Bangaluroo
Hey all, Im in Bangalore. I luuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuv the place. Was year in the “Summer of 2002” for two months. Am back here after a gap of 3 years. The place seems to have gone through a total makeover in that time. I don’t seem to recognize a thing except a few joints, which were among my favorite list then.
I had a good flight on my way here, was flying my “home airline”. They put me in business class; economy class was already full (they put us muftkhors on the flight only if there is space after all the revenue paying passengers have been checked in). They gave me 1A- the first row, window seat in business class with maximum leg space; a very prestigious seat reserved only for “the who’s who”. I was mighty pleased.
The upgrade turned out to be a curse in disguise.
Ten minutes after we’d taken off, the lady on my right who had been smiling at me ever since politely asked me “You belong to Bangalore?”
I politely told her that I belonged to Delhi and was going for a friends wedding.
She couldn’t resist carrying on the conversation. “I am a politician by profession; an MP”
Oops…an MP; one saw a lot of pictures on TV or in the newspaper of this particular species, but this one I was totally unaware of.
“The session got over today. You must be traveling back home.”
I knew that because on Friday evening the demand for business class seats went up ex-Delhi to other metros as the parliament session closed for the weekend.
“Yes, discussions about railway budget and the general budget got over today…. and the Hon’ble Speaker…and Manu Sharma…encroachments in Delhi…..”.
I was bloody bored. I’d had a tough day at work and was in no mood to discuss politics. I chatted up with the MP for a while about religion, politics and the youth of today till I fell asleep.
I got up when the touchdown happened. It was a smooth landing. Couldn’t wait till I deplaned…everyone would be waiting at the arrival hall. I wished the MP well and somewhere within my heart, hoped I never saw her face again.
Reached the arrival hall but couldn’t see a single familiar face. Damn! Where were these guys? I headed towards the local PCO and quickly called up Inder. He was the only one who knew I was coming to Bangalore. It was a surprise for everyone else
“Kithe ho yaar? Koi vi nahi aaya!”
“Gul, just wait up at the arrival hall. We’re caught in a traffic jam.”
“OK!”
The hall was filled with thick white smoke;(the mosquito repellant smoke) I could hardly breathe. I dint want to read .I was too excited.
Inder called soon to say he’d reached. We waited up as Priyanka’s flight was landing in the next 15 minutes. Vishant was on his way to the airport. Suddenly I saw Suehlan’s excited face popping from the car window. She’s not supposed to be here. It’s a surprise for her.
Later, I was told that Vishant “the aurat “ could not keep the secret in his tummy for long and had let the secret out over dinner 3 days back.
I was more surprised than anybody, cos everyone knew that I was coming, and all this while I was thinking that no one knew.
Priyanka came after another 10 minutes. Emotional histrionics followed. Bangloor janta was getting scandalized. We’d better hurry out soon….
We got into the car and decided to go to some local joint for food. Conversation ranged from jobs, girlfriends, boyfriends, ex-boyfriends, house rents, cellular phones, cricket, blue tooth, tyrannical bosses, pay raises etc etc…
We ARE family …
And we had finally made the Bangalore trip happen. The next two days were gonna be fun.
I had a good flight on my way here, was flying my “home airline”. They put me in business class; economy class was already full (they put us muftkhors on the flight only if there is space after all the revenue paying passengers have been checked in). They gave me 1A- the first row, window seat in business class with maximum leg space; a very prestigious seat reserved only for “the who’s who”. I was mighty pleased.
The upgrade turned out to be a curse in disguise.
Ten minutes after we’d taken off, the lady on my right who had been smiling at me ever since politely asked me “You belong to Bangalore?”
I politely told her that I belonged to Delhi and was going for a friends wedding.
She couldn’t resist carrying on the conversation. “I am a politician by profession; an MP”
Oops…an MP; one saw a lot of pictures on TV or in the newspaper of this particular species, but this one I was totally unaware of.
“The session got over today. You must be traveling back home.”
I knew that because on Friday evening the demand for business class seats went up ex-Delhi to other metros as the parliament session closed for the weekend.
“Yes, discussions about railway budget and the general budget got over today…. and the Hon’ble Speaker…and Manu Sharma…encroachments in Delhi…..”.
I was bloody bored. I’d had a tough day at work and was in no mood to discuss politics. I chatted up with the MP for a while about religion, politics and the youth of today till I fell asleep.
I got up when the touchdown happened. It was a smooth landing. Couldn’t wait till I deplaned…everyone would be waiting at the arrival hall. I wished the MP well and somewhere within my heart, hoped I never saw her face again.
Reached the arrival hall but couldn’t see a single familiar face. Damn! Where were these guys? I headed towards the local PCO and quickly called up Inder. He was the only one who knew I was coming to Bangalore. It was a surprise for everyone else
“Kithe ho yaar? Koi vi nahi aaya!”
“Gul, just wait up at the arrival hall. We’re caught in a traffic jam.”
“OK!”
The hall was filled with thick white smoke;(the mosquito repellant smoke) I could hardly breathe. I dint want to read .I was too excited.
Inder called soon to say he’d reached. We waited up as Priyanka’s flight was landing in the next 15 minutes. Vishant was on his way to the airport. Suddenly I saw Suehlan’s excited face popping from the car window. She’s not supposed to be here. It’s a surprise for her.
Later, I was told that Vishant “the aurat “ could not keep the secret in his tummy for long and had let the secret out over dinner 3 days back.
I was more surprised than anybody, cos everyone knew that I was coming, and all this while I was thinking that no one knew.
Priyanka came after another 10 minutes. Emotional histrionics followed. Bangloor janta was getting scandalized. We’d better hurry out soon….
We got into the car and decided to go to some local joint for food. Conversation ranged from jobs, girlfriends, boyfriends, ex-boyfriends, house rents, cellular phones, cricket, blue tooth, tyrannical bosses, pay raises etc etc…
We ARE family …
And we had finally made the Bangalore trip happen. The next two days were gonna be fun.
posted by Gul at 2:06 AM
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