And then there were them
Right, after what seems like an eternity the week has ended and I managing to write again! In between we have had projects ending, new people in the team, Libyans getting massacred, yet another scam, budget not doing any good to me and a very boring Oscars lit up by someone swearing and then apologizing for the "fuck" word!
But I had an earlier post to finish so onto that.
The people I met in Goa. At all times I had not talked to them directly, I go into my shell when there are strangers and peep out once in a while to see if the coast is clear. Ofcourse you can hear very clearly in the shell. :)
So first up there was Francis. He is the dude who owns the hotel (ahem ... aside needed here).
Its not exactly a hotel, its more like his house (not even sprawling) where he lets out rooms on the top floor. Not that bad considering the adjectives I used. Its got nice, clean rooms, a clean bathroom (MUST), close to the sea and shack. What else would you need? A 5 star property ... well that would do too as long as I am not paying!
Anyway, back to Francis. So the chappie rents out rooms in his house, has his own shack and generally you would expect is very content with his life. Now to the nitty gritties!
Francis works during the "season time" in Goa. His wife is the "cook" in the shack, he has come "boys" to help him. Most of the transient ones, come down during season time searching for work (and probably a little more on the side ... more about that later, when we talk about another character) and go back home for the rest of the time. A ncie happy family.
But there are somethings different about his shack. He doesnt have a TV, doesnt serve up dazzlingly sounding cocktails, doesnt have blasting music (remind me to put down a line about the music) and hence, thankfully, has a customer base which doesnt consist of brat pack, want to drink till I drop and hit on any kind of foreigner who I can try and sleep with. The customers are mostly "firangs" who are here to chill, read a book, get some tan and who keep mostly to themselves other than occasional smile and nod! I like that!
He doesnt let his "boys" watch TV during peak hours at the shack even if the World Cup is on. As he says they would not focus on their job. They have some time off in the afternoon to watch the TV in the shack which by the way is not for customers even it means that they walk away from the shack.Now That is called principle!!!
Well he also has his grouses (is the plural form right?)! He gets bored during the off season, the only thing he knows is to run the shack and the rooms. SO he would paint the house, watch tv, get bored and probably have quarrels with the wife and kids (the last if ofcourse my imagination). He goes for 1 holiday a year, probably to the hills somewhere with the wife and kids and checks into a resort. So that he can get away from the daily humdrum of life!
Then there is Jai. He is also a native of Goa and works at Francis' shack. He works at the shack and has his own taxi service too. Francis allows him to run off from work for his cab business because he understands that Jai has a family and needs to make ends meet. Jai also used to be a lifeguard risking his own life to save others from drowing most of them, however, in my opinion deserved to. They were either flouting no swimming rules or too drunk to realise they were going to meet their maker! Anyway, Francis counseled him against the same for the sake of his kid! (St Francis, did I hear?) So Bagha has lost a lifeguard but Jai's daughter has gained a father!
One of the most interesting people I met was Singh. I am sure he had a full name but he preferred to be called Singh. He was from Rajasthan amd had come down here for the season and would go back after making some money. He had a shop back home and would go back to running it. He had come here because some friends of his did the same the last year and made money. I suspect there is some drugs and sex also involved but he chose to not dwell on that and we chose not to question him on that. It did stun me, however, how someone comes half away across the country for a few months to make some money in a land where he doesnt know even the language to work! Shame on me for growing roots in Bangalore! :D
Btw the music in Goa sucks ... its all loud blasting trance with even Bollywood hits being heard! Whatever happened to Bob Marley?
Spotted Prabhu Deva this time at Martin's COrner, he had come down to lunch with his latest squeeze, Nayanthara. I always thought Tamil movie actresses were hmmm how do I put it, well built! :P
Till Goa comes along again!
But I had an earlier post to finish so onto that.
The people I met in Goa. At all times I had not talked to them directly, I go into my shell when there are strangers and peep out once in a while to see if the coast is clear. Ofcourse you can hear very clearly in the shell. :)
So first up there was Francis. He is the dude who owns the hotel (ahem ... aside needed here).
Its not exactly a hotel, its more like his house (not even sprawling) where he lets out rooms on the top floor. Not that bad considering the adjectives I used. Its got nice, clean rooms, a clean bathroom (MUST), close to the sea and shack. What else would you need? A 5 star property ... well that would do too as long as I am not paying!
Francis works during the "season time" in Goa. His wife is the "cook" in the shack, he has come "boys" to help him. Most of the transient ones, come down during season time searching for work (and probably a little more on the side ... more about that later, when we talk about another character) and go back home for the rest of the time. A ncie happy family.
But there are somethings different about his shack. He doesnt have a TV, doesnt serve up dazzlingly sounding cocktails, doesnt have blasting music (remind me to put down a line about the music) and hence, thankfully, has a customer base which doesnt consist of brat pack, want to drink till I drop and hit on any kind of foreigner who I can try and sleep with. The customers are mostly "firangs" who are here to chill, read a book, get some tan and who keep mostly to themselves other than occasional smile and nod! I like that!
He doesnt let his "boys" watch TV during peak hours at the shack even if the World Cup is on. As he says they would not focus on their job. They have some time off in the afternoon to watch the TV in the shack which by the way is not for customers even it means that they walk away from the shack.Now That is called principle!!!
Well he also has his grouses (is the plural form right?)! He gets bored during the off season, the only thing he knows is to run the shack and the rooms. SO he would paint the house, watch tv, get bored and probably have quarrels with the wife and kids (the last if ofcourse my imagination). He goes for 1 holiday a year, probably to the hills somewhere with the wife and kids and checks into a resort. So that he can get away from the daily humdrum of life!
Then there is Jai. He is also a native of Goa and works at Francis' shack. He works at the shack and has his own taxi service too. Francis allows him to run off from work for his cab business because he understands that Jai has a family and needs to make ends meet. Jai also used to be a lifeguard risking his own life to save others from drowing most of them, however, in my opinion deserved to. They were either flouting no swimming rules or too drunk to realise they were going to meet their maker! Anyway, Francis counseled him against the same for the sake of his kid! (St Francis, did I hear?) So Bagha has lost a lifeguard but Jai's daughter has gained a father!
One of the most interesting people I met was Singh. I am sure he had a full name but he preferred to be called Singh. He was from Rajasthan amd had come down here for the season and would go back after making some money. He had a shop back home and would go back to running it. He had come here because some friends of his did the same the last year and made money. I suspect there is some drugs and sex also involved but he chose to not dwell on that and we chose not to question him on that. It did stun me, however, how someone comes half away across the country for a few months to make some money in a land where he doesnt know even the language to work! Shame on me for growing roots in Bangalore! :D
Btw the music in Goa sucks ... its all loud blasting trance with even Bollywood hits being heard! Whatever happened to Bob Marley?
Spotted Prabhu Deva this time at Martin's COrner, he had come down to lunch with his latest squeeze, Nayanthara. I always thought Tamil movie actresses were hmmm how do I put it, well built! :P
Till Goa comes along again!
Comments
Post a Comment