It’s funny how you can go past the same place for over forty years and still not notice something.

As a little girl, I prided myself on being a keen observer of all that was around me. For instance, if I noticed something unusual on the road, I would make a note of it. Naturally, this was fuelled by the mystery stories that I devoured where Fatty and the Five Find-outers were able to solve the mysteries that Mr. Goon, the bumbling village policeman couldn’t. This was purely because of their powers of observation.

Perhaps, my skills were dulled by my own humdrum existence when all that I was supposed to notice was the depletion of food stuff in the pantry or keep an eye on the things that need to be maintained/repaired at home. So I was quite shocked yesterday when I noticed a shop in Bhaji Gulley, that rivalled my all time favourite Mohan Metal Mart at Nana’s Chowk.

I had to go to Bhaji Gulley to buy some baby potatoes, a grass broom and some plastic boxes. The narrow lane that connects Nana’s Chowk to Grant Road Railway station is always busy, lined with regular shops and vegetable vendors eating up road space in front. In the six feet of road that is left, you have pedestrians crossing to the other side, delivery boys running like crazy, shoppers, two-wheelers and tempos all trying to be the first to reach the other end of the street.

Normally, I too, am in a big rush to scratch off the other jobs on my to-do list, and I just about manage to get to the vendor, buy my stuff and go back home. But this time, I wanted to take my time ( I must have been crazy because the sun was already up and blazing at 28 °C). But a small shop at the beginning of the lane caught my eye – selling glassware, steel ware and other stuff. I was especially attracted by the tiny glasses that the tea-sellers use to sell tea.

I went inside what looked like Alladin’s Cave with all kinds of household stuff hanging from the ceiling or peeping out from stuffed shelves. I looked around and remembered that I was looking for a long-handled spoon.

When I asked the shop the shopkeeper if he had one, his assistant piped up, “Oh, you mean the Amitabh Bachchan ones?” Seeing my perplexed expression, he went on to clarify that long-handled spoons are called Amitabh Bachchan in the cutlery world because of the similarity with the actor’s unusually long legs!

Hey Mr. Bachchan! I bet that’s news to you too!

Happy New Year to all those celebrating tomorrow.

Ciao,