Beef with the Hotel Poltergeist

Beef with the Hotel Poltergeist

The friends we forge largely determine our own personality. That's some scary stuff right there because right off the bat you know how crazy your mind can get, it can make you the richest person in the world by investing in friends that are go getters or take you downhill. 

Fortunately for me my minds swings in the right direction occasionally and I can safely look back and say, what the hell was I thinking? The friends you keep during a night shift are the weirdest lot you can imagine largely because theres nobody around to talk to interact with or even eat with for the next 12 hours. So its crucial that you get that selection right else your bored to death or shit scared of the dark. The shift in itself is a weary one and will drain your life blood namely your sleep allowing you a bountiful 3 hours on a good day, if your roommates decide you get them that is. 

The shift gets even more twisted if your really quick with your work and have absolutely nothing to do because by nature your deviant mind runs in the opposite direction post 2 and like Ted Mosby's mom always told him "Nothing good happens past 2 am, so the best thing to do is get to bed".

Here of course your on Raat Jaagran and your body isn't as happy as it was staying up all night in a kitchen as it is in a club. You bong! and by that I mean your insides give way, hunger, sleep and anger all rolled into a tight compressing mess you now call your shift. Your mind of course over a period of time starts with the ghosts stories and then leads up to seeing figures and ends with bouts of narcolepsy. The ghost stories are most common from bright lights in rooms, to mysterious calls and shrieks from the locked down butchery. 

The ghosts stories are as varied as the people you encounter. A common reference in the sitting poltergeist that sits on its victims while they sleep on shift. Many ITC employees will vouch with their lives that they have seen this guy and some of my colleagues have too. Another instance was when one klutz of a steward who would constant pilferage had the misfortune of attracting a little to much negative karma. Thus attracting unnecessary poltergeist activity. 

He was the only one who received calls from the drivers cabin. This was a regular scene only when he did night shifts however one day he lost it, as usual he picked up the call and answered with an abuse. This was followed by silence. Slamming the phone he walked up to reception and told them to route all the calls from  the drivers cabin to in room dining to which the amused front office executive burst out laughing. This steward infuriated now demanded why he was laughing and what he heard next in his words "frightened him sober" apparently the driver's cabin didn't have a phone for the past 3 years, how only this lad got calls at 3:15 is still a mystery. Ive taken the liberty to share a few pictures of some ghosts of my past.

The beef Titake rolls is a recipe I tried out after a double shift and is sourced from "Saveur"

Beef Titak Rolls (Makes 8 portions) 12 Rs per portion

Ingredients:

Beef Tenderloin : 250 gms

Mirin : 30ml

Mustard : 20 gms

Salt : 10 gms

Sesame oil : 10 ml

Leeks :50 gms

Bokchoy: 50 gms

Carrots: 50 gms

Procedure:

Slice the beef thinly at an angle and marinate with mustard, mirin and sesame oil

Julienne the vegetables and arrange neat stacks inside the slivered meat , tie up with spring onion green blanched in water and made pliable

Sear the roll on a hot griddle and let rest. Sprinkle on some sesame seeds and honey with sesame oil.