'Ae babu, aur kitna time lagega?' shouted the waiter, asking him how much time will it take? It was almost 8pm and the Irani cafe was about to close. Robert was sitting and staring at the tea for way too long now. The fan made its slow creaky noise and the yellow mildly-dim lights added to the ambience. Coming to Bombay was one of his best decisions so far, he fell in love with the city the moment he saw it. The loud noise, the rush, the old ambience of the British era buildings, his favourite Irani Cafe and a lot of other things. Two months seemed like a lifetime for him and he was enjoying every moment, one of the reasons being that he spent most of his life in a small town in England, far from the busy city life.
'Bas do minute!', he shouted back indicating that he shall leave in a couple of minutes. He quickly gulped down his tea, took his mawa cake and left for his house.
Robert had taken up an internship at an NGO in Bombay. He had just graduated in Economics and before climbing the corporate ladder he wanted to do something unusual. That is when he saw this opportunity and decided to take it. However, something strange had been going on since his arrival in India. Something which had never happened before. Initially he thought maybe the liveliness of the city was too much for him to handle but then it didn't quite feel well. He was suspecting something, but somehow couldn't clarify it.
As he was walking he heard some random chatter, 'Suraj nahi doobta bhaisahab, hum doob rahe hai', meaning that the sun does not drown in the sea, its we who are drowning.
Robert stopped. He could hear nothing. The world was just passing by. People brushed by his shoulder. It was as if he was in a different world. He had realised something. Something very important. Something very ancient. He took out a coin from his pocket and stared at it. The coin had an emblem, the Indian National Emblem, the Ashoka chakra. Something he feared was true, he was one of the nine.
To be continued...
'Bas do minute!', he shouted back indicating that he shall leave in a couple of minutes. He quickly gulped down his tea, took his mawa cake and left for his house.
Robert had taken up an internship at an NGO in Bombay. He had just graduated in Economics and before climbing the corporate ladder he wanted to do something unusual. That is when he saw this opportunity and decided to take it. However, something strange had been going on since his arrival in India. Something which had never happened before. Initially he thought maybe the liveliness of the city was too much for him to handle but then it didn't quite feel well. He was suspecting something, but somehow couldn't clarify it.
As he was walking he heard some random chatter, 'Suraj nahi doobta bhaisahab, hum doob rahe hai', meaning that the sun does not drown in the sea, its we who are drowning.
Robert stopped. He could hear nothing. The world was just passing by. People brushed by his shoulder. It was as if he was in a different world. He had realised something. Something very important. Something very ancient. He took out a coin from his pocket and stared at it. The coin had an emblem, the Indian National Emblem, the Ashoka chakra. Something he feared was true, he was one of the nine.
To be continued...
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