Yesterday a friend posted on his blog about 'bumping' into a Hummer on Rafi Ahmed Kidwai St. in Calcutta. I was with him when the same occured. He was completely flummoxed by the entire episode. He couldn't believe his eyes. I had never seen a Hummer before so it was quite exciting to finally see one, but the inanity of its presence (apparently an All Terrain Vehicle used primarily by the United States Army which runs at 2kms/lt. ie. a completely useless vehicle to possess in Calcutta) in the aforementioned crowded bylane was not lost upon me. My friend was speechless. He studies in the United States so finding a Hummer in Calcutta was absolutely pointless and surreal to him. It was even more surreal to me since our teeny weeny local auto easily overtook it (of course it did, that goddamn car ate up half the street to move). We simply dismissed it as another of the random surprises that life in Calcutta chucks at you.
Surpises continued right till today when the same friend and I, while on our regular walk back down Theatre Rd. to Park Circus from our favourite tea stall, overheard a Puchkawallah (Panipuriwallah) tell his companion that "a criminal coming into my palace and..." (we pass him by and his voice trails off and yes he spoke precisely those words in English). My friend and I flummoxed yet again out of our wits burst out laughing at the randomness of it all.
I don't know what to say. I'm still grinning as I type. Its real good to be back home.
2 comments:
Haha. Thats so fucking random. The hummer must be some marru idea.
most likely. no other class of calcutta could genereically speaking muster such a thought.
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