1983-Facts and Fiction

Tracking down the Natarajans

In which Cheeka ropes in Jimmy for a labourious tracking mission that would end in disaster for both of them.

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"Maine pehle hi kaha tha! Muft ke khane ke chakkar me mat pada karo!"

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"Abhi shaadi huyi hai March me...she's lovely..."

"Bataya nahi?"

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"Toh kya bole kal Lala ji?"

"Tu batting kar na, Yash."

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Lala ji's scores of jars of aachar had long since been exhausted, before the World Cup had even started, and on the evening when India had beaten WI in the first match, Kris Srikkanth was not in a good mood.

"They call this a hotel? They call this food?"

Kirti nudged a plate of chicken towards Cheeka, who jumped two feet in the opposite direction. Maddi, for once helped Kirti along and pushed another plate towards Cheeka from the other side.

"Get that thing away from me!" wailed Cheeka, cornered.

"Maddi," chided Jimmy. "Not you as well."

"At least I got him stop whining about the hotel service," said Maddi, who for some reason, liked the hotel.

"You're crows," said Cheeka, "why would you guys have a problem with appalling hotels?"

"Come again?"

"We're what?"

"Crows," said Cheeka. "Crows. Who will eat anything."

Jimmy sniggered, but stopped when he realized Cheeka hadn't meant it to be funny.

"Jim pa, Maddi pa, come with us today," called Yash down the table from where he was sitting with Patla, Ballu and Shastri.

"Come where?" asked Jimmy suspiciously.

"To celebrate our first victory in the World Cup, of course, Jim pa," said Patla demurely.

"Uh—you guys know our next match is tomorrow, right?"

"So what, we'll be back long before tomorrow's match starts," assured Patla.

Jimmy glanced around the table for Kapil before remembering it was past 10 o'clock, hence past their captain's bedtime. He decided against trying to stop his flighty teammates from going out to celebrate—they had precious little to celebrate as it was.

"Are you planning to go to a bar?"

"You are?" said Maddi brightly. "I'll join you."

"No, you are not," said Jimmy, thinking that as seniors, they ought to set some example, even if they didn't stop them.

"Yes, I am, and you should too," said Maddi. "You too, Cheeka."

Cheeka, who was still making faces at the food, scoffed.

"Drunkards and barbarians," he muttered.

"D'you want to go out to eat somewhere?" asked Jimmy, because Cheeka did look very upset.

"Where?" asked Cheeka in disgust. "The only Indian eateries in England are Punjabi."

Which was, everyone knew, a fact.

"As they should be," said Maddi.

"Because Punjabi food is the best, and sell the best," said Kirti.

"Because you guys hog the restaurants and don't let anyone go in at all," corrected Cheeka.