Some glimpses...

Two weeks and I have been to two states, Gujarat and Rajasthan-despite the fact that I have been in each of these cities for exactly 2 days each. But its been fun nevertheless and here are some things I saw and was in no little measure, amused by.

I am at Mumbai Central and I have been walking for half hour looking for a place to surf the internet. I have been walking around looking for a place to browse or surf but I was met with indifferent stares and grouchy mumbles when I ask people around me and suddenly in the distance I saw a sign board-"ComComputer One; your search ends here" and I felt relieved that at last some place where I could, if not browse, atleast ask them about the nearest browsing centre and won't be cast away like flotsam. So I walk in with a triumphant air and ask the person in-charge- "Is there a browsing centre nearby?" and he quipped back-"Bole to?" I gave a sardonic smile and walked away.

There is an old couple walking towards me, the first thing I notice about them is the frown on their faces. They seem like a South Indian couple and aged approximately 55-60 years. They are looking in separate directions with a distinct huff on their faces that would indicate to any person who cares to see that they have just had a tiff. As I walk towards them thinking what they must have fought about, I notice it in the end as we cross each other. They were holding hands and walking. Could not help but smile.

I decide to have dinner before I go back to the station to catch my train and so I begin to look out for restaurants. There were a number of restaurants around but I don't stop until I see the perfect place to try. I step into the hotel purely intrigued by its name- Punjabi Ghasitaram Halwai Karachiwala. I am thinking what made its owners give it that name-could it be that the name had a historical slant to it and did the Punjabi in the name refer to the one in India or in Pakistan. I finish eating and go to wash and see a cockroach scurry away from under one of the plates kept for cleaning. Raised eyebrows.

Footpaths are a horrible invention of mankind, I mean I have just finished eating and I walk up the footpath and then down and then up and then down. I get sick of this and my stomach is tired of this exercise. I would rather walk on the road even if there is the added danger involved. Then I notice the name of a bus stop- Dr. Bhaydarkar Naka Marg and I think this seems like the perfect name for a scary bed time story for your 5 year old. Just opposite to that is Hotel Park Shilton. I cringe.

I am 5 minutes away from the station and I decide on a whim that I would like a paan because its been so long since I had one. So I ask the paan vendor for one sweet paan and he laboriously prepares it-adding all the ingredients and I stand there waiting restlessly until I see that its almost the size of a burger and he says just pop it in. I push the paan in slowly and for about a minute struggle with it in my mouth. There are 4 people around me who are smiling at my predicament but I stick to it and in 5 minutes, its gone. I walk away.