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| Hotel Grace |
-Brian Mendonca
At Grace Hotel
the cat sleeps
on the chair in front of me
-oblivious to the traffic
that hurtles past,
on the way to the sea.
Channa bhaji, vada, mirchi
are served by an elderly waiter
who looks like Tarun Tejpal.
A man from across, bare-bodied,
steps across to collect his
Times of India
-placed perfunctorily
on the counter.
It is 9.03 a.m.
A teenage girl
steps up to the counter
says something and leaves.
Another man
emerges from next door
waits politely
and collects his Navhind Times.
A young man in a red helmet
walks straight in to the rear.
Tejpal and he share a joke.
'Do pe ek free.' Tejpal says
grinning widely.
A middle-aged man
parks his scooter.
Tejpal sets his bhaji and poee
on a free table.
The man settles himself
dusts his poee and begins to eat.
His phone (unsmart) rings.
'Sulokshana geli?' he enquires.
I pay my bill and leave.
The cat is still sleeping.
(Hotel Grace
Sangolda, Goa
12 September 2024)
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Pic taken at Hotel Grace, CHOGM road, Sangolda by Brian Mendonca on 12 September 2024.
Tarun Tejpal (b. 1963) is an Indian journalist and publisher.
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