Anecdote!

Bored young NRI enters the supermarket in the town he is employed

Searches for dhal in the pulses section

He is not able to find what is called “kadalai paruppu” in home (Bengal gram)

Looks around frustrated

Finds a young Indian girl, smiles and asks for help

Young Indian girl helps him find it

They run into each other the following week again and acknowledge each other with a smile

They run into each other at the taxi station two days later and start conversing

They become friends and a fairy tale begins

Reality

Bored young NRI enters the supermarket in the town he is employed

Searches for dhal in the pulses section

He is not able to find what is called “kadalai paruppu” in home (Bengal gram)

Looks around frustrated

Finds a young Indian girl, smiles tentatively and wonders if he can ask for help

Girl gets freaked out and disappears

They run into each other the following week again and the girl does not even notice him

They run into each other at the taxi station two days later; the girl gives him an angry look; the man starts wondering if the girl is suspecting him of being a stalker

Man gets freaked out and vows never to smile to an unknown girl ever again in a foreign land!