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The heat and the dust were at times oppressive
- on one occasion at Orchha after a particularly hard day, I
made my way back to the hotel, kicked off my sandals and walked
fully-clothed straight into the swimming-pool to the astonishment
of several German tourists - the barman was amused but attentive
so got asked by me (head-above-water and I kept my hat on) in
my very best Hindoo for 'ike beer tenda, tepya' without him batting
an eyelid which I then drank whilst dripping water on the verandah
followed by a burp the volume of which I think broke the sound-barrier.
'Learning the lingo' is not something
all the cast and crew bothered with : most had the facility to
latch onto an Indian member of the crew who was quite willing
to interpret. 'Acha, Acha' in Hindoo means 'Good' but can be
taken for 'Yes' and led to one convoluted and confused conversation
in the local market where a proffered Indian cigarette named
a 'Bidi' was offered to a westerner and accepted and answered
'Acha' but the man in fact had asked 'Do you want a Bibi ?' (Bibi
is Hindoo for 'girl'). |
