Two Conversations

I love talk to people specially old ones (grandmas and grandpas) at food court , market and  book shops. Most of the time I start the conversation after that they will talk non-stop until I say its time for me to go. Many of them are still identifies me even after meeting years back.  Last week I had two very different conversations with one middle ages man and one grandma.

With grandma:

I was returning from market with three plastic with fishes, vegetables and fruits respectively .

Grandma : ah! how are you ? seems like but late?
Grandpa  : hmm .. seems like you bought the whole market!
Me : Fine ma, bit late . Don't know what fish to buy?
Grandma : oh.. you bought fish ...??!!
Me : Yes bought squid...
Grandma : Today is Pangkuni Uthiram you should not eat fish ...
Me : oh...
Grandma : Nowadays these youngsters are not following the traditions at all....
Me :  :(
Grandma : Those days... back in India we never ate non-veg food during these seasons..... we loved those days...  Here they not even wearing traditional dothis... ( I was in shorts and T-shirt!!!)...
Me: ................
Grandma : You should not eat non-veg today(Sunday) and tomorrow(Monday - Tamil New Year)..  Did you celebrate Tamil New Year?
Me: Yes... but in Singapore we don't have holiday...
Grandma : We have to celebrate Tamil new year... its very important ... but who is listening??
Me :...........
Grandma: Ok then, try not to eat non-veg and go to temple... and celebrate...
Me:............
Grandma : Will you go to temple ?
Me: I'm a Christian....
Grandpa to Grandma : whatever you talked to him about Pangkuni Uthiram was waste..!!
Me: No pa... its ok...

Both laughed loudly... but I thought of how we are celebrating our traditional festival... Modernity made us to forget our roots and go behind so called Western culture.

With a middle aged man:

I was coming out of the queue after getting my Run350 race pack. There were many Indians around that area, curiously looking at people collecting the pack.

Man :  what is that bag?
Me   : Its a race pack..
Man : Race?
Me: Running...
Me: It is medium distance running event...
Man: what is in the bag?
Me: The race singlet ....and  the race number (bib)
Man: How to get it?
Me: We have to register online first .
Man: oh... now can I register?
Me: I don't think so .. registration is must...
Man: (he seems to thinking something ...)  running race.. how many meters?
Me :............ 21 Kilometers...
Man : What!!
Me:  Yes ... we have to run 21KM...
Man : From where?
Me: We have to go to particular place on particular time .. from there we have to start and follow the race route given and finish the race...
Man :  after running..??
Me ....................................!!!!!

The man left without saying a word after my expression. I have seen many Indians saying "Why one should pay to run?" . Its obvious that we need pay something to get T-shirt and of course there are other expanses too but I always wonder why people asks these kind of questions. But I always explains them politely about why I run...  sometimes they advise me not to run these many kilometres.