cyclonus
11-20-2011, 04:04 AM
The other day, I was going by the bus to work, and an amusing thing happened.
A boy, perhaps a high school student, sitting behind me was trying hard to maintain a friendly conversation with the girl who was sitting beside him, and continually looking out of the window, responding with nods and grunts. The guy sensed that just talking wasn’t doing any good, and he had to employ the trick he had up his sleeve, or I should say, in his bag.
He zipped open his bag pack and took out an inflated polythene bag. It had a bit of water and a goldfish in it. He stopped talking, and started staring into it with a light smile, while the small fish wiggled about in the scanty water to survive. The girl showed indifference at first, but when at length the boy did not say anything, she started shifting in her seat uneasily. Then she could hold herself no longer and turned back to look at what the guy was about.
Her eyes widened and she exclaimed, "Hey! That’s so cute!" The guy was smart. Needless to say, by the time they got off the bus, they looked like childhood pals, and were soon to be more than just that. The guy had probably noticed me looking at him, and winked at me when he got down. I smiled.
The next day, I found myself sitting with a beautiful lady in the bus, who was perhaps the same age as me. She had formal clothes on, a tight velvet jacket and pants, and looked like some government official. No matter, I thought. All ladies are the same. Many ladies deliberately wore this sort of clothes to intimidate guys who tried to get near. I got a goldfish from a friend who sold them at Crawford market. I plonked the goldfish in a half-filled-with-water polythene bag, and waited for an opportunity to put it to use. i had not expected to have a chance to implement the trick the high schooler had taught me, so soon, but well, it was sheer luck, and I jumped on it.
I progressed the same way he had done. I first pushed her too hard to talk to me. I chattered on, and she turned towards the window, but did not even reply. Its working even better, I thought. I chattered on for another spell. I told her what a sultry weather it was and almost blurted out that how she could wear something so uncomfortable in such a hot climate, but it suddenly flashed to my mind that the prospects of impressing the lady would be reduced considerably if I commented upon her clothing. She did not reply, not even a nod. This lowered my confidence a little, but I reminded myself, she is just one of those reserved types. Things would come through pretty soon.
Suddenly, I silenced myself, and took the goldfish polythene out from my bag, and started looking into it with the same earnestness that the boy had employed. The woman did not show signs of uneasiness, and kept looking out of the window. Patience, Raj, patience, I said to myself.
Her phone rang, and she started talking into it with her hand covering her mouth. I avoided her and kept looking into the fish. I shook the polythene bag a bit, and the fish gasped for breath. She hung up, turned towards me, looked at me for a while with narrow eyes, and I smiled the way I had practised the day before, before the mirror. She turned away.
She pulled out her phone from her bag, and began pushing buttons on it. I looked at her from the corner of my eye. For how long will you avoid me? I thought. She looked at me, again with those cold, indifferent eyes, and I smiled again, feeling like an idiot. She again started speaking on the phone with her hands covering her mouth. The call did not last long. After the call, she turned towards me and exclaimed with wonder, “That’s a pretty goldfish you have here mister!”
I was surprised by her sudden change of temperament. Its working as it should! I thought. “Yes it is. I caught him when I went boating into the sea yesterday.”, I lied, “Isn’t he a beauty?”
“Indeed”, she said.
I turned towards the fish again, just to make sure she was actually interested or was just making a fool of me. She was. She kept looking at the fish in the little bag.
“It’s a Tosakin goldfish”, she said.
“How do you know?”
“Well, I am a zoologist”
“I see.” I now had a topic to talk on. “What does a zoologist do?”
“Could you just excuse me? I have to get down.”
I panicked. “I too have to get down the next stop.”
“Hmmm”, she said.
I got up, pushed the goldfish in my bag, and let her pass. I went behind her. The bus stopped on the next stop and she got down. I tagged along.
“Would you mind standing with me for a while, till the next bus comes?”, she said.
My head throbbed with excitement. “Sure, why not”, I said, trying hard to contain it.
“Thanks. By the way, what do you do? I mean, other than catching goldfish in the sea?”, she laughed.
“I work as an engineer at Lodha builders”, I said.
She nodded, and then looked down. “You did not answer me. What does a zoologist do?”, I asked.
Just then, a police jeep drove up and stopped before us. A few policemen got down, and asked me, “May we check your bag, mister?”
“Why? W-what have I done?”, I said, shaken.
“May we check your bag, mister?”, the policeman said, sternly.
“Y-yes, sure.” I gave them my bag. The officer pulled out the polythene, and his eyes widened. He showed the polythene to his comrade, and his reaction was the same. I was puzzled. How could they react in this manner to looking at a goldfish?
“You are charged with illegal trafficking of rare species. You’ll have to come with us.”, the officer said, and pulled me into the jeep. The girl came behind me and said, “I work as a zoologist at the national zoological survey of India, in conservation of fish species division. And by the way, goldfish is a freshwater species, and the one you have surely is a beautiful rare specimen.”
visit my blog http://cyclonus9.blogspot.com for even more such stories
A boy, perhaps a high school student, sitting behind me was trying hard to maintain a friendly conversation with the girl who was sitting beside him, and continually looking out of the window, responding with nods and grunts. The guy sensed that just talking wasn’t doing any good, and he had to employ the trick he had up his sleeve, or I should say, in his bag.
He zipped open his bag pack and took out an inflated polythene bag. It had a bit of water and a goldfish in it. He stopped talking, and started staring into it with a light smile, while the small fish wiggled about in the scanty water to survive. The girl showed indifference at first, but when at length the boy did not say anything, she started shifting in her seat uneasily. Then she could hold herself no longer and turned back to look at what the guy was about.
Her eyes widened and she exclaimed, "Hey! That’s so cute!" The guy was smart. Needless to say, by the time they got off the bus, they looked like childhood pals, and were soon to be more than just that. The guy had probably noticed me looking at him, and winked at me when he got down. I smiled.
The next day, I found myself sitting with a beautiful lady in the bus, who was perhaps the same age as me. She had formal clothes on, a tight velvet jacket and pants, and looked like some government official. No matter, I thought. All ladies are the same. Many ladies deliberately wore this sort of clothes to intimidate guys who tried to get near. I got a goldfish from a friend who sold them at Crawford market. I plonked the goldfish in a half-filled-with-water polythene bag, and waited for an opportunity to put it to use. i had not expected to have a chance to implement the trick the high schooler had taught me, so soon, but well, it was sheer luck, and I jumped on it.
I progressed the same way he had done. I first pushed her too hard to talk to me. I chattered on, and she turned towards the window, but did not even reply. Its working even better, I thought. I chattered on for another spell. I told her what a sultry weather it was and almost blurted out that how she could wear something so uncomfortable in such a hot climate, but it suddenly flashed to my mind that the prospects of impressing the lady would be reduced considerably if I commented upon her clothing. She did not reply, not even a nod. This lowered my confidence a little, but I reminded myself, she is just one of those reserved types. Things would come through pretty soon.
Suddenly, I silenced myself, and took the goldfish polythene out from my bag, and started looking into it with the same earnestness that the boy had employed. The woman did not show signs of uneasiness, and kept looking out of the window. Patience, Raj, patience, I said to myself.
Her phone rang, and she started talking into it with her hand covering her mouth. I avoided her and kept looking into the fish. I shook the polythene bag a bit, and the fish gasped for breath. She hung up, turned towards me, looked at me for a while with narrow eyes, and I smiled the way I had practised the day before, before the mirror. She turned away.
She pulled out her phone from her bag, and began pushing buttons on it. I looked at her from the corner of my eye. For how long will you avoid me? I thought. She looked at me, again with those cold, indifferent eyes, and I smiled again, feeling like an idiot. She again started speaking on the phone with her hands covering her mouth. The call did not last long. After the call, she turned towards me and exclaimed with wonder, “That’s a pretty goldfish you have here mister!”
I was surprised by her sudden change of temperament. Its working as it should! I thought. “Yes it is. I caught him when I went boating into the sea yesterday.”, I lied, “Isn’t he a beauty?”
“Indeed”, she said.
I turned towards the fish again, just to make sure she was actually interested or was just making a fool of me. She was. She kept looking at the fish in the little bag.
“It’s a Tosakin goldfish”, she said.
“How do you know?”
“Well, I am a zoologist”
“I see.” I now had a topic to talk on. “What does a zoologist do?”
“Could you just excuse me? I have to get down.”
I panicked. “I too have to get down the next stop.”
“Hmmm”, she said.
I got up, pushed the goldfish in my bag, and let her pass. I went behind her. The bus stopped on the next stop and she got down. I tagged along.
“Would you mind standing with me for a while, till the next bus comes?”, she said.
My head throbbed with excitement. “Sure, why not”, I said, trying hard to contain it.
“Thanks. By the way, what do you do? I mean, other than catching goldfish in the sea?”, she laughed.
“I work as an engineer at Lodha builders”, I said.
She nodded, and then looked down. “You did not answer me. What does a zoologist do?”, I asked.
Just then, a police jeep drove up and stopped before us. A few policemen got down, and asked me, “May we check your bag, mister?”
“Why? W-what have I done?”, I said, shaken.
“May we check your bag, mister?”, the policeman said, sternly.
“Y-yes, sure.” I gave them my bag. The officer pulled out the polythene, and his eyes widened. He showed the polythene to his comrade, and his reaction was the same. I was puzzled. How could they react in this manner to looking at a goldfish?
“You are charged with illegal trafficking of rare species. You’ll have to come with us.”, the officer said, and pulled me into the jeep. The girl came behind me and said, “I work as a zoologist at the national zoological survey of India, in conservation of fish species division. And by the way, goldfish is a freshwater species, and the one you have surely is a beautiful rare specimen.”
visit my blog http://cyclonus9.blogspot.com for even more such stories