The Day When Anthony Hopkins Saved My Life!

I had just finished watching World's Fastest Indian on Zee Studio and flicked through the channels. Excellent movie as it is, about the sheer power of a man's will. It had left a deep impact on my mind. I was determined now more than ever to make a fortune in this city of dreams.

Flicking through the channels I came across a news channel and saw people bashing up cars and kiosks at Dadar station. People fighting and beating up each other because they belong to some other region of the country. As if that region isnt there country. Hollywood used "Indian" to depict the power of a man's will, and here we Indians went on national television and proved that we are nothing but idiots.

Anyways like a true Indian I called up my brother and warned him regarding the happenings at various railway stations and went to sleep.

Next day I went to the office. By the end of the day things got worse with more people joining the mayhem and the whole thing took the shape of an ugly riot threatening to spread to other parts of the country. My boss advised us to leave early for the day as things might get worse.

The North Indians formed groups with the localites so that they could get a safe passage. I joined one such group and reached Dadar Station expecting to catch a train to Kurla and from there to Vashi. We saw taxis with broken windsheilds, and overturned carts all around us. The trains were relatively empty and so were the platforms.

I reached Kurla and changed my train. But as the train was about to leave 5 or 6 people stormed into the compartment with hockey sticks and cricket bats and began asking passengers there names in Marathi. At the end of the compartment four or five people got beaten. One of the goons advanced towards me and asked "aey tujha naav kai"? (hey whats your name). If I would have told my real name it would have been enough evidence for them to bash me up into a pulp.

You see India is an interesting country, you can confirm a persons caste, which region s/he belongs to, what kind of job his/her forefathers used to do by just knowing that person's name. And hence my name right now was a clear disadantage to my position.

"Aey tujha naav kai"? Cried the goon again swinging his hockey stick near my face. I couldnt give him my real name, so my mind was racing. It was like running on a treadmill, you ran but you didnot reach anywhere. He swung the hockey stick again. "Anthony Hopkins" I blurted. "Kai' he said. "Anthony Hopkins" I said again. "Christian aahe kai"? (Are you a Christian) he asked. I nodded. "Kuthe rehtat"? (Where do you stay). By now I was sweating. "Does this hockey stick swinging, human bashing goon knew that Anthony Hopkins was the one riding the motorbike in the movie last night"? I was thinking. "Was he up that late at night watching the movie"? "Kuthe rehtat"? he asked again. "Vashi", I said.

He lowered his hockey stick, and another one joined him, "kai zhala"? (what happened) He asked. "Christian aahe", the first one said. By that time the train stopped at a station and all the goons alighted and went to some other compartment. I was still sitting at my place sweating with my knapsack clutched close to my chest.

Thank you Mr Anthony Hopkins for saving my life that day.