Livinghigh: Doubles Match
Sunday, April 08, 2007
Livinghigh was here at 11:33 PM /



Doubles Match

On one of my last days at Calcutta this time around, I roamed all around Park Street and Middleton Row and ended up at Flury's for a late lunch. And after ordering my Club sandwich and my cold coffee with ice cream, I settled down to fiddle with my digicam, which had been busy all afternoon. There were these two guys at the table next to me, and they were talking pretty loudly about being back in Calcutta, and how land rents had spiralled in Bombay and Delhi to alarming heights, and various business propositions one of the two had received. Very clipped fancy English, very La Martiniere or Xaviers schooling, about thirty-something old, both of them, and I could tell one of them was from Bombay and the other from Delhi.

And it was clear that the Bombay-walla was at least leaving Calcutta on the same day that I was, as he informed the other fellow that had he left a day earlier, he would be able to make the Shakira concert scheduled for that evening at Andheri.

And the Delhiwalla nodded in sympathy, but then was very offhand with the waiter when he was informed they were out of scones. :) It was clear, these were old-guard Calcuttans like me, who had left the city ags ago.

Anyhow.. I stopped eavesdropping once my sandwich and coffee came, as they 'hogged' my full attention.

***

Till... Sunday evening when I'm leaving Calcutta. I deposit my luggage for check-in (horribly slow line!), collect my boarding pass and then stand in another long line for security check. My flight is due to leave in 15 minutes, but I'm still in the line, and then when there's just two other people left ahead of me, I realise that I don't have my boarding pass with me.

Utter panic!

After talking to one of the walky-talky toting people milling about there, I rush back to where I got my boarding pass to ask for a duplicate, and that's when the girl there looks irritably at me, and hands me the original: I had forgotten to take it from the desk! And who should be there standing at the counter, in front of the girl, when I arrive breathless and nervous but - the Delhiwallah! I flash him a look, and I think he recognizes me too, but then I grab the pass and run.

And when I sit down at my seat on the airline, I chuckle to myself about coincidences.

Just when I'm thanking my lucky stars that the plane is delayed, and then I'm wondering why it's still delayed now that the errant passenger (me!) is on board, in walks, yes, the Bombaywalla, with his suitcase. He's much too late to catch Shakira's concert, and he's here on my flight!

No, I haven't seen either of the two here in Bombay, and it's been about three weeks since I cam back. :)


4 Comments:

Its calleda series of coincidences

By Blogger Viewer, at 10:36 AM  

lol! that made an interesting read. You neva know when THEY are gonna hog your conversation too ;)

BTW, your calcutta pics were really nice. A place I WILL visit one day. Will get some 'guide'ance from you :D

By Anonymous Anonymous, at 10:54 AM  

viewer - lol, and how!

co^th - thanks, and yes, do so. :)

By Blogger livinghigh, at 12:24 PM  

welcome to my hell...i think i've been 're-sealed'...:(

sorry cudn't avoid saying that.
:D

By Blogger Lil Mizfit, at 12:17 PM  

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