Tuxedos on the beach

My visit to Pune was a 3 day affair between 5-7 June 2012. Though it was a hectic one with the itinerary just preceding a major college event of which I was one of the organizers. On 6th June, the 4 of us- me, my mother, my aunt & my cousin boarded the Pune Darshan bus, (a guided city tour of Pune). The guide, a certain Mr. Jagtap was an interesting fellow- his peculiar way of speaking hindi was pretty funny. The first place we visited was Tilak museum. The museum is dedicated to the great Indian freedom fighter- Bal Gangadhar Tilak, popularly known as "Lokmanya" Tilak. It houses many articles of his personal use as well as models of various aspects of his life- such as his life as the editor of Kesari , the first Indian newspaper; his life at Mandley Jail (now Myanmar). Tilak is a revered Marathi icon. Someone, in whom every Marathi takes a pride identifying himself with. Obscured in history under the big (& often undeserving) names, Tilak was a social reformer ...

Note: The following work is loosely based on different events in my life across a long duration. There might be a resemblance to people in real life in the plot, but the encounters, musings and the interactions mentioned here are purely a work of fiction and do not express my true opinions or feelings towards any individual. 13 November 2012, 9 A.M Went to meet a friend. Met the old caretaker of his building, Jeevan. He has been living in a room that has been allotted to him since many years. Exchanged greetings and wished him a Happy Diwali. "काहे की दिवाली साहब" He said.  I asked him what happened  "तंगी चल रही है।" I agreed and said that inflation had indeed made life hard. But did anything else happen, I added. "मेरा पोता बीमार हो गया था, 2 लाख लगेंगे इलाज में". I was flabbergasted "You only tell ". He continued.  "Is it possible for me to arrange such a big amount?" "इश्वर सब  भला करेंगे"- I said. "अब ...