Hum kaale hain toh kya hua dilwale hain

yesterday afternoon i thought i was lucky

but my this foolish thought lasted only for 10 mins 

there i was waiting by the road side for my Deralakatte to city bus to arrive

i was jus hoping it wouldn't be too full and i would get a place to sit

and within 1 minute whoooooooooooooooooshhhh....

one car passes by me and halts in front of me

window rolls down

one of my previous teacher's faces pops out

"Mangalore city? he asks

i thank the living daylight and nod "Yes! Yes Sir" vigorously 

he says "hop in"

ooooooooooooooooooohhh....badhiya hain

bus jaye baadh mein

main toh city AC waale car mein jaa rahi hu :)

at this point i make the mistake of beginning to think im lucky

am i lucky? really? am i?

wait n watch

5 mins of chit chat

how r u ; how is family ; what are ur kids doing Sir ; how is clinic work ; what research are u doin nowadays etc etc small talk

Then . . . (this is gettin good now, watch out)

He asks : so what are u now? 24 - 25 ?

Me: (gulp) Sir, 25

He: TWENTY FIVE? and u r not married? (in shock, eyes popping out)

Me: not yet sir (really apologetic now coz i feel i have done some heinous crime by now)

He: really?

Me: no sir. not married. (im feelin very guilty by now)

*awkward silence follows*

Me: sir, but my coPG is gettin married next month.  (ya right ! like that compensates for the crime i did! but what can i do? awkward silences get the worst out of me!)

Him: hmmmm. . . .

by now he has drifted out into his own world and i know that coz i have seen that same look on many people's faces now. 

the 'she-is-25-and-not-yet-married-Dal-mein-kuch-toh-kaala-hain' look

i get the "dal mein kuch toh kala hain" look a lot

like in my evening dance classes,

the kids who dance with me are in a puzzle when they see me:

Puzzle No. 1 : why is such an old person dancing?

Puzzle No. 2 : do we call her 'aunty' and offend her? or do we call her 'akka' and offend ourselves?

u see, age wise, i am twenty plus five = 25. 

not a decent age for a decent girl to be a decent single in a decent india. 

Oh no no no. 

Dal mein kuch toh zaroor kaala hain . . . .