Mysore and Naipaul

I reached Mysore at around 930 PM. On enquiring around, I found that the auto might take around 20 bucks for the auto trip to the ginger hotel. There was also this option of taking a prepaid auto. I settled on the option of the prepaid auto initially.

As soon as I got off the train I started walking in the direction of the prepaid auto counter but realised that the entire train of people was walking in the opposite direction. I changed the plans and started walking in the opposite direction, along with the crowd. Outside  I got into a bus which did not fo to Nazarbad. Then the mind wandered off to a nearby bus stop. Having convinced an autowallah to drop me for 20 bucks, I saw a tanga standing nearby and the mind again wandered. 

A minute hence I was sitting in the tanga. Meanwhile the enterprising tangawallah pulled 5 other guys in the tanga. Soon the exclusive tanga was converted into a share tanga. Nevertheless the tanga took its own sweet time to reach ginger hotel. Meanwhile I made small talk to my neighbour, and he asked me from where I was , what do you do etc. A few were easy, I am from north. But then the difficult one came, what do you do and why have you come. on Dooty. I assented. What Dooty. this inquisitiveness is a great trait to see in any person, irrespective of their social standing because it tells that a person has a thirst to know how is the world outside his well. Sometimes one also perceives it as being unnecessarily nosy. I follow the former idea. But yes, I did struggle to answer him on what did I do, does the company have an office in Bangalore, if it is based out of bombay, do i work in bombay. 

I kept giving him true answers, but they kind of did not make sense to him, perhaps because I did not provide him with a string to join the variety of thoughts. 

Ginger hotel was pretty lively when I reached there. Unlike other hotels , the dude and dudette at reception were in jeans , t shirts just like they are in, I guess Go airlines, or is it Indigo. I forget. 

Tatas have decided that the hotel concept would be the crucible where all the tata products come together. Tata wifi cards, soaps, tata sky etc. One day they will have nano playing in each hotel room. There was also a funky retailing machine which had everything from soaps to cool drinks, but a tooth paste, someone had not brought, expecting to find it in the room. The low cost Indian hotel room concept does not have any space for the tooth paste anymore. 

The next day after haggling with the auto wallah for almost 20 minutes, I got into an auto and he took me precisely in the opposite direction from where I needed to go. After I made a few calls and realised that and browbeat the auto wallah to take me to the proper location. The 20 minutes I had spent in haggling were wasted coz the autowallah finally extracted exactly double the amount. I am ok with people making a fool out of me , as a reason to earn a livelihood, but I guess there is some fundamental problem somewhere. When I get into a Bus, a gang jostles with me and flicks my phone, an autowallah takes me for a ride. I need to change my looks . Start going to gym, double my muscles count, throw away that specks of mine. Look more aggressive and angry...la AB, 70's style. I will work on this. Starting tomorrow. 

In the hotel the whole Indian family was travelling, After some thought it occurred to me that it is time for th great Indian schools, summer vacation time. I saw a group of punjabis , loud , very loud having dinner with me. The progeny and the progenitor at loggerheads over an ice cream. For some good measure the uber helpful hotel staff were on the progeny's side, and the Mom was cross. Real punjaby crossed mom. 

I returned by the shatabdi. They have timed the departure perfectly. No lunch. I was banking on them to feed me, but all I got was a jumpin and few biscuits. The caterers on the delhi chandigarh sector are more munificent when it comes to feeding their passengers. All during the journey they keep feeding you something or the other. One of my greatest challenges in life has arisen when I am on a shatabdi or a flight , not the low cost ones, and I am presented with something to eat and I have seriously no idea how should that thing be consumed. 

Saw Oye Lucky Lucky Oye yesterday. Good movie. The best part Abhay Deol's nonchalance. Trying to read The writer and the world. The Jamaican-Indian authors essays beteen 1960's to some other year. What's his name...V. S. Naipaul( Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul) . Wiki says he is from Trininad and Tobago. Ok he is from there. The other books which we have read include , Among the believers, my first and India a million mutinies now. 

Of all the normal books I have read on India by gurcharan das, tharoors etc, this one still ranks my best. I know there have been other better books written on India like the last Mughal etc, but I have not read any of those.