Chocolate, the elixir of life!

Chocolate, the reason to live. Chocolate, the mood enhancer. Chocolate, the stress buster. Chocolate, the saviour. Creamy, gooey, molten, solid, dark, milk—whatever be its form, the impact it has on the individual devouring it, remains the same. Pure undiluted joy. There can be no greater love than the love for chocolate. Wars, marital disputes, familial disharmony, whatever be the problem, chocolates and only chocolates can save the day.
There was a time (not too long ago) when my husband would not enter the house sans a box of chocolate in hand.He would religiously buy a gigantic slice of white chocolate-coated red velvet cake and a bag of chocolate-coated almonds from Starbucks. “For you, my dearest,” he would croon lovingly. I would go to sleep instantly with white chocolate dreams in my head, only to wake up to an empty icing-ravaged box stuffed unceremoniously in the fridge, the next morning.
Then there were mornings, I would wake up with a mad desire to drown my soul with copious amounts of molten, hot dark chocolate. We would head out the door, faster than lightening and drive for close to an hour, sometimes more, to reach Chocolateria San Churro in Bandra. We would invariably be the first and only customers so early in the morning. The server behind the counter would give us a dubious stare as we placed our orders for black coffee and hot chocolate at 10 am in the morning.
On one particular Friday night, the husband landed in Bombay at 10 pm and wanted to head out immediately. I resisted at first, but he lured me with the promise of chocolate. He would soon eat his words, as we drove for close to 3 hours, to reach Sweetish House Mafia in Lower Parel. By the time we reached the joint, half their decadent cookies were over and the servers looked at us in astonishment, as we placed our cookie and coffee orders an hour after midnight!
I celebrate Easter every year, just to gorge on a gigantic chocolate Easter egg. Not the marzipan one, the thick chocolate-coated one, which can be broken in half. But of course, I never broke it in half. I would always stuff the whole thing inside my mouth and then attempt to break it, with a mighty crunch. One time I almost broke my teeth and dislocated my jaw, but it was absolutely worth it.
Is this normal behaviour? Without a speck of doubt in my mind, I'd say a resounding yes. All is fair in love, war and chocolate. If you don’t eat that delicious looking piece of chocolate, someone else will. Embrace it, celebrate it, drown yourself in it. Chocolate is your best friend. Always was, always will be.
–By Gayatri Bhadran