We were at Juhu beach, just in time for sunset. When K said he wanted to use the rest room. i shrugged — you gotta go when you gotta go. I strolled ahead and took in the sights.
It was a busy street. Cars purred in and out of the swanky 5-star resort on the road. Smartly-dressed couples & busy families either walked towards the beach or away from it. I leaned in on my parked motorbike to take in the sights.
That’s when i saw it.
Just off the pavement, on a makeshift tarpaulin sheet, hung the two objects that caught my attention. A Gucci bag and the photos of Christian Gods. I decided to have a closer look.
There was a lot happening there. The bags were hung on a hook, to the left of the photos. The photos, one of Jesus and one of Mary, were tied with metal mesh to the tarpaulin sheet behind. The gods were watching me as well as protecting this makeshift museum of odd objects.
Just below the photos was the national flag. It lay facing down, a crime nowadays i think, but here nobody bothered. It brought order to this existence.
God, flag & Gucci.
On the extreme right of the gods, hung three hair-bands. One a garish red and two disco-queen designs. They balanced out with the Gucci bags on the other end. The flag in between lay neutral.
There was other stuff — a Hindu calendar, discarded festival decorations, single socks, a few shopping bags and some beach towels spread out. The objects were at a distance, without any order or design, yet they were connected. Like a story told from multiple points of view, all meeting together, just off-center.
I looked around for the owner of this medley — none was to be found. It just lay there, such a beautiful tableau unnoticed and unaffected as people hurried by to the beach.
There was a sudden tap on my shoulders. i looked back, it was K. He was back. “Let’s get to the beach, others must be waiting.”
I wanted to say a lot. He would have understood it too. But he had missed it too. Just like the others. So i said nothing. Others were waiting. We left together for the beach leaving gods and flags behind.
appam stew n prawns patiyo 