namaste

why I can't remember to say 'what is your name' in Hindi when I memorized it yesterday and can remember siapa nyama nya? from years ago in Jakarta living on jalan Cikajang and teaching English I don't know

that Brit husband of Madonna may have something to say about keeping the Alzheimer at bay when allegedly he referred to her as if cuddling her was like chewing gristle

I'd say that's not all that bad and not really an insult as the press and allegedly Madonna had it especially when you have to taste the red meat before you get to the gristle

Bihara my laundryman held my hand longer than usual when I saw him in his hole-in-the wall establishment called 'al arabi laundry' last night because the other day I greeted him with namaste

last night I was at pains to get him to tell me how to say 'I am American' after I asked ap hindustani hai but didn't succeed

my god his hand was rough as sandpaper from wielding that iron all day not like a lightweight housewifey one made mostly of plastic. He has a piece of marble to set it on when not using it

my wife says I didn't succeed because I did not speak to him in the broken Arabic he's used to that lingua franca of taxi swaags and it's largely not Arabic but a hodge-podge of Urdu and Arabic. I tried my modern standard Arabic on him and raised my volume a notch but he still didn't understand all the while he was gazing with wonder into my eyes. Finally he said dili with those hard Hindi d's

I didn't realize until talking with B. that he took me literally when I asked him if he was Hindustani. Of course he's not, he's from Delhi!