ASSAM – Part 1 (Earthworms and no phones)




Greenery! That’s the first thing that you notice as you enter Assam. The next thing that attracts attention is the small tin shed that passes off as the Jet Airways office at Jorhat (the small town in Jorhat where we are). Jet probably never had smaller office and certainly not one with benches in it.
Checked into the only hotel in town. Very aptly but (un)uniquely called Hotel North East. Kind of seedy place but it’s the only one.
Surprise 1: 5 o' clock in the evening and its pitch dark. The sun rises here at around 4a.m. and sets by 4:30 p.m. We are in a different time zone altogether. Not bad.
Surprise 2: The security angle is highly overhyped. Sure there is the odd pipeline that is blasted (but nowadays even London has its network of bombings. Morbid, eh? Sorry but humour getting from plain unfunny to twisted.) OK you do find the army guy toting a machine gun patrolling the streets and of course you are not allowed to leave the hotel after 9pm. But that’s more because the patrolling army men might harass you rather than any militant trying to blow his brains (if he had any) and yours out.
Surprise 3: No cell phone works here other than BSNL. No hutch no airtel no reliance so forget cute little dogs saying we are there wherever u go and no ma giving ashirvad thru sweetly timed calls.
Surprise 4: EARTHWORMS ... coming out of taps. YEAH TRUE! Pushpi first found that out when he went to have a bath. Maybe there a new species called water worms or tap worms (not to be confused with tape worms). Anyway, not a pleasant experience knowing that even after a bath or rather especially after a bath you might have creepy crawlies all over you. Just thought of something else; suppose a few manage to wiggle down ur ear, nose or mouth. There would be a great colony of worms (not any metaphorical reference to the ONGC colony on earth) in your tummy. (This is where PEPSI and COKE come in useful with all their pesticides .... LONG LIVE THE COLAS) right out of a crazed Hollywood flick - you would have some of the younger worms in the colony (u know the ones that are more adventurous) exploring u from inside and crawling out of you.
EEEEEEKS!!!!!
Anyway Assam has been interesting. Also smaller things like the driver of our vehicle here is in a higher post than us with better salaries and all. (Who says the MBA helps) and he is just that a chauffeur.
So that’s that for now
Toodle do and toodle dum
Am sure there is going to be more stuff in Assam

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