aaah guntur!

till i moved into guntur, telugu was, for me, a language which sounded beautiful when spoken, but was completely incomprehensible. stories about friends who moved into guntur and faced the 'repu randi' dialogue had us in splits. little did i know that i'd also be using the phrase 'repu randi' comfortably one day, without giggling (at least not visibly)while saying it. in spite of two years in guntur, and what i believe is a passable command over telugu, there are still a few really hilarious moments. last week's incident still has me smiling when i think of it.


i'd asked an upholsterer/tailor to come and take measurements for a new set of curtains for our living room. When the doorbell rang, i went and greeted the person at the door with a 'curtains?' and he nodded. i guided him to the windows and watched, amazed, as he took some pretty peculiar measurements along the length and breadth of each window, He noted all these measurements in the little sheet of paper which i had provided, wondering at his not having brought his own paper and pen. i told him that the curtains needed to reach down to the floor-skirting level, and he duly measured the rest of the area and made some more notes. when he looked like he was done, i asked him the total quantity required. he looked confused, but patiently added up the numbers and told me that the whole thing measured 75 sq feet! completely stumped, i told him that wouldn't help me and that i'd already ordered the material, and that he needed to give me measurements in metres. he looked more desperate by the minute - i'd already exhausted my telugu and was talking to him in hindi which he apparently understood. i finally told him to please get his boss who could sort out my requirements. the poor man left, and i walked into the house still puzzled at this tailor in guntur who gave me measurements in sq feet! 


i finally realised that the joke was on me, when he walked in with his boss who could speak english! the poor man was a carpenter, not a tailor, and he'd come to fix one of our chairs. he had left his tools at the door and when i took him to the windows, assumed we needed some work on them. too polite to yell at the 'amma garu', he had floundered on!!  even now, i can't help but smile at the person who gave me measurements for curtains in square feet!