Fire in the pan……………….

The day began like any other day. No signs of things to come. No fluttering of left eye, no sight of a single crow on the branch, nor did I wake up on the wrong side of the bed. I, obviously get up from only the right side of the bed, for I sleep that way after my surgery. Any side that got cancer (in my case the left breast) should be the wrong side, right? I don’t sleep on that side anymore.

The day progressed as usual. Lunch time arrived as usual. I wanted to fry papad for myself which was not usual, as with the weight problem I try to avoid it, but then it wasn't unusual either. I kept the pan with oil to fry the papad on the stove, and left it alone for a while (on very low flame) to do something absolutely necessary, which if delayed for too long can lead to a watery mess. When I came back, something very unusual had happened. The pan was burning hotter than Munni, Sheila, Jalebi Bai, or whichever item girl you have come across lately. It was not only on fire, but I also heard a boom… like something bursting. I nearly panicked, but then said to myself, “Panic will lead only towards disaster, stay calm and do what you should”.

With both kids not home, I was not scared of ‘what if the house caught fire?’ Our kitchen roof has tiles, and it is low enough for a tall person to touch it easily. The fire flames were licking the wooden frame and I got scared it may catch fire. I had to approach the pan and switch off the stove first. I did. I had to bend down and disconnect the LPG cylinder. Scary to take off your eyes from fire when you are at close proximity to it, but I did. I stepped back a little relaxed when I heard another boom and flames flew out of window, terrifying my neighbor, who wanted to know what was happening and whether I was still alive. I told her I was OK. The wooden frames were wet due to heavy rains of monsoon, so I realized they may not catch fire immediately.

The rain… hah! As soon as my tiny bit of panic connected to the word rain, there were calculations galore going on in my mind. Rain is water and water douses fire. Therefore accordingly

rain should douse the fire. I calmly picked up the burning pan, and walked out into the rain. How smart of me I thought just for a second until … the rain water hit the pan. Immediately there was a loud BURST, and flames were flying everywhere. I did not know when I threw the pan away. The oil was burning on in the backyard; it was kinda weird as the ground was flooded with rain water and water was pouring from above, midst of that there were flames licking water as though they have found a immunity to their killer. It looked for a while as though the rains would catch fire and burn the whole world….which did not happen. Nothing caught fire as there was nothing around there to catch fire and also the rain was pouring down in torrents. With my wet cotton dress, I was saved. My foot suffered though. The flames licked it greedily before dying out. First, I rushed into the kitchen to be sure everything was safe, and then off I went into the bathroom and had water running down my foot until it cooled down.

When I walked back into the kitchen to sort out the damages, and check what had caused the fire; I found out there was a leak just above the stove and the angle of the rain had poured water into the pan causing the fire. I had learned my lesson, that water is unsafe for the burning oil when I walked out calmly into the rain. The booms I heard earlier were caused whenever the water leak directly hit the pan.

So here is my lesson to everyone. You should know that if you goof up big time, even without panic there are going to be damages. With all my reading of trivia's and science books, the fact that water cannot douse fire burning on oil had escaped my knowledge.

Not allowing the great experience and a burnt foot go to waste, I studied the scenario and came up with some theories about fire in the pan. After great deal of evaluation I found out, ‘what should be done to avoid fire in the pan, from burning your foot’. My foot is scalded but same need not happen to you. Any one of the below tip would work for you.

1. Marry a rich person who does not own a house with tiled roof
2. If you fail, then find yourself a husband who loves you enough to take care of repairs
3. If that doesn’t work; don’t eat fried papads
4. If you really love papads, don’t ever take your eyes off the pan
5. If you are the wandering kind, find a cook to handle the kitchen
6. If everything fails and the pan catches fire, just close it with a lid to cut off air.
7. DON’T EVER EVER WALK WITH THE BURNING PAN OUT INTO THE POURING RAIN.

There, now all of you should be safe with those tips from my experience to help you. Don’t play with fire. Be safe.

Yikes! That is my jinxed foot....