Time: around 2 a.m. Place: an unlit compartment of the Karnataka express on its way from Bangalore to New Delhi.
I tossed and turned in my lower side berth and each time the train halted, I craned my neck close to the window to peer out and try and figure out where I was. Bits and pieces of torn, sleepy conversation from the station reached my ears and I reckoned I was still in the South of India.Not for long though. I lay still as I woke up the next morning, and then smiled as it dawned on me where I was. "paepar…engleez, paepaar engleeezz.."
The aroma of hot samosas, ginger tea and what not, wafting in the air made me sit up. "madame, chai peeyenge kya?" a li’l boy asked me from the platform."Ek cup. Yeh kaunsi station hai?""Bhopal," he replied.I love the way everything differs from one state to another in our country. The breakfasts, the chai, the clothes, the looks and even the way the paperboy decides to pronounce his supplies!
No comments:
Post a Comment