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Bombay to Goa ... Lost in translation

This happened on the drive down North Goa yesterday. We were heading to the airport to catch our flight back to Mumbai. A nice air conditioned Wagon R (Rs 50 more for AC) and a very sweet, young Goan driver. A local Hindu, nicknamed Sam.

I slowly woke up midway and began to stretch after the coconut tree induced snooze. Suddenly Sam spoke out of the blue.

Sam: Sir, where are you from?

Me: Bombay (I normally use the M word on the blog)

Sam: Oh. Er what is happening to the new Shah Rukh Khan film? Will it get released?

(I am used to this. Years back on hearing I am from Mumbai, folks in Bangladesh had asked me when the then new SRK film, Kuch Kuch Hota Hain was going to release!)

Me: Well from the news it seems so.

Sam: The Sena is opposing, no? What is the problem?

Me: Well from what I know they are protesting because he wanted Pakistani players in his IPL team

Sam: So the Pakistanis won't play now

Me: No, I don't think so. Plus they can't hire more players now

Sam: This Shiv Sena makes life in Bombay difficult no?

Me: (wan smile)

Sam: I heard that they are like terrorists. They break everything all the time

Me: Well not 'all the time'. I wouldn't call them terrorists

Sam: But what is their problem?

Me: They have a central belief. They protest when things go against them. Actually there are two parties. One is Shev Sena. The other is... (I actually forgot the name of MNS at that point)...er the Sena

Sam: Oh, life in Bombay is tough

(My face became even sadder at the thought of the short holiday coming to an end)

But, what happened there? Did I just bat for the Shiv Sena. I guess being largely off booze and red meat at Goa made me delirious.
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Comments

Haddock said…
come to think of it, when I watch some good period films I see some disturbances in the background, and notice that there are some skirmish / arguments by the common people with a group of people who wear some sort of arm band which looks something like SS.
These same group of people later formed a greater group and had a "big" leader by the name of Hitler who finally brought a bad name for Germany.
I always wondered that if these small group of people were put in place in the early stage, would there have been a WW-II?
Any parallels here?
21 February 2010 at 01:58
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