Mallika: You’re very old-fashioned
1979
And here I was, at my second boisterous party at Randhir’s house. His farewell party.
While Dire Straits blared, a DU boy, Rajesh, who was famous for being fluent in six Indian languages, began talking to me in Bengali.
‘I’m not Bengali,’ I said.
‘Of course you are!’
‘No, no, I’m from Karnataka.’
‘Oh, my god! You’re not like a Madrasi at all!’
Meaning I wasn’t quite as dark, my hair wasn’t curly, I had a Delhi accent, I was wearing a Bengali saree.
‘But there’s no such thing as “a Madrasi,”’ I said. How did someone who knew six Indian languages not know this?
‘Of course, I know that, but I meant that you don’t look like a Madrasi.’
I was stumped.
‘Your eyelashes…!’ he sighed.
I had to put an end to it. ‘They’re false.’
But there were
