// June 6th, 2008 // 7 Comments » // Bangalore, Funny
Alright, so after writing many posts about how I don’t read book, I finally got inspired by these posts and decided to pick up not one but two books. The first book I chose was “To Kill A Mockingbird” which was easy to find but the second book, “The Picture Of Dorian Gray” wasn’t to be found in any of the 5-6 bookstores I visited. I was hopeful that I would find it in Gangarams, the only bookstore I couldn’t visit bacause its closed on Sundays. So last Saturday evening, I decided to go look for the book there.
Unfortunately, the rain gods weren’t too happy with my plans. And as has happened on countless other occasions, it started drizzling as soon as I got out of my apartment. By the time I reached MG Road, the rain got worse and in the 2 minutes that it took me to find a parking space and get to a safe place which could shade me from the rain, I was completely drenched. I spent the next 15 minutes inside an ATM waiting for the rain to let up but when it showed no sign of weakening, I decided to do something drastic. Now, I am generally really cranky in such situations but I felt like a really fun guy for the rest of the evening. Since I was already totally wet and dripping, I got out of the ATM and started walking towards the bookstore in the rain. I was walking swiftly but slowed down from time to time to look at the people who were standing at the entrance of shops to save themselves from the rain and give them the look – “Hey sissies! Look at me! I’m not afraid of the rain!”. Yeah, I can be a real jerk at times! Although, some people did look at me with a hint of admiration in their eyes. Or so I imagined.
Anyways, I soon spotted a Bombay Dyeing showroom and an idea popped into my mind. I went in, with a trail of water following me, and asked for a towel. Now whats interesting is that the shopkeeper and I spent the new few minutes figuring out which size and color was right for me even though there was a huge puddle of water that had dripped from my clothes around me. I decided upon a dark blue, medium sized towel and bought it. When he tried to put the towel in a bag, I asked him if I could use the towel instead. He smiled and said yes. And then I happily dried my head, face and arms (all the parts accessible without taking off my clothes) and then I put it in the bag and proceeded to the bookstore. I quickly got the book I wanted but spent the next 20 minutes or so to look for a book I could gift a friend. My clothes were still wet and stuck to me. When I came out of the store, it was still raining but it wasn’t as bad. The temperature had dropped by a couple of degrees though and wearing wet clothes didn’t help much. So I thought of going to the nearby Barista on Church Street. As I was walking towards it, a girl who was walking behind me on the sidewalk took to the road instead and suddenly started tip-toeing. In the middle of the road!!?? (I wonder if the new Shoppers’ Stop ad inspired her to do so) I couldn’t help but smile. Some other people were also looking at her but she didn’t seem to care. And then she stopped and started walking normally again.
I was still trying to make sense of what had just happened when there was a huge blast-like sound and bright lights emerged on my right. I turned back a little and it was the the electrical meter of a building that was giving out huge sparks. I tried to keep walking but others came running towards me and one guy kept his hand on my shoulder(??) for support, I guess. He was still looking at the meter and after a second or so, he went back where he came from cos the sparks had stopped. He never even cared to look at the guy he had been holding for support. I was laughing and then I saw that the tip-toe girl had also stopped because of the whole ruckus and she was also smiling.
I started walking again. It was still raining and I was still wet. Only now, I felt like I was in a Seinfeld episode. The rest of the evening was uneventful. I spent a total of three and a half in my wet clothes before I finally reached home and got out of them. Phew!
