Cheers to us!

via

It's a little late in the day, but Happy New Year anyway.

They say, the way you spend the first day of the new year is what the rest of your year will be like.

So, it looks like 2012 for me will be filled with sipping wine at breakfast, going for a swim and carrying a stomach full of french fries and OJ. All this awesomeness sandwiched betweeen 366 sunrises and 366 sunsets.

Who am I kidding? That can't possibily happen everyday. Can it?

Will 2012 be that good a year for me?

Will it be that good a year for the world?

For India atleast?

India for me, is my life. It's everyday. It's so a part of me that I don't notice it anymore.

Besides being the birthplace of many religions, 

we also invented the number Zero, 

wrote the Kama Sutra, 

invented Yoga 

and were the first people to make buttons.

Yes, buttons!

Now, I love saying we, and indirectly taking credit for all those things by just being Indian, but living here everyday even while being surrounded by the chaos, life does seem pretty prosaic.

Or atleast it did until I met some friends visiting from another land who helped me find the poetry in our everyday lives.

As much as we think that India is pretty similar to the rest of the world on many levels, here are some questions I was faced with which give us an idea of what the rest of the world thinks of us:

I provided them with some answers, while the rest remained in my head.

1. Why do Indian men stare so much?

Because they're fascinated with white skin.

2. And why do they stare at you?

They are also fascinated with brown skin.

3. Why do some old men have orange hair? Is it henna?

Yes, that's how they dye it.

4. Do you not get hair dye in India?

No, we do. They just think orange hair looks super cool.

5. Why do random people like to take pictures with us? 

Please refer to Answer 1.

6. What do they do with these pictures?

Upload them on Facebook?

7. Why is everyone trying to cheat us?

Umm..

8. Is it safe to eat this?

No.

9. Do all girls marry early?

No. Not enough men in the sea.

10. Is a girl not allowed to talk to her father-in-law?

Only in Hindi serials.

11. Wow! they sell a lot of stuff on the street (looking at a man selling drums).

Yea, so you can do your shopping while being stuck in traffic. And then get home and start a band.

12. Is he talking to me?

Yes.

13. Why?

He's just drunk.

That made me realise - we are pretty different/ weird/ interesting.

Their evaluation: Bombay is a lot like Tel Aviv. 

I suppose it's the sea and the whole bag checking exercise.

Here's to 361 more days in the awesome land that we call India.

And some holidays away to keep us sane.