Buzzing with activity

The flies are here again. They haven’t yet missed a date. Every day, bright and early, they throng to our faces and wake us up. They are our alarm clocks.

I put my hat on and walk out the tent. Without the hat, braving the desert sun isn’t too great an idea. It feels pretty much like walking straight into an overexposed film. Any other day, I would have put my shades on. Not today, though. Not since Batman flicked mine last night. He is an exceptionally cheeky man, that one.

Sheriff is up and about as always. He is beaming with joy. The man wakes up at 5 in the morning, works all day like a motherfucking machine and never sleeps for more than 3 hours. Yet somehow, he always greets with a smile.

He tells me it’s Diwali today, even gives me a bear hug to prove it. Forget dates, I can’t even tell a rabbit from a car. Is it Diwali already? If it is, moreover, shouldn’t we be scared shitless? Aren’t we too close for comfort now? In just about three days, we are going to open our shores for an ocean of people to alight upon. They will obviously want to find everything they have been promised. Are we even prepared?

It turns out we are.

The venue is buzzing with activity. Walking in, I find a man draping a 30 feet canopy. He looks really happy to be up there. Further ahead, I see a man working under a canopy of tables. I can’t quite make out what he is doing but he seems intent on doing it. I presume it is important.

There is movement all around.

‘Haan! Now it looks like we’re going to have a festival here’.

Batman can see no wrong. It could well be my shades. They tend to make things look better than they actually are.