The fleas of Sindh

#146

10^th October is one date I never forget – it’s just as much a landmark as my birthday on 27^th April or my heart surgery on 27^th June or very near suicidal attempt on 27^th November. Neither do I forget my dad’s death on 13^th November. But we are now in October, let me explain what 10/10 means to me.

            pUsHpA was a slippery character from day-1 as she led me to a garden path. No one has spoken such endearing words of love as this female. I lost my Worldwide Media job and almost from the next day she turned cold. It was on 10/10 in 2009 she announced on her Orkut site “I am engaged”. I smoked half a pack of cigarettes that day, spent a sleepless night later for the first time in my life. Here was a woman who had a pre-honeymoon vacation with me, swore undying declarations of love for thousands of kisses and hugs and when it came to parting “just did not say a word of contrition”. If ever there was an instance of sneaking thief exit, this was it.

            One of the many lessons I learnt from the Sindhi imbroglio was: Women in our age can change their partners at their whim and fancies. Another was: never trust a Sindhi and a Punjabi* ever. Even today when I find a Punjabi woman attractive in my circle, I give it a broad miss for “once bitten is twice shy”. Life is too short to repeat the same mistake again and I am no fool more than my share. That race gives a lot of premium to “chickna” skin and “wealth”. Both of which I am neither endowed or aspired.

            The second time I came across a Sindhi was Haider Sheikh in Abu Dhabi. He was my colleague in Adline advertising and as slimy as they get. He was as dumb as a doorknob but he knew how to survive in a foul acrid atmosphere of hate and spite of Mohan like no other. To any abuse and outrage, Haider batted with a straight smile, “Yes Boss.” He was boiled daily with words of abuse for the same mistake, but his smile never wavered or his “Yes Boss” or a Uriah Heap’s show of servility. What nature gave him a more than a jackal's share of cunningness, it failed him as he continued with his error prone ways in work. He got on my wrong side many a times, as for me this feeling strengthened: Haider was the second Sindhi I was unfortunate enough to meet and both did not bode well for me. Yes, he was "chikna" but dead from the neck up with an IQ below that of a tortoise. Both pUsHpA and Haider can make a living in the glamour industries as a model or an actor; nature has not given them minds for anything higher.  Come to think of it, both the Sindhis look to me as made-for-each-other kinds for a corollary: Sindhis should only love and marry among themselves lest they pollute superior races and genes. 

            I sold my M90/4 in December and took up residence in 91/6 in the next building. The house-owner is a Sindhi and she is just as worse as the worst of them. The roof leaks and she will not spend on repair. This is a 45 years old construction, even the kitchen slab has not been replaced or the bathroom tiles from 1973!!! This Sindhi female has 4 to 5 houses in the city and makes a pile of rental income. Every tenant of hers curse her for she is too tightfisted – she will simply not replace a worn out fan or do any kind of repairs. A Tamilian is a peaceful creature but the bad names the Sindhis earn on account of this house-owner is enough to tar the entire community as we soon aver: what better can we expect from Sindhis?

            I am largely secular; I am not a sectarian fellow. I have a broad outlook to life and believe that there are good and bad people in every language and religion and caste but when it comes to Sindhis my attitude changes: If you find a Sindhi and a snake, better kill the Sindhi for it is more dangerous is no mere saying but there is a lot of truth to it. I think we should pack these Sindhis to where they belong – Sindhustan in Pakistan. They defile the atmosphere wherever they go. After pUsHpA chastisement there is a lot of relief: whatever destiny has in store for me, it can't get more worse than her. Anyone coming in my social circle can't be so gross and animalistic as this female. Once you have seen the worst of a human being, naturally your days and months and years brighten like the summer sun. Phew!!!! 

Post Script: I have a lot of IMT friends who are Punjabis. They are as good as the best of them. Point is, after this Sindhi chastisement I am wary of getting into romantic situations with that tribe. If pUsHpA had been a Bengali, Malayali, Marathi, Gujarati, Sinhalese or from the Hindi belt or Kashmiri, my reaction would have been just the same. Being in Chennai, a Sindhi is as rare an animal as a white ant, I come across them like once a decade kinds. I am taking the trouble to write this disclaimer so that none of my friends feel grieved.