Is it the truth that beacons, the moments that thrill, the love that transcends or the knowledge that enlightens?
What sets you free?
+ The things aren’t’ very normal anywhere. In your home, in the school, out in the market, in the government. Your eyes search for normalcy and settle their vision there where they find some.
= You are a big skeptic, aren’t you?
+ Look around you, man.
= I do look around. I find a perfect little normal world.
+ You have to look beneath the surface, examine the cracks a little better. How are things at home?
= How does that make sense in this discussion?
+ How are you folks, I mean with each other?
= What are you talking about?
+ Let me, ah, REPHRASE the question – How’s their married life?
= (a stare) it is quite seamless.
+ That’s the surface, my friend. When you go home after the exam, just observe. Little things, the way they sort out little differences, the unnecessary tiffs that happen over the slightest issues, the...
= You don’t know them, stop getting bloody judgmental.
They sit silently and sip from their Kingfisher cans. The night is warm and sweaty, without any wind, the moonlight making it seem extra warm. Typical summer. The balcony overlooks a slum dwelling, tin roofs and walls, but increasingly concrete houses, most of them under construction.
The two are in their early 20s, engineering grads. They are preparing for their semester exams, but at that moment, they are just killing the exam boredom that’s characteristically engineering-type.
He lights his B&H Lights and sits back
= Those things are part of any marriage. That is very normal. Nothing is ever 100%, is it?
+ Take my example. When I started going around with $, the first few weeks, were just a bliss, man. It was flawless Even the first year, we were cool. Now, after almost 2 years, it is not that, right? For me, that was normal, so what we have now is far from it. We fight, we take each other for granted, we try to have our way in things, and I see it happening. And it’s well past the normalcy phase.
= Look, you have to work on things. You can’t just say things got out of hands.
+ It’s better if things happen on their own.
= If you don’t contain a river, it’s bound to overflow its bank. If it matters a lot to you, you should be ready to go to any length to make it work
He suddenly grabs him by his arms – in a fake Irish accent – ‘What are you prepared to do?”
+ You have gone crazy!
= that was from...
+ I know, the Untouchables
= It seemed appropriate at this juncture
They both burst into laughter
= When I was returning from home, this really weird thing happened in my bogy. The TTE came, and started checking tickets, ok.
TTE, to this Bihari “Ticket dikhao”
The guy “khidki pe hai”
Everyone there, including the TE, was like, taken aback! Seriously, that guy was not kidding.
TTE - “kaunsi khidki pe?”
Bihari - “ticket wali”
TTE, trying his best to make sense of the whole thing – “to tum idhar kya kar raha hai?’
Both of them start laughing uncontrollably.
+ Kya badawala chuitya hoga wo..
= Abe bihari babu to mast tha. No tension. TTE to do minute tak ekdum chup!
+ fir settle kaise kiya?
= wo bihari babu aapne 2-4 dost leke aaya kahi se. to fir TTE ki thodi fat li (laughter)..
= tera kitna hua hai?
+ Pahele do ho gaye
= sahi hai be. Doosra kafi bada hai. Full architecture. I hate this CO shit
+ It’s not that tough.
= Dude, it’s a pain in my royal ass. I can’t remember all the schematics and block diagrams man.
+ Do it with thanda dimaag. It’ll fit right in. Chalo, bahut bukchodi kar li be. Wo harami laga hua hai nau baje se, saala kal tak poora chat ke phirse baithega.
= Ek sutta share karenge?
+ Thik hai
# What are you guys drinking?
The voice belongs to a short, tense looking fella. Red eyes and bushy hair. He is doing engineering for the knowledge’s sake
= Ho gayi teri padhai harami?
+ Kingfisher...mineral water
# Really? Does it taste better than Bisleri?
+ Yes it does...it tastes much better
# You are drinking beer!
+ Haan, ghante. You think we would waste time and money on some dumbass mineral water?
