💬 My mother's sugar spoon before every exam, and I still do it

Before every exam in school, my mother stood at the door with a steel spoon of sugar. I had to eat it standing up, no water. She said that's how the luck sticks. I was 9 the first time. I thought it was a joke until she wouldn't let me leave the house. She did it for my 10th board exam, my engineering finals, everything. I'm 29 now and she's not at the door anymore. I live in a rented flat near Ameerpet. But I still do it. Interviews, my driving test, even my passport appointment last year. Sugar from the kitchen jar, 1 spoon, standing up, no water. Same rules. I've never told my roommates. I'd rather not have to explain it to 3 grown men at breakfast. Last month I had an interview in Madhapur and the sugar jar was empty that morning. I panicked more about that than I did about the interview. I ran out and bought a Dairy Milk. Ate half of it in the lift. Some of it was on my shirt collar when I walked in. The interviewer looked at it and didn't say a word. I felt it for the whole hour. I called my mother after and told her about the chocolate. She laughed for a full minute. She said chocolate isn't sugar, so it wouldn't count. I said it should count. We argued about it for 10 minutes, on a call that cost me nothing, so I let her win. Haven't heard back yet. If I don't get the job, I'm blaming the collar.

A spoon of sugar at the door before every exam, with no water, I would keep that ritual too. My grandmother used to put a dot of curd on my forehead before tests, and I had to say bismillah before leaving.

Mine is socks. The same grey pair for every big test since college, washed but never replaced. It started as a joke with my friend Pooja during second year exams.