company in east india - part VIII

I woke up feeling much better than anticipated, a koel was singing out in the garden. Aunty had arranged for a track record booklet (for the races) and had taken me through the basic terminology and how to look up important statistics in great detail last evening. Today morning she showed me a copy the Telegraph pointing to the punter’s section which elaborated about the editor’s picks for the day. I was all enthusiastic quite hopeful of making a little money. In retrospect, today was one of those days which alters ones view of the world.

Fresh cases of bird flu had again been reported and this meant no eggs, implying in turn no omelets. In a way I was glad, with the way things had gone last night I was all for giving the stomach a break. Breakfast was fruits and thandai (Gujju’s friend had gotten engaged and sent a tokri full of fruits) and once that was wrapped up I proceeded with getting ready. We had to wear formals; I had saved on of my favorite shirts for today and was borrowing Gujju’s shoes. And also today was the day I would finally get to sport my shades. I was the first to get ready and then started the great game of co-ordination with S. She was coming from home along with her younger cousin (who was unaware about the finer nuances of our lives) who (because S was living with her) knew that S had been to Shillong; from my end aunty knew well about my north east sojourns. It was a potentially hazardous situation and fed up playing the sms-ing game with S (in which we pondered over what would be the best recourse), I thought it best to be upfront with aunty and explained the entire situation to her, much to her amusement. Reach the Royal Turf Club just in time for the first race but as S had not arrived me and Gujju got off the car and waited while aunty went in. S arrived shortly with her cousin and we went inside, the security guard objected to our cell phones and asked us to have them deposited at a designated counter, so we stepped out, put them on silent and shoved them inside S’s hand bag and marched right back.

We had the best seats in the house and felt like royalty. Aunty explained the basics all over again for the benefit of S and took us through the basic routine for making a selection while Gujju explained the process of placing the final bets. We had missed the first race and the second one was due shortly, aunty ordered some beer and rolls for us and the bearer was quite prompt. I took a paneer roll as I wanted to go easy on the tummy but could not resist taking a huge bite from Gujju’s mutton roll. Once the race started we were all glued on the television screen till in the final leg the horses appeared, it was fantastic! Gujju had some work and left shortly, but by this time S and I had been quite well groomed and we proceeded towards the inspection parade of the horses saddled for the next race, trying hard to spot a limp or catch a swagger. It was extremely involving and very soon we were debating choices and getting more ambitious with the quantum of our bets. We won some, did not win some and almost won some; it was a splendid day.

Walking out of the turf club S and I decided to explore a bit of the city once again, said our goodbyes to aunty and went towards the promenade nearby. Stepped into a famous ice cream parlors and had some (yes, you guessed it right) ice cream float. I was short on liquidity and there wasn’t an ATM around, we wanted to take a boat ride but the price was horribly expensive and more than that it was the sheer lack on money which prompted us to take a walk instead. After a bit decided to go towards Park Street, took a cab, once there kept looking for ATM’s but weren’t too lucky (they were either out of cash or did not accept my card) and finally S had to make the withdrawal that done we stepped into Flurys for a cup of chai. It was late evening by the time we were through and I had this impulse to grab hold of a roll and sink my teeth (hadn’t eaten much the entire day, was quite famished) so we hopped across the street to Kusum’s and bought a paneer roll and with that in hand took a cab and proceeded towards salt lake. Dropped S near the house and took the same cab back home.

Gujju was glued watching Roadies and I joined right in, it was a tragic evening; Prabjot was voted out. Roadies meant Saturday and that meant that we had to be at another disc promoting Club Mirchi, I have no idea how Gujju managed to find this job, even he doesn’t! I was super tired and did not bother to change; Gujju on the other hand went through an elaborate ritual which culminated in him putting on his dancing shoes. The venue today was ‘Underground’ it was supposed to be much more happening and better than Tantra; to be honest I could not differentiate (except that it was more crowded at peak hour). The place was quite deserted when we entered and I made myself comfortable on the bar stool, several familiar faces were around from Tantra, exchanged pleasantries. Saurabh wanted to know why the north east trip had been cut short and what my take was on Shantiniketan. Once done with the conversation he insisted I give the dance floor a visit, I used my usual ‘nursing my drink’ excuse but eventually had to give in to his enthusiasm. Gujju’s friend’s from that initial meeting in Flurys were also here, one of them had recently gotten engaged was with his fiancée; the DJ welcomed and played a song for them, all this was live on air.

Mid way through all of this Gujju appeared and me for favor, one of his clients (I forget the name now) was arriving and he wanted me to chat with him and preferably use my Hindustani andaaz. I saw no harm and was shortly introduced to the gentleman; the first hour of the conversation spanned how he wanted to build his brand (he was from a multi national car manufacturer) using a similar marketing vehicle and all the essential ‘finding the pulse of the customer’. Then somehow he discovered that I was related to bhaiya chacha and this took the conversation on a different tangent altogether. The last lap centered on theatre (he happened to know Saeed Alam and had seen Tom Alter in Maulana Azad) and how the marketing monies which were being splurged at events like this never managed to reach the stage. Now suddenly (this one paragraph is a condensed version of nearly three hours) Gujju reappeared and asked me to step out, Saurabh had managed it once more.

I followed Saurabh and crossed the street; the big guy from Bangalore was there. It was well past mid night and the streets were near deserted. On the way back I stopped at a pan shop just adjacent to the hotel and bought some candy. Stepped back into the disc and felt psychedelic, it was quite a surreal experience. I mean what were the chances of me being in a disc in Calcutta, at this unearthly an hour; in such blissful a state.

Appetite had managed to find its way and the plan was to have dinner at Azad Hind Dhaba (it’s famous for MF Husain’s frequent visits) the place usually remains open till quite late, but recently an accident had occurred on that street and the police had stepped up patrolling, forcing the dhaba to close. The street was lined with cars and bikes on both sides and it appeared like a college campus, one of the group figured out a way to smuggle us through the back door entry of another dhaba in the vicinity called Sharma’s. The meal was simple: dal with egg, keema matar, shahi paneer and tandoori rotis; fulfilling (there were around 7 of us, most of them Gujju’s colleagues). As we were stepping inside the car to leave, Gujju’s friend was dropping us; Saurabh appeared with a packet and gave it to me along with Gujju. These guys had bought a fabulous kurta for me, and I had absolutely no clue how to react. The ride back home was short as the city was deserted, reached home, crashed.