Hi everybody

Sometimes we find ourselves in uncomfortable situations without knowing what’s wrong exactly. There is a sense of uneasiness for no obvious reason. In such cases the answer often lies right in front of you. We tend to take the obvious for granted.

A few weeks ago, when I was still in Goa, India taught me this lesson in one of its uniquely bizarre situations. Greg and I had decided to have dinner in one of these restaurants where they show you a movie on a big screen. We ordered fish tandoori and settled down to watch Peter Pan while we waited, sipping a cold beer and munching cheese, garlic and fresh naan bread. It’s a good job the film was on actually, for it took a considerable amount of time, (till Peter Pan was being saved by Tinkerbell from the vicious Captain Hook, actually) for the food to arrive. I complained that the roast potatoes where cold and started to patiently remove the bones from the kingfish while the waiter replaced my potatoes. Finally, I was ready to tuck into this feast of rice, veggies, potatoes and tandoori fish.

But something was not quite right. I re-positioned my chair, and the table, examined the food, a dish with the fish, a bowl of plain rice, another one with veggies and the hot potatoes. I even smelled it, but everything was fine and looked delicious. This strange feeling was getting more and more frustrating. There was something bothering me and the fact that I had no clue what it was, was bothering me even more. I was about to give up and ignore the weird feeling, when all of a sudden it clicked. Just like those 3D pictures that you stare at until you finally see the face or something, I suddenly saw what was wrong.

The problem was not the food, nor the chair, not even the unbalanced table which now had a folded napkin under one of its legs. The problem was the cutlery. For some reason, my plate had more cutlery on it than food. I had seven forks, two spoons and a knife. How did all that metal end up on my plate? My only theory was that the waiter must have produced a piece of cutlery with every item, including my extra potatoes, and that we had all unconsciously deposited them onto my plate. The meal was award winning but frankly it was a bit heavy for my taste. As I said to Greg, there was too much iron!

The movie ended, and unlike Michael Jackson, Peter Pan lived happily ever after in Neverland. They started playing music videos in the big screen, some Indian version of MTV. Dire Straits' Money for Nothing came on, and I remember confessing to Greg that I would miss the “rumoured” concert of former Dire Straits front man Mark Knopfler. Greg in his, sad-but-true voice, pointed out that you cannot have your cake and eat it. Barely had he finished saying that when a pretty Indian presenter in typical MTV style, reminded the viewers that they could win a ticket for Mark Knopfler's concert in Bangalore.

Well two weeks later, here I am in Bangalore! Of course I didn’t win the ticket (that would be like having the cake, selling it, and eating it!) but I did buy the ticket, and in four hours I’ll be standing in front of Mark Knopfler himself as he plays Sultans of Swing.

I'm staying in a small hotel situated at the beginning of “MG” road, that is, Mahatma Gandhi Road in the heart of what is considered to be one of India’s most progressive cities. With four hours to go, I decided to do a bit of exploring. Walking through MG Road is a little like being at the trade fair. There is a high concentration of retail outlets all crammed in one area. There are huge names and flashy lights, but really tiny showrooms. People everywhere and the smell of something cooking wafts in from some corner every now and then.

I’m turning back now to get ready for the concert. This Walk of Life is certainly not uphill!