A long queue for lunch is a common site in software industry in Bangalore (or shall I say chop shops as the US senator has so inadvertently pointed out).
And you do not expect much action in such a queue, what with pot-bellied people and equally innocuous other-gender species, moving as set pieces in the queue. Such a sight, at least gives you a sample of how seriously we take our health or appearance for that matter.
"So you are not a South Indian?", this was a query directed at me in that dreary queue.Well the queue is not as lifeless as I had mentioned earlier. And to top it all it was a girl who was asking me this. I replied back, "No".
"Yes, we had guessed it anyways". OK, thank you very much that at least by looks I don't look a South Indian. Some North Indian egoism in play here. And "We"!!! Who the hell are "we" and why are "we" discussing about my ethnicity?
"I am from Bihar", yes I could not control my eagerness to know why are people discussing me.
"Oh", yes the usual shock...am used to this.
"We had a bet and I lost". "We" again!!!!
And betting on me. What the $%^&!!! Do I look some kinda @#$%^&?
"Oh on me!!!", it was a sincere shock, no iota of overacting (which people say that I often do).
"It was nothing....just that Aasha was sure that you are not a South Indian...You had put 9XM yesterday and we were just trying to guess, which region you belonged to!!"
What a stupid bet...channel surfing, a credential to determine one's ethnicity!!! To cut a long story short, we have a TV in our cafeteria and that is the only source of our entertainment during lunch. (If you don't count the meaningless manager jokes people crack). And an airtel set-top box connected which very few people dare to touch. The reason being we don't have a remote and all channel surfing has to be done manually. And this I came to know recently that people dread to walk up to the set-top box and change channels. Why - try changing channels in full public glare and you'll know.
Now since I don't care about what people say and reviews in general, I am you can say the entertainment man of my cafeteria.
And next day I see Aasha in the lift. Excerpts:
"You"
"Yes am not a South Indian"
"Then"
"From Bihar"
"Oh"
"Won the bet anyways!!"
"Great"
And a very experienced colleague of mine (you can never doubt his analysis of married status of ladies), seeing all this said "Wow man!!! Even married women are talking about you these days. And what was that bet all about?"
"What!!!! They are married!!!!"
"We" are married - All charm, all effort gone down the drain...as 9XM jingle says - "Ban gaya mein Bheegi billi"!!!
