When in Rome...

It was a lazy summer afternoon and I was curled up in my bed  flipping the pages of my new Italian Learner's Guide . The sun is merciless these days , thanks to the flourishing real estate market  and rapidly vanishing trees. I lost track of time and dozed off with the book on top of my head. I was woken up with the sudden sound of my cell phone. Ahhhh! I had messed up the am pm and at 5 in the evening , I was woken up by what I believe was a mini heart atack. I splashed cold water on my face , poured myself a cup of hot coffee , grabbed a pen ,a clean white sheet of paper and started assembling  the numerous thoughts that  rent a considerable space of my brain.
Have you ever written an article , an essay , a column or even done anything remotely close to staring a blank paper while biting the rear end of your very inexpensive pen? If yes, then you probably understand how frustrating it can be to come up with something to fill the everlasting space on paper with the gems called ‘words’. I am no expert in the art of technical writing. I write because I feel like it. But if you ask me , the only way anyone can write is by reading as much as possible while keeping an observant eye .Believe me , inspiration is everywhere. The other day I was reading some random travel blogs and came across some good blogs by an American woman named Teressa about her experiences in Italy.  Anyone who knows me well  knows that my favorite place in the world is Italy. The country speaks passion, beauty, cuisine, fashion, life and love. Almost every day I dream about roaming the crowded streets of Rome or just enjoying a hot cappuccino with two cannolis in one of the many street cafes  in Tuscany while admiring the scarlet sky at the cusp of dusk and night. Che' Dolce Vita !!

But when I read Teressa’s blog I came to know that Rome is not very different from my own country – India. You can feel the same madness (well ,almost the same ) while strolling the lanes of Rome too. Por lo tanto , te presento the striking resemblance between the love of my life and the one I am stuck with.

Both in Rome and in India:-

if you are waiting for your food  in a street side café while leisurely reading a romance novella, you will probably end up hungry, take charge, just don’t stand at the back of the line and  wait for things to appear, you have to go in front and beat the counter for prompt service !

if a two wheeler passes an inch away from your toes, don’t be surprised ! Don’t hold yourself back,let the expletives fly. Traffic lights suffer from mood swings and believe me they are more fickle than the craziest woman you have ever met!

people are always in a hurry to get somewhere and more often than not traffic rules are an unknown phenomenon. The constant honking will make your head dizzy and at times you will suspect that your ear drums might have burst.Cars will come to a screeching halt and the driver will give you a crooked eye for ever being born.

although people are always in a hurry , you will have to wait forever for everything. There are queues in government offices and the officers are never to be found, if you are waiting for a store owner to return from his afternoon break , you may end up looking at him from a distance while he is engaged in a lively conversation with the nearby vendor on the sidewalk.

the cost of things may vary according to your luck , the store owner’s mood , your bargaining abilities and sometimes according to the language you speak. If you speak the local language , you are in luck.Still the chances of you getting ripped off are higher than spotting a cow in the streets of India. The local people see tourists as prey and even a simple coffee will cost you a lot if you have it around a tourist location.

the streets are crowded , rusty , polluted and noisy. If you have to cross the street , ask forgiveness for all of your sins as this might be the last time your body and soul are one.Cross your fingers and make a dash to the other side, at this very moment your  heart will jump out of your chest and your feet will develop a brain of their own.

at the corners of the streets , on parked vehicles  or just walking past you , you may find groups of young men leering you up and down and passing comments in the native language .Don’t pay any attention to them.They are pretty much harmless if you can handle annoyance and hold a black belt.

If you are an Aussie, Britt or American , these things may come as a surprise to you. But once you fall into the rhythm , you will gradually start enjoying the song , try tapping your feet to the beat and in no time you will be dancing as if no one is watching.There is a different way to get things done , try falling into the craziness for once. You still don't have your coffee , go the shop owner and ask for it! You hate the way people drive , rent a vespa and take a ride yourself ! Someone shoots obscenities at you , open the dictionary and learn some bad words to return the favor !You are a woman , a sexy one at that , enjoy the attention ! Once you get used to the madness, you will realise that people are not bad at heart. They will go out of their way to help you with things.

I am glad that I am used to the crazy rhythm of the dream which I wish one day becomes a reality. People say, ‘When in Rome , do what the Romans do.’ Ummm…. Well … you can do what the Indians do too.