5000 years - 2

siva squinted , ramalingam stopped eating. they looked at each other and realized the lady was addressing the audience in that strange foreign language that they have unsuccessfully tried to understand. usually they would clear their throats and tell the person english would be preferable if you would like a response. but in the theater, they thought it would not be wise. this too shall pass thought siva philosophically and then we can enjoy the movie. after sometime everybody stood up. again quizical looks were exchanged. ramalingam remembered when such things happened in farway old world. before a movie which was about dying for the country and saving the country from extra terrestrial animals, they would generally play a song. and the procedure was for people to stand, not smile a bit, look seriously in far space and sing along if possible. then once its done a strange silence would begin but exponentially vanish.

ramlingam was happy he decoded what was going to happen in new foreign land. however there was no music. the lady uttered a few more words and looked around at people expectantly. siva and ramlingam watched the proceedings with utmost detail. suddenly some people raised their hands and some people did not. ramlingam got worried, was it the announcement of the arrival of a historical figure. then his flow of thoughts was interrupted by the lady who uttered a few more words. then a few people sat down but there were others standing. siva's calm eyes were on the verge of exasperation, and that i would like to emphasize takes a lot of effort. then the lady started uttering a few more words and looked around expectantly. this time ramlingam and siva were prepared. they knew what was coming and they could not be fooled. looking around they immediately raised their hands wanting to be part of the lets-raise-hands-after-lady-utters words group. then the same procedure followed.

suddenly someone interrupted, "could you ask the questions in english, its much easier to follow then" a moment of clarity struck them and they realized it was a question answer game they used to play in kindergarden. they were excited now. the lady is question turned to english and suddenly ramlingam realized thats really a sweet voice. then the lady asked the question and added, "if you agree with the statement raise your hands ,if not keep still". at this point neither of them understood the question. but they have been trained very well keep guessing answers in the old world. so both of them raised their hands. the lady replied to the crowd, ""people who have raised their hands, keep standing for the next question." ramlingam and siva decided their respective startegies. siva decided he will alternatively raise hands or not. ramlingam was not a mathematical genius but he decided, 2 consecutive questions he will raise his hands and then for 2 more he wont. and then the question-answer session continued. eventually the not genius mathematician was among the 2 last man standing. this was the moment of truth. this was the moment that will decide what stuff champions are made of.

the lady asked the quesion first in dutch and then repeated in english. from what ramlingam could figure out she was talking about a big colosseum type theater maybe in rome or greece that will be closed from next year. the question was how many years was the shows at the theater running for. ramlingam was impressed thats a long time for a theater of ruin. but the new world people were crazy. the lady turned to him and asked him, ""so whats the answer young man". ramlingam stammered, "well i have no idea". the kind lady said, "its alright just give me a number". ramlingam shifted his legs, thought for a swift second and turned to siva. siva thew his hands in the air. damn i have to go it all alone. he answered, ""5000 years" and suddenly he heard gasps and huge sounds of surprise. the lady trying to control her emotion turned to the other person who replied, "40 years". the lady was a little more relaxed and said "the right answer is 33 years".

5000 years

strange things happen in a foreign land and stranger things have happened to strangers.

ramalingam sighed and it was raining again. not the kind where you could take off your shirt and dance the merry dance to the merry song. this was more like cold arrows shot from the sky by the lord of how dare you enjoy sunshine. he looked back and saw his friend in the room adjusting his gear.

ramalingam not one to waste time at adjusting gears exhorted, "siva come on lets leave before it starts pouring." siva was the epitome of calmness. you could probably look at him and a sense of calm might overcome you, even in this weather minus the green tea. siva looked at him, "yes dude" and you could gauge from the reply that he was not in any particular hurry. his moves were fluid and smooth as he finally put on the gloves and glided across the room and closed the door behind him. in the meantime ramalingam took solace looking at the bicycles in all forms and colors on the street. he was mesmerized by it, not by the bicycle itself. but party due to this unimaginable number of them on the street. he was really curious, back in the old world of his this was not really the approved sort of transportation. lest one might be the subject to the games played by cars and trucks .. and god forbid state transportation. but that deserves another chapter. lets get to the task on hand.

they were quite a sight in this part of town. it is rare to see two indians walking on the street as if they own it. not in a particular sense of arrogance but more like a nonchalance of the world they were in. digging into the depths of their jackets and taking cover under the cap they walked towards their destination.

"so dude, what are we planning to do today". siva looked as if that was a very normal question considering the fact that normally one plans before leaving the apartment. he sighed, looked up for divine intervention before uttering the golden words, "there is a movie screening, lets check that."
ramlingam not one to dispute golden words with divine intervention agreed wholeheartedly with a shake of his head. "änd so after that lets go to the jazz festival, and the outdoor .... dude look over there do you think we should talk to those tourists." now to take a break at this point, its important to note ramlingam's characteristics here lest the reader be bemused and shocked when it is revealed in good time. ramlingam had peculiar conversation. his strategy from what scientists of lets-decode-conversation-strategies could decipher was this. he had a bag of conversation ideas, and new ideas would keep coming in from a path that has yet to be determined. however what is known is that he would randomly pick an idea and talk about it till he felt bored about it or another interesting topic in that bag is revealed. he then picks that up and talks about it. the two conversations might not be related nor important. another thing to note was of his genoristy to help stranded tourists with a lot of advice like "think twice before jumping into the canals" forgetting that he himself just moved into this city and truly they took a long time to understand his accent.

so going back to where we left you, siva looked at the direction which ramlingam had pointed. then looked at ramlingam, then looked straight ahead gliding his way effortlessly through the crowds unfaltering in his single minded focus to reach the destination. ramlingam did not mind that at all, he was used to it. rather he expected it. he had a lot to say without wanting anything specific more like general observations. as they kept walking towards the cinema theater, ramlingam was remarkedly getting excited. it was as one would say getting as close to a foreign culture as possible. that was ramlingam's enthusiasm, anything new and the opportunity to experience something new. even though his interest was not held beyond a few minutes ... as countless girls would recollect. it was a strange phenomenon and as said before needs a separate chapter by itself.

between chattering about how to evade if rain falls at a rate faster then 10m/sec to the new documentary on amazon rain forests they finally got to the line. and the clock struck 5, it was time for the doors to open. siva was puzzled , he didnt understand the concept behind entering doors in a single line. there was so much space around the line that is not being utilized.back in his old world people would rushing past others to find seats. you would never get the past seats. and after years of experience siva had perfected the art of entering-doors-past-crowds-with-effortless-ease. here he felt his skills were of no use. and as they were about to enter the door ,
"welcome to the balie, here you go sir"
both of them looked at each other. normally one would expect the person to ask for a ticked but what was this new thing. and the person had a smile and spoke in a friendly manner. and she held out a bag for each one of them. ramlingam's thoughts wandered back to the times when his mother had warned him not to accept strange looking bags from strangers. but those strangers roughly had huge mustaches and black glasses. he was confused. as was siva, he was thinking along the lines of glide past the bags and ignore this.

the lady getting a little impatient, "sir please take it and take your seats" they took it, they were well versed in the art of throwing bags in the corner and running out of the room, ever since their college days. with a little trepidation they looked inside. they found a packet of lays and a booklet. siva looked around and found everyone with a similar bag and munching into the chips. he knew this was a case for future deep thinking in the night about practices in the new world. ramalingam making himself comfortable was oblivious to siva's deep thoughts. soon the door shut and a woman entered. and what followed after that was an event of epic proportions.

time capsule

he coughed, once ... twice. he wiped the dust but the smoke around was making him feel uneasy. but did not take his eyes off the road. how could he, for in front lay a million vehicles. he figured this should probably drive him crazy but strangely it was comforting. it was familiar. removed from the concrete uniformity methodical jungle he found himself in the midst of a chaotic , humane surroundings.

he looked around and wondered how people tolerated this huge conundrum. logically they should not. life back in the far west was different. more efficient in getting a person from point A to point B, far more involved in making life easier to work and at work. never worried about electricity, clean drinking water, facilities etc. those were still a luxury here. he could sense a distinct pattern emerging. people with enough monetary luxury could afford those basic amenities without any thought. the person on the street, the person selling flowers , the person in the bus, the person travelling 20kms a day to work was facing the burnt of the total and systematic collapse of governance. it was not so back there. it was hard not to make a comparison but sadly it was disillusioning. he was beginning to like that life. strangely he felt himself caught in a time capsule.

a time capsule.

a truck honking interrupted his thoughts. he looked back and the guy was gesturing. yes he had to move another 100m before being stuck again. however the person behind him had no patience and wanted to move that 100m as soon as possible lest some other vehicle occupy that space.

it was nice to be caught in a traffic jam. suddenly he could reflect on what he was feeling for the last couple of weeks.

yes a time capsule

it seemed like he was living two different lives. like parallel roads. and it seemed he hoped off one to another whever he wanted. previously it was easy. previously he did not know that existed. but he felt being aware of that , two roads and a bridge. and with each passing year the crossing over was becoming difficult. the roads were diverging.