India - Day 15

“The thing about Delhi: it has the best banter in the country.”

We were in the back of a cab, and the driver had already dropped two behn chods (sister fucker) within 5 minutes.

That description of Delhi banter reminded me of New York. I remember my first time in NYC alone as an adult. I was 22. I went into a pizza shop, one of those 99¢ spots (by the way, what a relic the ¢ symbol is). The place was empty, but the guy still seemed like he had no time. I pick out a slice, one that has a bubble near the crust, and he asks:

"You want this for takeaway or to-go?"

I respond "to go" and then realize something’s wrong with the question. A moment later, I realize he’s fucking with me.

“Wait,” I say.

Once he sees that I noticed he got me, he flicks his eyebrows upward with a smirk on his face. That was the end of the interaction. I ate the pizza somewhere, still relishing the trick.

Good gab is a way to constantly play games. It’s a volley of energy that makes for laughs. Politeness is either a reduction of the speed at which this energy volleys or it absorbs the energy instead of smacking it back.