wasn’t just any cake.
It was a chai loaf — soft, spiced, humble in ambition, but rich in emotion.
Wrapped in parchment paper, like an edible hug.
No OTT ribbons. No hashtags. Just warmth in loaf form.
As I sat staring at the dense, caramelised top and the hint of cardamom that hit my nose before my heart, I thought — this is love. Not the movie kind. The midweek, no-filter, real-life kind.
The kind that shows up when you least expect it.
In a world where grand gestures get likes and dopamine hits, there’s something deeply intimate about someone standing in their kitchen on a week night thinking, “She’d like this.”
Friendship isn’t always about the big stuff.
Sometimes, it’s spiced tea cake.
Sometimes, it’s a note scribbled on wax paper.
Sometimes, it’s a loaf that says, “Hold on. You’re still loved.”
This loaf came with no performance. No photo op. Just crumbs on a napkin and calm in my chest.
So here’s to the Loaf Aaj Kal kind of friendship — soft on the inside, slightly crusty on the outside, and exactly what you need to survive modern life.
PS: Turns out, love rises best in 180°C.
Your sambar was a such a killer when I needed that comfort of home food. Plus you give me some badaas chai masala and I give you chai cake! What goes around...