Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Bheegi Billi and other tales


I slowly, carefully slipped my hands through- the left one went first, to the chagrin of the pot-bellied Master Rasul, and then the right, and a few smoothing of creases later, he directed me to a mirror to take a look. The suit felt mighty fine, and unlike what I’d thought, almost weightless. I tried to stretch my arms out wide and had to stop at an unwieldy angle that made me look like an overdressed scarecrow. Ma had the now-ubiquitous “I wish was quick enough to take a photograph now” moment, as Big B started laughing out, too. The tailor was shaking his head when I enquired if I couldn’t stretch my hands beyond the point where I was. He replied through poorly controlled sniggers- “People in suits aren’t really expected to go beyond a shakehand”. That was probably the only dampener in an otherwise supremely satisfying two hundred seconds. As Big B and I concurred, Tashaniya.

While that tailor’s receipt says my abbreviated name will receive that suit two days from now, my name troubles will probably haunt me a day earlier. It’s that big feline day tomorrow, and stories are flowing in from all directions on how the organisers are very particular about identification details, with at least three different levels of frisking and checking. In that regard, it's piquing that my passport, college ID card and ATM card, the only three officially acceptable forms of identity verification I have here, all happen to be slightly different variations of the same 25-character name (without spaces). An identity crisis, indeed.

Talking of that catty event, the venue happens to be another of those million permutations for college names here in Hadduland that go like (random-alphabet)ITAM. Just to make sure, Big B and I did a recon of the venue yesterday. The morons have the only centre in Visakhapatnam a full thirty kilometres off the city. Thankfully, at least twenty-five of those are either on the highway or on a newly-constructed BRTS road. But once you take that dreaded diversion the college board demands, you’re into a sand-and-rocks quagmire in the middle of dense snake-infested forests, flanked ever-so-briefly by an almost out-of-place picturesque lake. I have a feeling Slartibartfast left some of his work over here, too.

***

Five months after the last visit, and more than twelve years after that first landing, I think I’m going to miss Visakhapatnam/Vizag/The city of destiny.

There. I got that out.

2 comments:

Arun said...

I remember Slartibartfast from H2G2- he was the one who designed planet Earth, wasn't he? All cities in the country could do with his deft designing skills that, frankly speaking, would put Rajdeep Barua to shame.

Missing your home-town is probably the basest of all human emotions Murut. It's not missing your home-town that sets you apart from the crowd, don't you think?

Anonymous said...

POLO T-Shirts For Men on when the leisure shirt do not forget that matches lining Khaki, the cotton duck and so on similar leisure style pants as well as the walking Polo for women polo, the color chooses you to be possible to have one's wish.
The skin black yellow person puts on POLO L-Sleeved Shirt For Men, ashThe tone shirt will appear blacker yellow, and will create the somewhat dirty POLO Sweaters For Men; The skin fair person puts on the sharp shirt to be able to serve as contrast very much the skin fairly, but this will cause the man will often appear too feminizes, will lack the male character, certainly this also will be place which of this summer fashion the neutral tidal current will surge long sleeve for women.
The fat person puts on the small squares lead the T-shirt unlined upper garment to be able to appear somewhat rigidly adheres, crampedly, should choose the belt point's big collar shirt to be more appropriate. The big solemn polo shirt puts on the shirt not to need to choose on that kind of collar to decorate has the decoration button's shirt, although just is at present POLO Shirts For Men.