Cabbie tales

We have a monthly ritual of shopping for groceries. During which we shop like denizens from a famished region, set free in the realms of a super market.

It was on one such trip that we realized, we had shopped beyond our holding capacity. 

Sadly (in such situations) you can not go back to the cashier and tell him 'ermm, I forgot that I have just 2 hands and a body weighing barely 45 kgs, still bought truck loads of groceries greedily. Can you take some back ??' 

Have not tried that, but I am sure, he will be amused.

Anyways, we called for a cab. (There went the money from the saving scheme to buy the much needed helmet for biking!)

Now I have been in US cabs only thrice before. Once when I landed. This guy was a decent chap, only with a psychotic son in law (everyone thinks that way for the other man in his daughter's life, I guess!!). Second was to a wallmart trip. This guy's daughter was an alumnus of my school, so he treated us like his kids' friends and gave a special discount too! Third was when we had gotten late to catch a bus. I don't remember much except for the last minute rush.

So when this cab arrived, he parked it over the curb and shouted from inside, 'tussi cab call kariyasi??' (Did you call for a cab?) 

(Meanwhile, 'guess who' program started running inside my head. May be Punjabi or Sindhi uncle!! And our Indian looks rang a bell :))

Roomie: Yes. 

He came out and helped us put the godzilla sized bags inside. 

He: Kidhar ja riyasi ? (Where do you want to go?)

Roomie gave the full address. 

He: Ohh.. I thought you must be from xxx school. :)

We gave the politest nods with smiles and hopped inside.

Then he started chatting in punjabi hindi. He told to our surprise that our school cricket team was really good (Me and my roomie immediately made a telepathic pact to go there for cheerleading ;)). And he also told us that he was from Pakistan (! there goes the credibility of my 'guess who' program !). So moving ahead, it was not wee bit surprising, when he told us that Indian and Pakistani guys play in the same team here. Uncle proved to be really talkative and also advised us with few more cheap grocery stores nearby so that our money will not be wasted! (Little did he know we were typical specimen of the female type.)

And I wondered how the feeling of 'being out of comfort zone' changes animosity and hostility into camaraderie. Keep the same people in neighboring countries full of extremist religious leaders and political parties, and their hatred increases. Move the same people away from all this action and place them in a foreign land, with new ways of life, new difficulties, new problems and new solutions, and they become inseparable.

Considering that we all were taught about equality back in school. About different religions and brotherhood. About being good to each other in spite of who we are or from where we are. About respecting each other irrespective of our differences (come on, they do teach this in school). It just takes an unaccustomed or difficult situation for all these things to make sense.

So at a certain level, I am amused by human nature. On the other hand I respect the Global Citizen. :)

~nightflier :)