25-11-2003...part II

Somasamudaram:
When we got there we were a bit disappointed...it looked like any other dump...especially considering the trouble we went thru for just getting there.I went straight to the reception counter and explained the intention of our visit (which was to have a free lunch..if there is anything like that nowadays). The receptionist gave me a good nasty look and i bet he was thinking "Duffers! will go anywhere for a free meal...and look at them...where do they get their clothes from??" , but fortunately he was polite enought to say," Sir...your coupon says that only four people can be entertained with it..and you have 6". To which i said, "Not to worry...we will pay for the others". After performing a series of somersaults in the inside he put all his yeras of experience and tried to muster a straight face and said," as u wish sir".

We sat down at a table which was under a tent. The view from there was great..as we had only the sea infront of us...which explains why it was so expensive. We ordered a biryani and lemon juice.We looked at the other items in the menu and couldn't understand head-to-tails of what it meant. We got too embarassed when the waiter told us that they were your average-joe's mallu dishes. The price tag of the biryani gave me minor stroke...with Dasi slapping my back to make sure i was alright. I knew that had it not been for the coupon..i would need to sell my house to afford it. Once the Biryani and lemonade came in ..i closed my eyes like most orthodox westerners do before a meal in prayer..the only difference being that they pray to thank the Lord for the meal..i prayed that i did not have to wash the dishes once we were thru. We began to eat and take photos of each other. Jithz ordered us to eat evey morsel that was left. Dasi went a step further by flicking the odd spoon and fork into his pocket. Fazi was to busy checking out the foreigners..who were in their mid 50's....but there is something about white skin that always sends a tingle down his spine. Since I was really thirsty i had a huge gulp of the lemonade......that i learnt with great pain...was a big mistake. U c in ayurvedic resorts ..fresh lime is considered to be a very good health tonic. So what they do is they squeeze 3-4 whole lime into a glass and hand it over to u. Being a very citrus fruit most normal human beings will find it quite difficult to swallow it completely...and despite what i may claim in my posts..i am quite normal...so that was quite hard to swallow...and the worst part was the juice was so damn expensive that spitting it out was not an option.

For 'Chris'sakes:
Once we stuffed ourselves with everything we got and found out there was no room left...we decided to pay the bill and get the hell outta there. When we paid our bill...Dasi felt that no trip to this neck of the woods would be complete without a dip in the sea...and so we headed straight for the beach. We walked around and checked out more foreigners in their bathing suits..and clicked more photos...the guys went and had a dip in the sea...and we had a grand time.

Our way back was far less confusing as all we had to do was say 'trivandrum'..and they would point to a direction. We got into a bus and headed for Christnagar. Christnagar is the name of a skool which has a baskebtall court which is open for all to come and shoot some hoops. As we are lovers of the free this was one place we would frequently visit. When we got there...Dasi and Fazi remembered that they had to reach home by 6...so they left us. The four of us were shooting some hoops..when the seniors came in and wanted the court for themsleves. They asked VC, Steph and Jithz to stay back...and the others to leave (heyy that meant just me). In a way that was kinda fair..coz i played like crap. After admiring their game for a few minutes the guard over there asked them all to leave the court at once. Steph had to leave to coz it was getting late and his parents did care about where he was at the time of the day. I, on the other hand, had tuition at Kannan Sir's place at about 8, so was looking for something to do to kill time. That was when VC came up with the idea of having an ice-cream at 'Minus-26*'....

Can an Idea change ur life?:
Minus-26 is a nice cozy place where skool folks come to have an ice-cream. It's biggest USP is the fact that u don't have to give ur right arm for an ice-cream and u get to see some good looking girls in the process. After we had ordered our ice-creams...we all started chatting about skool...and the gossip that goes along with it. I must admit that boys are as big gossip-mongers as girls are...the difference being that girls spend less time speculating and more time spreading the word around, whereas for boys it is the other way round. It was when our conversation was flagging that Jithz said," Man...i really want to have snickers'.
I:What u mean??
Jithz: U know that chocolate
I: oh that...u get that in Stylus plus* next door
Jithz: Oh is that so...da lets go and buy it.
I:Ur outta-ya-mind ...that thing cost a fortune (Rs 26 to be precise..but that would have taken the effect away)..how much do u have on u
Jithz: 4 bucks
VC: 3.5
Jithz: and u avi..how much
I:lemme see...i have to go for tuition...so that leave me with....7....no 8 bucks.
Jithz: oh damnit...10 short
I: Yea..too bad...maybe next time
VC: Why next time dude?
I: Coz my bird-brained friend..we are short by 10 smackeroons
VC:..and....
I:And? we can't buy...hasn't arithmetic class taught u anything..
VC: Yea...so what...we go in and take it..
I:we what??? we go in and we take what? the snickers....u mean go in and steal a snickers!!!
VC: yep
Jithz: I second that...i mean the system screws u..lets give it back...This shop overcharges everything....what would a stupid snickers do to their bottom-line anyway
VC: yea man...what we and they do is essentially the same thing..
I: So u think the prospect of us going in there and getting caught and sent to jail for a stupid snickers is the same as overcharging an item they sell in the shop...
Jithz: Oh comeon avi....when do u get to do something really wild...we have no pubs or discos here..this is the only way to express oursleves...let's go for it...
I: U have no idea what ur talking about...this is serious crap ok
Jithz: Well do u have any other ideas....

****to be continued****