deviousways

Say you and I are complete strangers forced into each other's company for a couple of hours -- by an accident, or a quirk of fate, as it were. Would we still stay aloof? Or will we talk, become friends in those few hours? I think you and I have more of a chance of becoming friends, if there is darkness around us. No, it's true, though that might sound a little on the shady side. On Sunday, I was part of a bus-load of people stuck on, (well, it could have been the middle of nowhere) one of the narrow, forested roads that connect Ooty to Bangalore. At approximately 1 am, our bus came to a standstill just outside a little town called Gudalur -- a log-laden truck, further up the road, had overturned, thereby blocking both sides of the narrow road. Traffic backed up about a km on both sides -- and this is forest area I'm talking about. So, there we were, surrounded by lush greenery, swaying trees, an eerie breeze, a whippingly cold chill and a moonless sky. What is one to do? N...

I've always wondered why plainclothesmen look, well, so much like plainclothesmen. Perhaps it's that old adage, once a cop, always a cop. No matter what you're wearing. The other day, an Ambassador filled with burly plainclothes officers heaved it's way past us near the M G Road. And as usual, the men inside looked like they were sitting on a hot, tin roof, and about to jump out any minute -- you know what I mean, that shoulders-hunched-up, body-turned-towards -the-door, head swivelling-around posture that is the trademark of cops everywhere. Of course, if these were the FBI, they'd also be shouting "Let's Go! Let's Go!" into the sleek, robotic arms stuck in their ears and they wouldn't be caught dead in an Ambassador. But then thankfully, Indian cops still look more or less human. Anyway, the minute I saw those men, I knew they were cops. Which got me thinking? Do we look like our jobs? Politicians look like what they really are -- never min...