HOW BIZZARE

The train journey wasn't that bad. The waiter in the Rajdhani kept feeding me continuously from the time i boarded the train in NJP till i got off in New Delhi. And in between hallucinating and a game of cards with total strangers, i bumped into an old school mate.

When you meet people from school no matter how long the gap, especially if it's a boarding school you've spent eight or so years in, there is an immediate sense of bonding. It doesn't matter that the guy you are bonding with was a total asshole back then.

We chatted while the waiter, a guy from some remote place in Nepal, kept bringing us food and soup and ice-creams to eat and non-alcoholic drinks to drink. We spoke of this one and of that one and of this incident and of that. And while the day turned into night as we chatted, we took occassional breaks to light a smoke in the loo. In the loo, because, a lady had announced that anyone caught smoking would have to pay a hefty sum or de-board the train. Neither did i have the money for the penalty nor the inclination to walk. My friend too, perhaps, was on the same boat as me. The loo seemed the safest bet for a risk worth taking.

It was only when i bid my friend, who's transformed from an asshole to a nice guy, goodbye and stepped onto the platform in Delhi, did i realize the wonder of the air-conditioning inside the Rajdhani. Delhi was like a tandoor and i was being roasted alive. No one else seemed to mind the heat. They were more concerned, i think, of contracting the swine flu virus. The streets somehow looked abandoned. The very few people around had their noses and mouths covered with everything and anything they could lay their hands on.

Chaotic Delhi felt quiet and strange. It wasn't bustling with people and cars and activities like it normally does. Everthing seemed weird suddenly. And as weird as it was, i did the unthinkable too. I pulled out my scarf and tying a knot around the back of my head, covered my mouth and nose. Just in case...

A couple of hours and a cold shower later, sitting in this internet cafe sipping whisky and coke, i can't help but wonder... First, sleeping around can give you some deadly diseases...i guess, all of us have come to terms with . But breathing...breathing can kill you! Oh Fuck!