The Devil Wears Chappals

I am running dangerously short of footwear. (Dilli dosts help me – send me some love from Janpath and some affection from M block). Mumbai has absolutely no variety – all I see now is kolhapuri chappals of which I have had enough and those silly ballerina shoes that I think are ridiculous! I am so desperate for some variety that I have even considered cleaning the dust off my old red tattered converse shoes – and I would mind you, if it weren’t for the heat and humidity of this damn city.

Well, ok, Mumbai isn’t as bad as I make it out to be. the other day I was waiting to cross this busy road since forever and a huge truck just stopped causing the entire traffic to come to a halt and the driver gestured me to cross the road – it sent warm tingly happy feelings inside me and I thought to myself “This happens only in Mumbai”. Also the cab drivers are very nice and sometimes insist on returning 50 paise also. It again makes me go “aww”! So ya, I guess the city does have its moments. And it has Naturals icecream – with my flavour of the month being Anjeer. And Mondy’s ah Mondys – what would I do without thee?

The other day I was listening to Hemant Kumar… “chup hai dharti chup hai chaand sitaare…” while I was sitting at my window, looking at the opposite building (well, what can one say, that’s the view I have)…so anyway, the salty breeze of the sea was at its best and I was nibbling on aam-papad and I realised that this music taste has been passed on to me by my dad – and that’s when I realised that, try as much as we may, we eventually become what our parents are – and then thinking about it more in detail and to my utter horror, I discovered that many of my mothers traits are now happily perching on my head. And then the lovely song started “waqt ne kiya kya haseen sitam…” and my thoughts wandered off to the fact that maybe the Beatles are not it – that maybe I should start getting more into old hindi music in details… the lyrics of this song almost makes me cry each time I listen to it. Sigh.

I got a tiny stuff toy from my cousin today – and I was so delighted – not like I am one of those “ooooh stuff toys are so cute” kind - on the other hand I think that for a gift for an adult, it is the easiest waste of money – but this was indeed special. For one, it was Hobbes from "Calvin and Hobbes" and that was enough to make my cry in joy and secondly, it was something she had won in one of those game parlours where you try fish out a toy from that plastic box – both these facts added to the gift so much that I am, at this moment, sitting right beside it looking at its loving eyes that seem to speak to me!

Hmm yes, I have no string of thoughts – no paragraph is connected to the other – this post is leading to nowhere land. I don’t think I have anything so important or major that I can keep writing about anymore. I think life is becoming increasingly unexciting. I was invited (twice!) to this fancy club called Blue Frog that has recently opened and is the “place to be” (apparently!) – But I am put off by the fact that it has entry charge – yes entry not cover! – and then again, I was invited by men in my office who I am not friends with – so lets not even try treading that path of drunkenness with strange men. And hence, my evenings are very limited to sometimes catching up with college/school friends who work/live nearby or going home and listening to music until the late night episodes of Friends begin. Getting old, are we? Or we could just call it maturity? I like the latter – it sounds less boring. And for some reason I keep trying to find reasons to sound less boring – like trying to spice up a history text book with an imaginary character like Jodha (isn’t that was Rushdie says?I am not sure)

Oh I played Tekkan, a tennis game and a road rage game on playstation today and it was kick ass! And may I humbly say that I kicked ass! I had underestimated it – for all my view about it being just a video game for kids – today I have new-found respect for the damn thing! It is brilliant – the only down side of the entire exercise are the boils I got on my thumbs (apparently I have delicate hands, says he) – and now as I type I have two blobs of water bags on my thumbs. It’s so ugly. And I still want to play! How? How must we solve this problem?

Okay enough of rattling senselessly – back to my major problem – I need footwear – and those who are my friends would know the kind I want – flat chappal type sasta-tikau funky stuff – with big wooden beads or anything red? Colourful would do but I am assuming I should grow out of the whole multicolour thing. And some heels I prithee? Lovely ladies going to gk, please to be helping – beige? Black heels? Size 5? Oh I am desperate. Please to be responding to my plea! Pronto?

(“mera joota hai japaani yeh patloon inglistaani” plays in the background. It’s a sign I say!)