(Around 1918 - In Era of British Rule, India)

Once a Hindustani waiter (obviously!) appeared to take an order from two 'Angrej'(British men).

One of the 'Angrej' ordered "Two cup Tea".

The waiter got angry and started shouting to them "Kya?! Me kapti? Tu kapati, tera baap kapti, teri maa kapati, aree tera pura khandan hi kapati hai!"

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In 4th std, one of my favorite teachers Ms. Rabiya once told us this joke. I liked this joke so much that I said it to every cousin of mine during vacation. It's not a fresh joke anymore. In the era of memes and reels, we don't laugh much at 'such' cliché. In fact, these kinda events appear around us so frequently (and quickly!) that it doesn't even sound like a joke.

Apart from the joke let's assume it was an event and resume our thinking about what would have happened next.

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The waiter started shouting to them "Kya?! Me kapti? Tu kapati, tera baap kapti, teri maa kapati, aree tera pura khandan hi kapati hai!"

The two 'Angrej' confusingly and furiously stood up and shouted back, "Shut up! What's wrong with you?! Where's your Owner?!"

The waiter didn't get what he was saying and assumed that the 'Angrej' is still abusing and again started shouting to them, "hamara namak khakar humko kapti bolta hai, ek din tum ko tumari aukat dikhake rahenge, kapatiii"

Now 'Angrej' was uncontrollably furious and roared at the waiter, "How dare you speak to me in such a way, do you even know who am I, you'll pay for it..." and he caught the collar of the waiter!

The waiter understood not wordly, but by actions and expressions that the 'Angrej' is threatening him, he couldn't bear it and started shouting back, "Angrej ka bachha muze dhamaki deta hai, muze?! Agar mere neta ko pata chal gaya ki tune muze hath lagaya to... "

Meanwhile, the owner rushed to the spot, separated them both, and tried to handle the situation calmly. He apologized to 'Angrej' on behalf of the waiter.

The 'Angrej' angrily instructed the owner to fire the waiter immediately and added that he doesn't want to see the waiter again. If he'll ever see the waiter, then the owner will have to close the restaurant forever.

And the 'Angrej' went (obviously without having Two cup tea!).

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This is the most assumed scenario of what would have happened. We can easily assume & consume the above scenario. Because that's how we have been portraiting 'Angrej' since our childhood. That's how we're programmed, so we have certain prejudices about 'Angrej', especially when the story is around the 19th century.

Now let's try to assume another scenario.

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The waiter started shouting to them "Kya?! Me kapti? Tu kapati, tera baap kapti, teri maa kapati, aree tera pura khandan hi kapati hai!"

The two 'Angrej' confusingly and surprisingly stood up and genuinely murmured "Excuse us, Please?!"

The waiter felt a bit proud and surprised that they didn't react with anger. But in a moment also felt insecure and thought suspiciously what if they have just threatened him that way?!

The waiter continued assuming that the 'Angrej' did really abused him and again started shouting to them, "hamara namak kha kar humko kapti bolta hai, ek din tum ko tumari aukat dikhake rahenge, kapatiii"

The two 'Angrej' who arrived at that tea stall for the first time understood that the waiter is misunderstood and started looking around for someone who might be able to communicate with them and can solve the misunderstanding.

Meanwhile, the owner appeared at the spot, sensing something is not okay with the waiter, and tried to guess the situation calmly. He asked the waiter to explain the situation and listened carefully. He smiled at the two 'Angrej', apologized, and explained how the word 'kapati' sounds like 'cheaters' to Indians and that caused just misunderstanding. The owner also looked at the waiter and explained that they were asking for two cups of tea.

And all of them started laughing at each other. Plus the 'Angrej' also appreciated the waiter's courage. Finally, the waiter went to the kitchen, arrived with two delicious Hot Indian masala Tea and served with a smile on his face and said, 'two cup tea'! Once again laughter lighted that morning!

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Kinda hard to digest, ain't it!?

We have been raised listening to 'jara yad karo kurbani' & 'mera karma tu' repeatedly on FM. That kept reminding us from childhood about the immense damage caused to India by 'Angrej' in that era. Suddenly many events will be popped up in your mind like a flood to insist you from believing the above story. It'll remind you of all the sacrifices of our greatest queens, kings, princes, princesses, and most importantly all the freedom fighters. The stories of blood-wrenching sacrifices can still set your blood on fire, your heart beats faster, and make your eyes red with immense anger, pain, and grief. The royal, loyal, and generous India is still suffering because of the great loss of our precious things, values, culture, and incredible empire (no doubt our 'sone ki chidia'!) built by our highly intellectual ancestors. The trauma is so intense that it may cost more and more years for Indians to get recovered.

How can one even imagine that even one of those 'Angrej' can be good by heart?! We ain't programmed to develop this perspective, that's why it sounds more sensible to us.

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You can imagine your scenarios as well that can help to elaborate this story, maybe with a happy ending, sad ending, normal ending, something different ending, 'Nolan' ending (Remember the spinner from 'Inception'?!), or even a fun ending (which is not always a happy ending).

There can be thousands of scenarios. But that's not the point. The point is There CAN BE thousands of scenarios! Just like each one in the room has a point (a valid one) to put on the table. Ain't our heads overflowing with too many perspectives, prejudice, prestige, past, presence, perfections, and some pre-programmed pain points?! This 'P-Package' creates a wireframe of our lifestyle, thinking style, clothing style, hairstyle, working style, art style, parenting style, and ultimately the culture that we belong to. The culture passes on this 'P-Package' to the next generations (with some flavors & spices obviously!). Maybe that is why our perspectives can't be absolutely independent of our prejudice, and our prejudice can't be broken without new perspectives!

I've started writing my blog like thousands of others, simply to put my 'P-Package' in words. Sometimes I'll be a better tea-time flavor, and sometimes I can make your day taste a little bitter. Some of us will develop amazing reader-writer chemistry that might destine us to be long-time companions. While some of us will just say hi to each other and will part ways. I love writing because I love the way life blossoms uncertainties. Which often makes fun of so-called rational human beings but eventually questions our belongings, destiny, and meaning of life to teach us the moral of the story!

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