[Reader-list] TC - Contd - Happy Birthday to researcher and researched

[zainab at xtdnet.nl]

Tonight I am eating dinner with TC. As I was making plans for the evening,
mom started saying:

Are you eating dinner with him tonight? Now what is the deal? I thought it
was over with him (as in the walks are over, now why do you need to deal
with him).
I need to finish some business with him,

Tonight, I was going to hand over the fee collections from the Urban
Buffet Walks so that the money could be used for his Nagpada basketball
court. We decided to eat at the Chinese restaurant at Minara Masjid,
Mohammed Ali Road.

I passed through Pydhonie to get to Mohammed Ali Road. These were the same
streets we had walked through during Ramzaan. But the streets were closing
down for night’s rest at 10:30 PM. And come to think of it, some days ago,
these were the same streets which were open and vibrant all night and the
press talked and lauded these areas as the culture of Mumbai.

The Minara Masjid area showed some remains of a festive season passed by.
The street was less crammed, yet food was the activity. I noticed
Suleimaan Usmaan which was advertising Kashmiri Honey on sale and my mind
went back to that Saturday night of 29th October when blasts rocked Delhi
and the turbulence after shocks were felt in Mumbai with relatives and
well wishers calling participants of the Urban Buffet walk – beta, are you
sure you want to go there? Be careful. These could just be the areas which
may be blasted next.

[Aren’t cities wired together by mediated (literally) images in this age
of Aaj Tak, NDTV, STAR News, Zee and all those satellite dishes?]

I sat at the Chinese restaurant waiting for TC to show up. TC is now a
common subject for talking to people. My folks at home now know him as an
entity and yet, they have their own imaginations and assumptions about
him. Dad tells me – what do you think he is going to eat in a Chinese
restaurant? He will ask for bheja fry and kaleji – as if implying that TC
cannot have tastes which my sophisticated parents have.

He came on his scooter. He was wearing his usual sports cap, jeans and
shirt and sports shoes. This was in complete contrast to his looks in the
month of Ramzaan where he would wear a pure white kurta and pyjama,
accompanied by the skull cap.

We sat in the restaurant and after ordering food, we began talking:

You are back to your regular appearance now?
Yes, yes! Oh yes! I have to be Muslim at least for one month. This malaria
struck me on the 26th fast, but I did not leave my fasts (suggesting to me
that I should have also observed all the 30 fasts.)
But you did not do duty in this month.
I had a leave for the first 18 days. Thereafter I had to do duty. But I
had told my colleagues that bhai, it is difficult to stand on two feet in
the last few fasts, I can’t get into the magachmari of fighting with
passengers and levying fines. They (seniors) also respect fasting. So they
understood what I was saying.
Hmmm.
So how are the people who came on the walks?
They are all fine. Each one of them enjoyed the experience.
I was a bit nervous.
Bit? Very nervous!
Yes, very nervous. I could not understand what to do with 18 people at one
time.
Everything went off well.
Yes! I now want to go out with this group of yours.
Hmmm.

TC is obviously excited. He enjoyed the experience himself and perhaps
there is some kind of class upliftment he feels after the experience. I
don’t know.

As we were eating, the conversation continued:

The food at this place is excellent. When my group comes here, we binge. I
like this chutney (referring to the schezuan sauce).

He kept eating with the fork and spoon and continued:

I enjoy eating good food, wearing good clothes and traveling. What else
does a man earn for?
Yeah! I can imagine how much you enjoy traveling. And that’s what makes
you what you are!
Haha! We must explore some eating place at Bandra. I just know of places
here, in our area.

Bandra was an interesting remark. It’s a statement of cultural aspiration
and upliftment. Bandra symbolizes a global city dream – glamour, Page 3,
parties, celebs! Eateries, coffee, the promenade and the works – Bandra is
the sub-city within this city!


After we finished eating, he offered to drop me home on his scooter. I
hopped on, sloppily. The roads were clear. He kept on talking and I kept
nodding.

There is no law and order in this city when it comes to traffic.
Why do you say so? Just because it is night time now and the signals are
not working?
No, no! It is the same in daytime. We have to be careful while driving.
Hmmm.
You will find that at the corner of the signal at J.J. Hospital, a
havaldar stands but he does nothing. I break the signal in front of his
eyes. Everyday I let 20 cops pass by traveling in first class. At least I
should also be able to get away without paying fines.

He proudly announced that he has not even once paid a fine! And I started
thinking about how some negotiations/confrontations between the legal and
the illegal are about canceling out each other! Hmmm 


Finally we reached Byculla:
Do you know that it will soon be a year now since we met?
Really? I don’t even remember the date.
Nor do I!
So let’s make happy birthday – celebrate! And all we can do then is to eat
– that’s okay nah?

Yeah! Happy birthday to us!



Zainab Bawa
Bombay
www.xanga.com/CityBytes
http://crimsonfeet.recut.org/rubrique53.html