Speling probblemms
Friday 26th: Today is India Republic Day.
Getting the correct spelling can sometimes be problematic even for native speakers but when English is not your first language there can often be comic consequences. I know a Kashmiri guy in Candolim who had his shop sign painted with ‘Trager of Haven’. It should have been ‘TIGER OF HEAVEN’.
In the back of a menu in one of the beach shacks is a list of the cocktails you can find anywhere: Pina Colada, Tom Collins, Screwdriver, Bloody Mary, Love on the Rocks, etc. Nothing unusual there, however, they have tried to be enterprising and add their own creation using the local firewater Feni but I don’t think they have really hit the spot. They wanted to invent something romantic to drink while watching the sunset and I think they were aiming for ‘Feni On The Waves’. Unfortunately they wrote ‘FANI ON THE WE’, little imagination is needed to guess what that tastes like!!! Mmmm… interesting little number, a rich yellow colour with ammonia on the nose……
Sheet or Bust
hello Blogger number 2 here!
Today Nick has a bit of Delhi Belly and a heavy cold and some other things that hypocondriacs suffer from so I decided to take the bus into Margoa to do a little shopping. I caught the bus from Maria Hall 6/- and sat at the back wedged in between a western tourist and a local Indian girl. The bus did not get too full, so I was able to see where we were going for a change. It was a great ride, the driver was playing some good Hindi tunes and I watched other tourists tapping their fingers and nodding their heads to the rhythms blasting out of the speakers on the bus. Each time the driver neared a stopping area he would switch off the music and hoot like mad to let all around know he was stopping. Once passengers were on, he would put the music back on and off we went on our “hippy trip” to town.
My first stop was the Big G super store which is aimed at foreign and Indian tourist where they have more assistants than shoppers. I went straight to the swimwear section on the 2nd floor, passing by several assistants who all acknowledged me with “good morning madam”. They had a good selection, which I was glad of because the swimwear I brought away with me is now wearing very thin. I asked if they had XXL bust size (about size 14 in England) in a bikini. They had not but they did have it in a swimming costume. I had a look but there wasn’t anything offered that I liked, they all looked like something my grandmother would have worn in the 1960’s – really old fashioned. I then went up to the 3rd floor for the kingsize sheets and pillow cases I needed. The assistant came straight away, so I told her what I wanted rather than search for it myself. She took me to the section and showed me a king size quilt. I explained again that I wanted sheets and she told me that it was a sheet? “We call those quilts in
England” I said, “Do you not have sheets with pillow cases?” She said again that what she was holding up was a sheet, and that they did do other sheets, but didn’t have the King size in stock. I thought I would try the market area, so walked down through the town, stopping at a few shops on route. I stopped at Anand Timblo House of Textiles on station road. The owner was very helpful and showed me a few sheets and also showed me 100% cotton material. He said that he would cut 2 x 2½ metre lengths and get them stitched today. I agreed and said I would be back in ½ hour. I looked around inside the local market where they sell everything imaginable. As I wandered around I was asked by women sat on the floor with baskets of fruit if I wanted Papaya? I was also followed by a very persistent old man with an embroidery set who would not leave me alone, he kept shouting madam look, look! I eventually told him “maka naka” which means no I don’t want in Konkani, and he stopped following me straight away. I then spotted a bakery and bought a chocolate Swiss roll, freshly baked and 2 spicy vegetable patties costing 16/-. I couldn’t wait, so ate my patty straight away while it was still warm, delicious! I bought a newspaper and had a drink in a small bar opposite the textile place before going back to collect the sheets. The proprietor sent his assistant across the road to check on my sheets and offered me a tea while I waited. We discussed where in England I came from and the weather. The sheets were ready and he and his assistant held them out to show me that they were the correct size they cost 500/- for 2. I also bought 2 pillow cases 40/- each and a single blanket for Nick 350/-. I was really warm and coated orange (from the dust outside that was all over the plastic blanket holders) by the time I had finished, so I decided to get a tuk tuk home instead of the bus. The driver asked for 150/- but I only offered 80/-. He said no but his boss said yes! He was a bit miffed about it and would not take me a foot further than Maria Hall where I had asked for (2 minutes from the apartment), so I got out and didn’t tip him. I made us a milky coffee when I got back and we had it with the chocolate Swiss roll – marvelous!!
