At the Café with Mr Sharma

  •   Fri, Feb 27 2026
  •   By Ivan Menezes, Valencia / Muscat

February 27, 2026

At the Café with Mr Sharma

Gimme That, Gimme That, Gimme That Shawarma
You too take one, my dearest friend, Mr Sharma
Now that we are in Oman, it is our good karma
We are truly blessed with tasty, authentic Chicken Shawarma

Why face the dilemma in choosing between two things, Mr Sharma
“One must assimilate into a new community,” says my wife Wilma
World is a global village and we humans are all connected, Mr Sharma
“Our food becomes yours, yours becomes mine,” says Dietician Karisma

Aren’t we tired of eating the ubiquitous chicken korma?
“Life should be an adventure,” teaches our Dharma
“Chicken is full of protein,” says my Doctor Varma
What are we then waiting for, Eid? Let’s devour the Shawarma

What a wonderful Arabic sandwich this is called Shawarma
It comes wrapped in paper, exuding mouth-watering aroma
They say it originated in Turkey, but I am not so sure, Mr Sharma
What have we got to do with history, all that matters is Shawarma

To eat good sandwiches we need not go to Manama or Panama
Right under our very noses available are lovely, succulent Shawarma
Why are you, my countryman, creating unnecessary drama?
Your eyes proclaim explicitly how much you love Shawarma

Your repeated hiccups do not appear to be a ‘full-stop’ signal but a coma
I discern you are expressing audibly “I want one more Shawarma”
Life is short, but Gulf career nowadays even shorter, Mr Sharma
Better you eat like a glutton without worrying of getting transformed into Bhima

 

 

 
By Ivan Menezes, Valencia / Muscat
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