Nirupam Singh (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
un_real_boy) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
milliways_bar2007-09-13 09:27 pm
un_real_boy) wrote in milliways_bar2007-09-13 09:27 pm
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The door opens.
The boy on the other side -- dressed in simple cotton kurta pyjamas -- stares for a moment and then shuts it very quickly.
The door opens.
The boy on the other side -- now in a blazer and carefully pressed trousers -- blinks, peers around the edge, and studies the bar for a minute before closing the door slowly and quietly.
The door opens.
The boy on the other side jerks to a momentary halt, throws a wary glance over his shoulder, and slips into the bar. He closes the door behind him, quietly, then reconsiders and cracks it open again to peek out. Apparently satisfied with what he sees, he shuts it and turns back to the bar with a curious, intent look on his face.
In precise, slightly accented English -- "Where is this, please?"
The boy on the other side -- dressed in simple cotton kurta pyjamas -- stares for a moment and then shuts it very quickly.
The door opens.
The boy on the other side -- now in a blazer and carefully pressed trousers -- blinks, peers around the edge, and studies the bar for a minute before closing the door slowly and quietly.
The door opens.
The boy on the other side jerks to a momentary halt, throws a wary glance over his shoulder, and slips into the bar. He closes the door behind him, quietly, then reconsiders and cracks it open again to peek out. Apparently satisfied with what he sees, he shuts it and turns back to the bar with a curious, intent look on his face.
In precise, slightly accented English -- "Where is this, please?"
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He spreads his hands. "And I do not think jokes from India will make them laugh."
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"There was a Gujju boy who started school in England. One day his teacher asked the class, 'Who was the greatest man who ever lived?' One boy said" -- he puts on an over-the-top British accent -- "'The King, o' course' and the teacher shook her head. One boy said, 'Caesar, o' course,' and the teacher shook her head. The Gujju boy raised his hand" -- Nirupam demonstrates, and says in a piping, exaggerated version of his own accent -- "'Jesus Christ was the greatest man who ever lived.' 'Yes!' said the teacher. 'Here, have a candy.'"
He puts his hands in his pockets. "Then at break, another Indian boy in the Gujju boy's class asked him, 'Why did you say Jesus Christ?' And the Gujju boy, eating his candy, said, 'See, I know that it was Krishna, and you know it was Krishna -- but business is business!'"
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"Well, sounds sensible to me."
He considers, and then adds, judiciously, "Bet it'd be funnier if I knew who Krishna was, too."
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"Yes, I thought it might. He was a god -- Vishnu come to Earth. He had the entirety of creation in his mouth."
Beat.
"Would someone else work better?"
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Though they do seem to match up more than for most worlds - but Jamie's been around Milliways long enough by now not to take too much account of that.
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"And you get to lord it over me about it when you can tell me the names of the three co-sultans of al-Hamidim."
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A shrug. "If I know more of India than you, that is no different from my classmates."
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He flashes a grin. "Well, for one thing, I've forgotten at least half of it, and for another, you're about twice my size, which evens things out as far as advantages go."
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He shoots a glance over his shoulder at the door. "If time is moving differently, as you say, I've probably been gone for long enough. Thank you, Jamie." A quick grin as he turns towards the door. "I hope I find my way back here."
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