Mera Bharath Mahan

My first Independence Day away from the motherland. Decided, in a burst of tri-coloured fervour, to go for a hindi movie - Kabhi alvida...- today. Co-conspirator in this plot were the other 2 first-years from India. Hatched the plan last evening and all set for it today. Get off work early and get to the theatre just in time for the show, only to see people mulling around outside and a sign in the window saying - " SOLD OUT! 6:45 Show is House full. Absolutely NO tickets. Not one, not two." - which I found very funny. A few minutes later a woman pops out and announces that those waiting to buy tickets for another show must form a line on the right and that the current show was housefull. However she felt that unlike the sign in the window, she needed to get all the way upto "....not ten!" before she felt her point was made. Ah well.
So spoke to one of the seniors who was gonna join us along with 2 other chief residents as well and we all land up at the corner of 26th and 5th Ave, where - hey presto - is a Saravana Bhavan. An actual branch of Hotel Saravan Bhavan, Chennai, India as the sign proclaims, along with a HSB logo et al. Had a hearty meal of paper masala dosa and koothu paratha (special mention must be made of the kaima idly which others had) and came away feeling most Indian indeed.
Jai Hind.
seriously