Kabhi Kabhi, cane juice and a quarter of a Viagra substitute...


Thursday I join the car at the Berbice Car Park. It was an oldish car, and 98.1 FM playing so I think I safe and I would not have to argue for my right to hear coolie music (not Indian music like Raaga and Sitar and so on.. but nice coolie music)..
So the car start out - is de driver, de rasta man in the front seat (well everybody call him rasta man) and he put on his MP3 player and listen he own music..,
and in the back seat me and an oldish looking Muslim man (well he wearing a Kufi, so I assume.. but then if I was wearing a dress, I still would not be a woman) and a young guy wid a cell phone wid de zero not working.





So we go through Kitty to pick up two of Rasta Man bag and then the driver mek a wrong turn in Kitty.. Rasta Man seh.. hey hey. .ah hope you not sleeping. Driver seh nah man.. I  arite.. I hope he arite too
So we heading up Berbice, breeze nice, and is bam 230pm and den 98.1 bus out de oldies coolie tune and meh favourite .."Tere chehre Se .. from Kabhi Kabhi..". Now I know in some minibuses and cars, dey does turn down or turn off 98.1 when de coolie music come on, so I clench meh fist fuh see if dere would be any protest. Driver though.. he hand waving to de music (is not a coolie man like me, but I tink he got more coolie in he dan me judging by de way de one hand waving.. by de Grace of God, de car was not waving).. and Rasta Man looking straight ahead wid he ipod, boy next to me fixing cell phone.
So.. when ah used to dream dat me and me loved one would go running tru' snow filled mountains . and now due to de lil knee problem i cant go running tru no mountain wid no loved one (and if ah find mehself in any mountain, is probably because ah running from a loved one dan wid a de loved one) But.. de old coolie tunes.. oh man so dis bring back memories of Liberty Cinema and big gyurl in de line asking 16 year old me wid me hairy face is where I does work .. dat was before cell phone and facebook..

And de tunes continue.. and de Driver wavin' he hand, and de Rasta Man itatin pun he Ipod, and de young boy fiddling wid he cell phone and de Old man looking out de window and me .. passing coconut tree and village and tinking about all de loved ones who I never get a chance to sing Kabhi Kabhi wid..







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So I coming back down from Skeldon in a minibus and .. is a slow minibus, we tek we time -- not because of police, because is a good driver. We stop, people come out, rearrange.. two older women sitting behind me talk to the younger girl in front of me about Reshma and how she postpone she wedding because she aint got money fuh de church and de 'jhandhi'  and how de young girl say dat she cant be bridesmaid unless Reshma buy de dress fuh she.. and I turning me head round and round fuh listen but also to show dat I not listening..
de nice ladies say.. dat is not Reshma father fault, dat Reshma giving she father family a bad name, is she mother fault.. and I want to join the conversation bad bad.. to defend Reshma and tinking of all dem girls who waste money pun wedding..
Den we come pun 19 Road and we see two man. Bus stop again.. de man dem got two bundle cane dat it look like dey did not buy or get permission to pick from de cane field. De cane not fit in the back of the bus, so Reshma almost bridesmaid come to sit next to me, and den one of de man go in, den de two bundle cane go pun he or he lap.. somehow and de oddah man man jump in an say.. right we good.. driver go back in front.. bus going again





And den i tek a car by de Berbice Bridge and is a health worker in de car and me gaffin.. talking about rum, Berbice. HIV/AIDs.. sex, sexuality and somewhere we get to talking about viagra. We talking in nice voice.. man next to me doze off and de man and de driver in front look like dey hearing but dey don't want to hear.
Health worker look younger dan me.. and I explain dat if meh body say.. today is not u day.. den i gun have to just pay for de dinner or de room and guh lang meh way.. , but de health worker seh he try not viagra,but a substitute.. and he try a quarter only, but de ting ruff, it lef pounding headache, and quesy stomach.. and when he say it last fuh three hours.. i seh wha?.. he seh no no.. the side effects.. so I say well.. not me an' dat..  i mean.. why I gun want headache fuh?

I was thankful for de advice.. ah mean, ah neva say neva.. but at least i would tink twice before a tek a viagra fuh run around de snow filled mountains wid any loved one..


Comments

  1. AnonymousJune 29, 2011 at 9:29 PM

    I rather enjoyed the Kabhi Kabhi piece

    ReplyDelete

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