Have you heard this song, “It happens only in
….But no!!! It happens in
The wait is over; I landed with three of my colleague friends in
It did not take too long for us, to fall into the whirlpool of disasters and difficulties.
At the airport, I asked a Chinki brother who appeared to be very smart, “Excuse me.. how far is Hotel Hilton from the airport? And are you aware where the “13th International Semiconductor Conference” is being held?”
He looked at me as if I was a transparent being. It took some time for him to reply, “Chang choong cha.. xing loo laaa.”
“What the hell..!! Please don’t tell me, not a soul in the country understands English.” However, before facing the real problems, I judged myself to be the Shakespeare in
We came out of the airport to experience and feel the real
Finally we managed to get hold of a sensible Chinki who became our savior! He translated these phrases into Chineese - “Way to the Hilton”, “Taxi Stand”, “Nearest Indian Restaurant”, “Police”, “Emergency”, “Hospital” and so on. Definitely these chits were then worth million dollars!! Those were the only things which gave us a sense of security. That is when I respected the people back home who give us good directions, “Saaaaar, go straight, big signal come, again go straight, small signal come, turn right….” I realize, those guys whom I thought are good only at lingering around leaning against the tea-kadai in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka are far better than any Chinki, any day!
The day before we were to get back is one of the most dramatic and unlucky days. By then, we were so sick and tired of the place that we were longing to get back to
Just one day I had – to sort out all my problems, come out of the mess and return to where I belong to. I cursed my stars and cried like a hungry baby for having to encounter the worst day in my life! Along with my belongings, I also lost all the hope and faith in the world. Despair was my only companion! I prayed with all my heart to Indian Gods and Chinese Gods to rescue me from the menace. I called my parents and husband and burst into tears. …how I missed them and how I wished to be with them!
Necessity being the mother of invention - I even tried to learn to write Chinese, with the help of the chits in hand. When I realized I am only being foolish, I gave up. But from somewhere or nowhere, I gathered the spirit, confidence and optimism and decided not to loose the battle! I fought like a brave Indian warrior against the traitorous Chinese. The Indian embassy in
We take care of ourselves the most when we are in our own country, ..when we are amidst the people we know! We do not trust anybody here. We fear they are thieves and attackers. But when we move out, we take things for granted assuring ourselves that we are out of danger. We do not see chances of being mislead. Hope my story is a lesson to every Indian who crosses the border. Expect the greatest danger while you are away…!
I whispered to myself, “I love my country.. Vande Mataram!”
It is a true story except, it was not me who was the unfortunate Indian in
1) All the Chinese learn English or Malayalam
2) I learn Chinese.
Do you see a possibility? ;)
2 comments:
"cried like a hungry baby for having to encounter the worst day in my life" - :) good one!!
Good one. Well written too.
I quite like the first idea; that of Chinese learning English or Malayalam.
I'd say it would be best if they learnt Malayalam and then learnt English. Their English then just might have the famous Malayalam influence.....LOL...."Simbly inderesting, is it not?"
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