Two sketches
He is at work. His mobile phone rings. Its her.They talk about many things, how he is doing, what she is doing, the weather and in between all this she punctutates her sentences with lines like "I am bored" and "Come back soon" and yet it feels like she is holding something back. Its almost as if there is something more she wants to say but is not sure if she should make herself seem so vulnerable. Its probably more so because of how he is than her own nature. He is the kind who has always looked down upon outbursts of emotions which made you look weak in anybody's eyes and that means anybody's. So here they are, making small talk and suddenly she says "I miss you". He becomes quiet, a half-smile spreads across his face as he bows his shaking head and says, "Mom, mom, mom!"
He is an old man dressed in white pajama-kurta, most probably a Bohra Muslim from the cap he wearing. He has a long silvery beard and a garrulous disposition. The young man takes his place opposite him in the train from Wadala to Andheri on the harbour line. The young man takes out his newspaper and after a while of reading finds somebody tapping his hand. He looks over the paper to find the old man asking for the Mumbai Mirror if he was not reading it. After handing it over and going back to reading the paper, the young man again finds himself being accosted. He puts his paper down to find the old man pointing his finger at something in the paper. He looks
at what the old man is pointing to to find a picture of Gurdeep Kohli, a TV serial actress in a figure hugging salwar-kameez. The old man says- "Hamare mulk ki auratein bhi aaj kal Los Angeles ki aruaton ka mukabala kar rahi hain"(The women of our country are also competing with the women in Los Angeles) clearly pointing at the breasts of the TV actress. The young man goggles at his words and before he says anything the old man creates an illustrations of her
bust in the air and lets out a guffaw. The train pulls into the Andheri station.
He is an old man dressed in white pajama-kurta, most probably a Bohra Muslim from the cap he wearing. He has a long silvery beard and a garrulous disposition. The young man takes his place opposite him in the train from Wadala to Andheri on the harbour line. The young man takes out his newspaper and after a while of reading finds somebody tapping his hand. He looks over the paper to find the old man asking for the Mumbai Mirror if he was not reading it. After handing it over and going back to reading the paper, the young man again finds himself being accosted. He puts his paper down to find the old man pointing his finger at something in the paper. He looks
at what the old man is pointing to to find a picture of Gurdeep Kohli, a TV serial actress in a figure hugging salwar-kameez. The old man says- "Hamare mulk ki auratein bhi aaj kal Los Angeles ki aruaton ka mukabala kar rahi hain"(The women of our country are also competing with the women in Los Angeles) clearly pointing at the breasts of the TV actress. The young man goggles at his words and before he says anything the old man creates an illustrations of her
bust in the air and lets out a guffaw. The train pulls into the Andheri station.
posted by Saraansh at 2:56 PM
3 Comments:
Hi Saraansh. been a long time since i stopped by.i was also reading ur earlier posts on mumbai and it all makes so much sense to me.been here for 6 months,in Andheri. and you?I have made similar observations of the people here,the dust,filth,the enormous structures,whatever.people just get used to a certain rush,which turns into a complete vacuum when they leave the city.this is a vibrant place no doubt.i wrote a review of the book Maximum City in my blog.do check it out.I'm sure u would have read the book too.
Very nice saaransh, i like the conversation between the guy and his mom.
Encounters in the subway here are rare in the morning, everyone is quiet,listening to their IPOD's and thinking about the day ahead.
When i was in school, i only used to get back really late, so the trains was pretty much deserted and the ones who were in there were usually dozing off.
But the subway musicians and artists here really lend flavor to the whole subway transport scene. And they make tons of money ..people are generous maaaannnnn..
Rama
Conversations here in the local train are quite common and that is one thing I enjoy about Bombay-something interesting always happens on almost every journey of yours by train.
As for the subway musicians I guess the good thing is you always have an alternate career to go to if you are tired of doing what you are doing.
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