I think it’s been more than a year since this incident happened. Which is when I had written this and shared it out with selected friends and acquaintances on a collective blog I shared with friends at that time. Recently I was reminded by someone that I should probably post this out on my blog :)
For all the readers who are not familiar with Indian languages here are some words used in the story and what they mean.
“Jadu” is a special kind of a broom usually kept at Indian house-holds. Besides sweeping the floor this thing is supposed to have multiple other uses, like…
Hitting cockroaches hard enough to leave them unconscious, without killing them! :)
“Gangi” is Hindi-Language-Equivalent for a vest. So here’s the post - back from the old-days. Read on!
Some More Gangi Talk from Yesterday…
Yesterday was “sofa king” (to be read very fast without stopping) long and interesting - thought I should share it out for the sake of some creative speculations that you guys might have.
A Little background: Tuesday evening I see a big fat cockroach crawling on the walls of the bathroom of my hotel suite. That is when I realized that hotels in Texas don’t give a jadu with rooms… I missed my jadu then.
Anyways, I decided to use a "gangi", climbed up the bathtub caught the bugger walking high on the wall and left him on the stairs of the hotel so that he could conveniently go into someone else’s suite and bother them. Thought that was the end of it… turns out, I was “sofa king” wrong!
Yesterday morning, just when I was about to leave for office, I see a cockroach (the same one? Milan, a friend back from school days, suspects that it was a relative of the one thrown out on Tuesday, but I have my doubts – I mean, personally, I am inclined to believe now that with the years of evolution behind them these guys can easily find their way back to the bathroom of the suite from which they were insulted and thrown out! Can’t they?)
So I see him walking on the same high spot on the same wall! (I think he was back for revenge of the insult he had been subjected to a couple of days ago) Anyways, now the turn of events begin…
The plan was laid out – the primary weapon of attack that was so successful last time (the same gangi) will be used again and the rascal will be thrown right on the streets of Houston! So, I take the gangi and climb the bathtub again! Just as I was about the attack, the rascal decides to fly right on my shirt!!! Well, I did what anyone who hasn’t participated in fear factor would do – decided to RUN! But… I slipped from the bathtub instead.
In a desperate attempt to hold my ground I tried to catch hold of the bathroom curtain rod – which I thought, being made of solid steel, would be able hold my weight! Again, I was “sofa king” wrong!
The rod just decides to break into two pieces (that was a steel rod! I am not kidding here – albeit, it was hollow but it was steel! Makes me wonder if I am putting on weight or as ifte (another friend from school days) says, becoming - 'muscular' – Well, it breaks into two pieces, comes completely off the wall, throwing the curtain on the ground. This time, the cockroach decides to hide in the kitchen area! Right under a cabin!
Now my mind is multitasking with the primary thread being – Who the phu##$% pays for this?? The secondary threads all occupied by the cockroach who was still sitting there in the kitchen!
So, I decided to go to the front desk and tell them about the cockroaches! I thought everything would be fine now. Well again, I need not say by now that I was so… wrong!
Basically, I go to the front desk with all the 3 key cards of my room safely locked in the room!
So I go and tell them – “Houston, there’s a problem” – and the lady out there starts filing a ticket for me assuring me that they will “look into it”. Then I broke the news that I have already wreaked their bathroom rod while I myself was trying to “look into it”.
Now I am taken a bit seriously. A guy is sent with me to the room. When I ask for an extra key I am told that I’ve already used up the keys the hotel had for my room – but the guy can open the door for me. Good! I think… once I get in I can get all my keys.
On the way up (we took the elevator to go to the second floor) I have a hard time describing to the guy what a cockroach is. Not sure why – but looks like the guy has never heard the word cockroach before (or maybe I am just not articulate enough). Interesting.
So he finally opens my door for me using his master key (or whatever). Luckily for me the bugger is still sitting in my kitchen! Jackpot! My point is proved! I point at the bugger and tell him – “these” (whatever you want to call them) have been coming to my room for the past 2 days!! Now he gets it or in his words – he sees what I mean. He bashes the bugger with his handkerchief and throws it out.
He tells me that there’s been some renovation going on and they’re spraying insecticides around the building so cockroaches are moving in. At the end of the day...?
I get all my three keys, I go to office… some really exciting work going on these days which makes professional life fun (but better to leave the technical mumbo jumbo out) … and when I am back I can see my room all cleaned up with the insecticide sprayed in the entire suite! And the broken rod with the curtain… it’s still lying under my sink.
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