The desi ‘Boo’

A noisy mob surges before a fancy facade.

The idea may be foreign, but you should have worn an Indian costume!

Voice from the Crowd: No ‘imported’ ideas! Only home-grown ones, recognised by T.C.T.D.W.I., allowed.

You: What’s happening? What’s T.C.T.D.W.I?

Mob-ber: The Committee That Decides What’s Indigenous. We’re protesting against parties celebrating monsters, goblins and such-like foreign-type horrors. This is exactly the sort of silly ‘importing’ that’s chipping away at ancient cultures.

VFTC: We don’t need no foreign wraiths, we don’t need no creepy imports, we’ve got our own pishasees, bhoothams...hey, people, leave our minds alone.

You: Hmm – days celebrating big red hearts, T-shirts on campus....but classic rock’s okay, huh?

Mob-ber: So? We pick our battles.

He glares at you, moves away, and a second later you notice him talking to VFTC and others, pointing you out.

Being sadly aware of your unfortunate ability to inadvertently irritate – (being mildly funny for a living sometimes has that effect – as the ‘Our Readers Write’ column here has proved) – and given that the idea of being Chief Target in a chase scene seems most unattractive, you decide it’s prudent to sidle away.

But, maybe, there is a point within the sound and fury – if you must ‘import’, why not pick concepts like lane discipline or no littering?

Now there’s a treat, with no tricks attached.