Short-Stories

An American’s experience in Luxor made me write this. The story is long and vivid, but the core theme is how she and many other foreigners were duped into buying and then selling properties losing money in the process.

I had just landed in the Czech Republic. I was taking a bus from Prague airport to the city. The man sitting next to me was dressed in formal. He was here to attend a meeting of the ESA, European Space Agency. I asked, “What language is the meeting in?”. “English”, he replied, nonchalantly.

The Tijuana border (between the US and Mexico) is one of the busiest land crossings in the world.

गाँव में रहने वाला लड़का घर में “नींबू-पानी” पीता है । शहर में जाता है तो उसको “शिकंजी” बोलने लगता है । फिर फ़ाइव-स्टार होटेल में जाता है, और “लेमोनेड” ऑर्डर करता है । विदेश-यात्रा पर जाता है, तो उसी नींबू-पानी को “व़र्जिन-मोहीतो” कहना सीख जाता है । - कुमार विश्वास

An expensive place full of tourists is considered a popular destination. While an inexpensive place full of tourists will be called a crowded one. An expensive place lacking tourists is termed an exclusive destination. While an inexpensive place lacking tourists is considered deserted. It is never about other tourists, it is always about how much you spent.

A new Indian restaurant had opened within walking distance of where we live. We, actually, discovered it on the day of its inauguration ( Muhurta). The owner politely told us to come back the next day. We did. We were fifth in the queue on a long line outside the restaurant. A phone call came in from an acquaintance. The call was a good way to pass an hour-long wait. We would have certainly left the queue otherwise.

He is living in Europe. He is an American citizen. His parents are from Mexico. In Europe, he is an American. In America, he is Hispanic/Mexican. In Mexico, he is a Mexican of European descent.

Indian doctor After having continuous hiccups for ~24 hours, I walked to a nearby doctor’s clinic. " Uncle kaafi der se hitchkiyaan aa rahi hai, iska…" (I am having hiccups for a long while, can something…) [interrupted] He replies in a loud voice, " Beta, hitchkiyoon ka koi ilaaj nahi hota, kai baar mujhe aati hai" (Son, there is no cure for hiccups, sometimes, I have them for days) The tone was part patronizing and part condescending....

We were waiting at a local bus stand in Mexico. I explained to my mother that to ask for time in Spanish (Espanol), she has to start with ke time se (Haryanvi), replace time with hora and reverse se to es. She turns to her left and asks the mexican mujer (woman), ke [que] hora es. The mujer shows her watch and tells the time in espanol, which of course was incomprehensible for us....

“Give me your wallet, bro” he said in his heavy accent while holding a gun to my forehead. It seems, out of pure curiosity, I have walked into this shady neighborhood of San Francisco. “Pull out your wallet,” he shouted, “and count the cash,” this time bringing my full attention to him. I pulled out my wallet, carefully counted all the nickels, pennies and dimes and said, “13 dollars, 59 cents, and one Indian Rupee”. “That’s it,” he blustered at the peak of his voice while I stood sweating profusely on a chilly night. He was not amused and pulled the trigger.