Uneasy Eavesdropping

I was stuck at Pune airport for seven hours, for a two-hour flight to New Delhi. This was not a great way to start my summer break. Anyhow, if that wasn't bad enough, let me recount the conversation I overheard at the airport. I wasn't intentionally listening, although I love to people watch. These three men were standing right in front of me as I browsed the Internet, in search of someone online to keep me sane.

There were two Indian guys and one British guy:

British Guy (BG): So, is your first name Krishnan or is that your surname?

Indian guy 1 (IG1): It's my name.

BG: I never really understand Indian names. So do you have a village name also?

IG1: (inaudible).

BG: I have a middle name, it's actually my dad's name, so I guess it's the same thing.

IG2: Yeah. Names are confusing, especially surnames.

BG: You know in England women are going crazy. Some of them refuse to change their surnames when they get married. Others want to hyphenate them. But could you imagine the constant hyphenating? Names would be so long, they would be like Indian names.

IG 1 and 2 laugh.

BG continues: My wife once brought up that she wanted to hyphenate her name or our children's names. I told her she was crazy. That was the end of that converstaion.

All men laugh. SBT gets up, takes her stuff, and walks away.

I guess he's not a real white guy.