When I saw Sindoo’s words, the phrase ‘child’s play’ flashed through my mind and I smiled in complacence. Oh! How the mighty are fallen! For the last seven days, my creative self has been struggling to find a connection…and, finally early this morning, I woke up at 2.30 and voila! I got it…. Sindoo, thank you for making me eat the humble pie!
SINDOO’S WORDS: RADIO, BOOKMARK, SHIP
Bharat surveyed the elegant interiors of Café Theiere. Wow! So this is where the other half wine and dine. He had never before entered such an expensive restaurant, and perhaps, never would have, if he hadn’t won a prize in a Radio quiz show. He loved interacting with the RJs during the daily long trek via Emirates Road. And during peak hours when the car just moves a couple of feet every ten minutes, the company of those sonorous,humourous, witty and entertaining RJs was a solace. He often participated in their competitions and conveyed to them the locations of traffic bottle- necks, besides requesting for his favourite songs. Last month, there had been a quiz on ships, a topic dear to him, thanks to his maternal uncle who had been a marine engineer who had regaled his childhood years with stories of his life on the sea. Bharat had developed a keen interest on ships as a boy and had a collection of miniature ships and books on ships. The quiz had been a cake- walk for him. He had answered all the questions on ships, shipping terms and disasters correctly and won a free meal in Café Theiere …and here he was.
Seated in a secluded corner, he was able to observe what was going on around him.
When the sommelier gave him the menu for wines, he declined, no he wanted only water. Did the man’s nose go up by an inch or so? He slithered away into the darkness and was replaced by a commis waiter.
With a flourish, the commis handed Bharat another fancy menu with a list of mineral water with fancier price index….. Wow! Water priced so high? You get a two-litre bottle for just two dirhams in any restaurant! This was five star robbery. He stole a glance at the stiff figure near him...Yes, the sneer was there as though the man could read his mind. Hello, you are only an assistant…. Back home in a kalyana sadyai (wedding feast) you will be beckoned with the snap of a finger…’Ambi…inga konjam thanneen…’( brother…a little water here!) You are just the twelfth man in the cricket team…. A water-boy! And don’t you give me any airs!
Bharat glanced at the list again. Something caught his eye. Canaqua. Now that sounded familiar. Where had he heard the term? He tried hard to recall. Suddenly it clicked. He had heard his RJ pal talk about a new brand of water that has hit the shelves in an exclusive mall in Dubai. Some water bottled from a Canadian spring …what was that they claimed? ‘Untouched by air or any living thing!’ Priced at Dhs. 10 for half a litre bottle. Fine…. The meal included water as well…so he might as well opt for the fancy stuff.! A bottle of Canaqua, he said as snootily as he could and handed the list back. The man’s face seemed to change.. A flash of appreciation before the professional supercilious expression of five star waiter masked it again. As the fellow disappeared, Bharat surveyed the room again. He mentally book marked the scenario….. Maybe he would share it with his favourite FM network and all its listeners in the emirates. But, he must tell them one thing, the prize winner should have the option of redeeming the coupon for its worth rather than be a victim of five star snobbery…. He had only selected the water…now there would be the main menu and the dessert … What a torture!
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