Interesting Conversations: Episode 1 - The Arrangement

The scene: I just sat at the counter at the local Irish pub after a long day of shopping at the Mall of America. I was feeling very tired and just wanted to grab a quick bite and go back to my room. I ordered a bowl of soup and was waiting for it when a party of 3 people - an elderly couple and a young woman came in and sat beside me.

The lady: Hi there.

Me: Hello.

The lady: So whats up? What are you doing?

Me: Me? Im waiting for my soup.

The lady (leaning towards me a lot): Soup? What soup are you having?

Me: Split pea and pork.

The lady: Ooo. That is nice. I am leaning because I can't hear properly. I am an old lady, you know?

Me: Haha. That's alright.

Blah blah..went on for a while where the lady told me that she was visiting Minneapolis - she was from LA - grew up near the beach - her husband was a Minnesotan - they were in the town to catch the game (its the football and baseball season, btw).

The lady: How long have you been here?

Me: About a week. I will be here for 2 more weeks.

The lady: So, how do you like Minnesota/America?

Me: Its a really nice place. I like it.

The lady: So, what are you here for?

Me: Well, I work for Oracle, a software company (yeah, I had to tell the people outside work a lot here. Not a lot of people know/bother about the software companies). I came from India. I was sent on work.

The lady: Oh. Then you must be a smart guy. < turning to her husband > He works for Oracle, a software company. He is a smart guy. < the husband nodded his head in agreement >

Me: Haha. I hope so.

Blah blah..She told me about this woman she met when they were in South Africa - how she was full of life and hospitable - how she bought a sari from her - how colorful her shop had been - how the entire experience was unforgettable and a dear part of her life and so on. She went out to talk to someone else and the husband and I struck a conversation.

The husband: So you are from India, huh?

Me: Yeah.

The husband: I guess, you don't like the Pakistanis then.

Me: Haha. I haven't got anything personal against them but yeah, the two countries are kinda rivaled.

The husband: Yeah. I don't like them either. But if you guys go to war against them, I think the Chinese will go to war with you to support Pakistan.

Me: Yeah. That's what everyone says. In fact, India has got a lot of troublesome neighbors.

The husband: Yeah. But I'm with you guys.

Me: Haha. May be we will call for your help then.

The husband: Haha. Yeah. I don't really like the Muslims. You must be a Hindu, right?

Me: Yes.

The husband: Yeah. I've got no problem against the Hindus. < the lady came back > I was just telling him about the whole Muslim thing.

The lady: Yeah. We don't really like the Muslims. We've got nothing against them but we don't really like them.

Me: Hmm.  < the lady went away again. She was kinda dancing to the music >

The husband: I like Gandhi. He was a good man.

Earlier today, when I was shopping, the guy at the counter saw some Indian currency in my wallet when I took it out to make the payment. He was so excited and asked me if he could see one of the notes and I gave him. He recognized Gandhi and kept fondling the note. I had a 10 rupee note in my wallet and I gave it to him and told him that he could keep it if he wanted. He was really excited and happy and thanked me like a hundred times. I was reminded of this incident when the husband talked about Gandhi and I took out my wallet to show them a hundred rupee note.

The husband: Woah! Is that Indian Curreny? Awesome! < he called his wife > Check it out. He has some Indian currency and there's Gandhi on them.

The lady: Really? Wow. How much is it worth? Like 20 bucks?

Me: Nah. Less than 2.5 dollars.

The husband: No way!

The daughter: Daddy, give him 20 dollars. Lets keep this.

The lady: Yeah. Give him.

Me: No no. I can't take 20 dollars from you.

The lady: Okay. Ten dollars at least then.

The daughter: Oh yes, you can. < she snatched my wallet - took a 10$ bill from her dad and put it in my wallet - gave it back >

Me: Oh, you guys! Well, let me give you one more then. At least take one more.

The husband: Thats great. Okay. I will have one more then.

So, I gave them one more. The lady was so happy - she told me that she would never forget me - she would frame that note in a glass box and keep it in her living room and finally she went back to dancing.

The husband: That was sweet of you. You are good kid. < to the others > He is a nice kid.

Me: Haha. Thank you. I hope I am.

The husband: So how old are you?

Me: 23.

The husband: Is there the whole arranged marriage thing still in India?

Me: Haha. Yeah. Its more of a choice now.

The daughter: Marry me. Daddy, "arrange" my marriage with him.

Me: Haha. Are you younger to me?

The daughter: No. But how old do you think I am?

Me: Uhmm..25-26?

The daughter: F*** you!

The husband: Haha. You are right. She is 25.

The lady: Yeah. She likes to think that she is still 21. She feels bad that she is getting old.

Me: Haha. < to the daughter > If it helps, you don't look 25 though. You look a lot younger.

The daughter blew me a kiss and looked happy.

The husband: You are a really nice guy. Your parents raised you well.

Me: That, they did sir.

The husband: I like India. The food and then bolloywood.

Me: Haha. So you know about bollywood then.

The husband: Of course. I am into the movies. I work for MGM. We put movies on the planes.

Me: Oh. That's cool.

The husband: Yeah. Did you watch Inception?

Me: Of course. Opening week.

The husband: And Shutter Island?

Me: Yup. I watched that too.

The husband: Hmm.

And then we talk a bit about movies - about Aishwarya Rai - about India and Indian food in general -  Indian restaurants in the town and so on.

The husband: You are a really nice guy. If you don't mind me getting personal, how much do you make in your job? 50000 dollars a year?

Me: Converted to USD, its about 15000 dollars. May be a little more than that!

The husband: Really? That's all? < to the others > He makes less than 17000 dollars a year!

The daughter: Hire him. < to me >You will be a rich man now - my dad will hire you.

The lady: Honey, please hire him.

Me: Haha. In India, its a decent salary. Its more than what a lot of people make.

The husband: Hmm. Have you got a card with you?

Me: Oh. Let me see. Yep. I got one. The designation on it is old but everything else is valid.

The husband: At what time do you have to go to work tomorrow?

Me: 8 I guess.

The husband: Hmm. That's quite early. Here is card. I will send you an email or I will give you a call sometime.

Me: Okay. Thank you.

We were kinda done with our dinner and were getting ready to leave. I really enjoyed the whole conversation. We talked for more than an hour but it never got stale. I did not want to forget these warm people. I remembered that I had a camera with me and asked them if I could take a picture with them. They were more than happy to do it and we got a picture clicked. I was feeling a little awkward when we got close to pose.

The lady (sensing my dilemma): Yeah, we are going to have this pic taken in the American way. Put your arm around me.

The daughter: Yeah. Around me too.

Click!

Them: May be this meeting between us was "arranged" ;)

Me: May be.

We hugged and said goodbyes and then I left. They were, by far, the nicest people I have met in Minneapolis. Now I am not saying this because they might get back to me with an offer or something but its because I really mean it. I was having such a good time that I hung back for more than 50 minutes after finishing my soup. God bless them!