I spotted a white man on the streets of Kolkata yesterday. Presumably a tourist, he was wearing the customary T-shirt with a rucksack on his back. But what took my breadth away was the lungi he wore to bear the brunt of the Kolkata heat. Green vertical stripes and blue horizontal stripes, he wore the lungi like all other men did. But, much as I appreciated his attempts to localise himself, I could not help noticing that he had missed a vital point. While men in India who do not have the privilege of working in air conditioned offices wear chappals or open sandals, our white man completed his gear with a pair of socks and sneakers!!!! I snatched my camera phone out of my bag but my bus had moved on by then. Perhaps, some impressions last best if left to the memory.

Ugh! Ash and Abhi married each other eventually. News papers and channels have had no other news for the last 3 days – one Jahnavi Kapoor slashed her wrists in public and Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukherjee were not invited. Somebody from Lucknow arrived at AB’s doorsteps with 500 ladoos and gate crashers were dealt severely by the security men.

Why should I care?

I do because I would hate to put myself in Abhi or Ash’s shoes. Marriage is after all a very personal thing and I would hate to have people intrude and comment on my intentions. It’s as bad as the whole of India demanding to know who made it to the national cricket team and why the world cup was a disaster. True, I pay to watch the game, but the hype created by the media is really unwarranted. We are a nation that lives on sensation. Following the Georgia Tech shoot out, a similar incident took place today in Hyderabad. A student shot at his college mates, because they were trying to stop him from ragging!!!!!

Cooped in my little world, shut out from ‘real life’ for the last few weeks thanks to a viral infection – suddenly the guns seem a lot louder, the wedding bells jarring, and the colours very garish. The world is too much for me right now.

Just read – Jhumpa Lahiri’s Namesake

Intend to – watch the movie