Being alone in a city which is as alien to you as perhaps India was to Christopher Columbus, has its own unique points. It can sometime lead you to a strange experience which lingers on for a while in your mind.
Last Sunday was one such day. On an unusually windy, muggy very english kind of a day in my current city of inhabitation, I ventured out of my comfort zone at home to have lunch outside. It was not sunny so I decided to have a stroll to the local food joint which I suspected to be filled by now as the time by my wrist watch was well past one hour the afternoon, the usual time for people to cater to their hunger pangs. As I walked past the security guard in the restaurant it was already drizzling outside. I thanked my stars having escaped the wrath of rain gods by a whisker.
True to my intuition, the place was crowded to its maximum capacity and I was politely requested by the manager to wait for my turn in the reception. I could empathize with his problem to settle a single person in a place usually frequented by families or couples. Outside, the mix of sweat, perspiration and rain water were presenting a heady cocktail of emotions for me, primarily pertaining to anxiousness and helplessness for being alone. Anyways I got my call and I was made to share my table space with a stranger. As this scenario was not something new to me, I gave my order and quietly waited to be served. Just as I was about to bring out my cell phone to kill time by playing some game, the stranger opposite to my table started a conversation.
Stranger: Are you from Hyderabad?
Me: Yeah, pretty much so, been here since last 18 months. (This was only partially correct) Stranger: So you work somewhere nearby this Hitec City.
Me: Yes, Wipro. (in a slightly annoyed tone as I don't like being encroached upon my privacy by strangers)
Stranger: So you a software professional?
Me: Yeah.
Stranger: Which languages do you work in?
Me : Oracle technologies.(now this was getting too much for me...being recognized as a techie, who as an outsider was bad enough, now this man going to challenge my technical expertise too)
Stranger : Well, I am a manager in a trading company.
Me: hmm.
Stranger: What do you think of Wipro? Actually we have a proposal for my sister from a wiproite, I was just wondering if you somehow know anything.
Me: Ours is a big organization, you can't hope to know each and every person. (Said with considerable pride in my voice)
Stranger: Ok. So where are your parents staying?
Me: Delhi.
Stranger: Wow that's where my companies head quarter is !
Me: Ok, which place in Delhi? (Now I sensed some opportunity to score some brownie points over him)
Stranger: Malviya Nagar.
Me: Oh! That's very near my place, on the way to IIT, Delhi right?
Stranger: Yeah, don't know much. I just stay there for some hours, work and come back the same day.
Me: Hmm. (Well this man has already started brandishing the fact that he is a frequent flier!) Stranger: So what do you like about Hyderabad?
Me: It's good; I mean it has all the amenities available which are required for a comfortable living. However I don't like the weather here. (Meanwhile both our orders have been served, and we had started treating ourselves)
Stranger: But your Delhi has extreme climate and summer is unbearable there.
Me: It has winter too, which I prefer more. (I wondered whether an argument was going to start discussing the pros and cons of the two cities.)
Stranger: Okay point taken. Do you think that Wipro is as moralistic and ethical organization in it's business practices as it prclaims itself to be ?
Me: yeah, I think so. ( I mean what point does he have as an outsider to say something like this) Stranger: Then why do you think Wipro always follows it's closest rival in declaring its quarterly results ? I always say that the result that they show is a balanced report and not a balance report ! It is always due to the reason that they want to manipulate the market forces.
Me: May be, but as wiproites we are always imbibed a culture in ourselves to be always honest, transparent and totally integrity conscious employees from the day we join this organization. Stranger: That may be the case, but to an outsider like us, this is what which seems to be true.
Me: Hmm....
(Followed by a momentary silence)
Me: May be we should start, now, it seems to stop raining outside now.
Stranger: Ok. Let’s go ....so how are you planning to spend your evening today?
Me: I started reading a novel yesterday; hopefully I will complete it today.
Stranger: So you are a bookie, I am mostly into management and non fiction stuff & I read only while in a flight!
Me: Ok....Seems like this rain is not stooping soon. (Now seriously in a mood to end this conversation)
(Going out of the restaurant now)
Stranger: I am calling a auto, would you like to join me, I will drop you off on the way.
Me: Ok, sure. (With delight)
(Both in the auto now, driving towards my home)
Stranger: Do you know, my blood boils whenever I see the office complex of yours !
Me: Why?? (Totally perplexed at such a thought as what harm possibly an innocent looking semi-old building cause to a man who is not even remotely connected to it. I guessed being unsatisfied with the business policies of my company was bad enough. Surely he must have sinister ulterior motive, I told to myself, waiting for him to answer. But the reply which I got was something totally unexpected.)
Stranger: Well I was totally, madly, deeply and romantically involved some time back with a girl who worked in this office complex, things didn't work out and we separated after that. Since that day every time I go past this complex on this road, it reminds me of those painful moments.
I waved to the stranger, as I got out of the auto and walked towards the lift in my apartment.
