Friday, January 11, 2008

Apologies. No post since the last year eh. I've been generally traveling , on work. That's fun. Work took me to Shimla. I was forced to travel for 72 hours and 2000 odd kilometers to attend a 10 hour conference. Where I slept for about 8 hours. So, more waste of taxpayers money, and this particular taxpayers time...but Shimla was nice. Unfortunately all the daru dukans were closed during my stay ,elections and all.

Through the trip I was assigned the task of babysitting two female colleagues. One aged 30 odd (a PhD in some life sciences thingumjig) and the other 25 (a statistician) both older than I am. This was an ordeal it had its moments of hilarity and insanity and sometimes both rolled into one.For example.

At India Gate:
Getting out from an Auto, we see it in the distance, as we approach it PhD gets jittery
Babysitter: Arey kya hua?
PhD: No no, we should not go so close.
B : Hain!! kaiku? After dragging me all the way.?
PhD: "I'm scared".
B : "What of?"
PhD: "Suppose we go by mistake to the other side?"
B: (mystified..What is wrong with the other side) ...but still says. "Chalo chalo kuch nahin hota.! Main hoon naa."

All approach closer.

Phd: "Arey! Where are the Pakistanis?"
B: (forgive me I was a little slow so I was still mystified) "Pakistanis....In Pakistan where else..in places like Rawalpindi and Lahore."
Stats: "Lahore is in Pakistan aa?"
B: Splutter choke.
( Aah! but wait just a moment..)
Phd: "Where are the Pakistanis here?"
(Then it dawned on me...she thought it was Wagah!!!)
B: (Don't know if I should be laughing or crying)..with ill disguised tremors in my voice I ask. "Did you think that there was a border with Pakistan here?"
PhD: "Of course there is. Didn't you know?" ###
B: My mistake..Then I guess that building over there is where Gen. Musharraf stays.All the time i thought it was Pratibha ji (a.k.a the ghost whisperer), and it was the Pakistani army whose might is on display down that road every 26th of Jan....Pointing to some poor Gurkha rifles jawans who were hanging out there ".Look our Chinese brothers have also come to pay us a visit."



### The story is true upto this point. The last few lines was what was going through my mind at that point of time.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Jesus H. Christ! I don't believe this! And here I was living in this perfect fairy tale world (the one with the twinkling lights) that only Americans had the birthright to exhibit such lack of GK.

Damn you...you have shattered yet another (dream) world of mine! :)

P.S.: Although, this does indirectly prove my 'Permanent Head Damage' theory ;)

Australopithecus said...

its all because of aping the west i say...oops did i say ape...i hope the math ref. doesn't hear of it.

paranoid.android said...

Seriously...how do you land up with such odd tasks?? babysitter of girls older than you?? haha...
and seriously, pakistan across the india gate?? to think i thought my gk was bad...

Cynic in Wonderland said...

...one female ( then a graduate) had once asked me (completely mystified) cousin from the UK (visiting india )whether " Do you also have a sun in the UK?"

if she was hot, you should have displayed your machismo and bravery by crossing the borders eh?

Australopithecus said...

@paranoidandroid: arey yes..my sins are catching up with me in this way.

Australopithecus said...

@cynic in wonderland :
heh. she must have asked ki if she had son in uk. :P
i could have. only i was too busy trying my best not to stab all concerned with ball point pens...

also i was handicapped by good taste.

ArSENik said...

Lol...
What would we bloggers be
Without such 'bright' company?
Our blogs would be empty
And readers would be scanty.

Anonymous said...

ha ha ha! The last 3 posts were simply hilarious. i see gainful employment has resulted in posts full of complete sentences and grammatical correctness.
what it is, eh?