Floss, Floss, Floss!
Toothpicks from Hell & and a strange endorsement
of the West Coast lifestyle
There are times when one misses the good old film in
the camera days! This, in fact, is one of those times. Scouring the hard drive,
I am absolutely unable to find a magnificent macro shot of three "toothpicks"
aligned side by side. You may think this is just another trivial rant about yet
another inconsequential event, however, if you did, you would be missing the big
picture - the "macro" one, if you will. These digitally disadvantaged toothpicks
were of the sort which would have caused immense social upheaval should they
have arrived casually with the bill at your local Earl's. Why, you ask? Well, if
you can imagine, toothpicks which are about 3 times wider than your standard
Canadian edition complete with helpful branches for reaching those otherwise
unreachable fragments of your leftover lunch, you will start to comprehend the
uncomprehendible! I have to admit being somewhat baffled by the glory of these
implements until remembering that the average Indian or Nepali doesn't usually
have a dental plan. This appears to result in toothy growth patterns which are,
shall we say, less aligned that those of the average North American. Often, you
will find yawning Grand Canyon-like spaces residing cheek-by-jowel beside
towering incisors and, if you have such variable terrain in your mouth, no mere
slim-line toothpick will do. You would, no doubt, appreciate the greater
ground-covering sweep of the indigenous Darjeeling
toothpick.
It also occurred to me that having these yawning caverns between one's front teeth would add to the spitting accuracy of the dedicated paan-chewer. For those who don't know what a paan is, it's betel nut with any number of additives (eg. tobacco) all wrapped in a betel leaf (since I'm not a paan chewer, I could be completely off base). Quite often, a devotee of the habit can be found expelling red spittle in various directions (so observers have to be nimble of foot to avoid collateral damage). To give you an idea of the scope of spitting, Fr. Van (NP's Rector) told me that when he arrived in India 50 years ago, he was quite appalled by, what he thought, was an epidemic of Tuberculosis in Bombay. Later, he found out that, what he thought was blood coughed up all over the sidewalks, was actually paan-spit! No doubt, at this stage, you're all saying: "Stop babbling and show us the pics"! Allright, allright!
I should point out that these toothpicks arrived in front of us after a great meal at a restaurant called Stardust. We had feasted on some "Manchurian Mushrooms" and Veg Biriyani. To be clear, these actually were mushrooms but they certainly tasted magical. Darjeeling does appear to be quite a liberal place and does bear a striking resemblance to the certain sections of the West Coast....
This day was our last full day in Darjeeling (which we were quite sorry about). I was due at the school to finalize a few things and I happened to land up just as they were having their morning assembly. As we were being presented to the school the previous time they'd held one of these, we hadn't been able to photograph it. Quite an impressive sight...
After a couple of meetings, I decided to take a nostalgic tour of my old stomping grounds in the boarding section of the Primary Department. There, I found the usual group of insane munchkins all eager get their 10 seconds of fame.
I said my goodbyes to a number of the staff and students and made my way back to town to meet up with Amber and some of the rest of the gang for a farewell tea/dinner. Both Fr.'s Kinley and Van made the trek over and we had a really fun few hours at Glenary's. Before heading off to bed, we had to hunt down a few more of the omnipresent Darjeeling toques for gifts. Of course, no one had a clue what we meant by the word "toque" - obviously Bob & Doug Mackenzie's influence has worn thin in this neck of the woods. Most of the toque sellers had closed up by this time, but fortunately, the good people at Hayden Hall also made some - and since we were with the Management...they had keys to the giftshop! Unfortunately, they also decided to dress me up as some kind of a honourary Nepali! That, by the way...is not one of the toques!
It also occurred to me that having these yawning caverns between one's front teeth would add to the spitting accuracy of the dedicated paan-chewer. For those who don't know what a paan is, it's betel nut with any number of additives (eg. tobacco) all wrapped in a betel leaf (since I'm not a paan chewer, I could be completely off base). Quite often, a devotee of the habit can be found expelling red spittle in various directions (so observers have to be nimble of foot to avoid collateral damage). To give you an idea of the scope of spitting, Fr. Van (NP's Rector) told me that when he arrived in India 50 years ago, he was quite appalled by, what he thought, was an epidemic of Tuberculosis in Bombay. Later, he found out that, what he thought was blood coughed up all over the sidewalks, was actually paan-spit! No doubt, at this stage, you're all saying: "Stop babbling and show us the pics"! Allright, allright!
I should point out that these toothpicks arrived in front of us after a great meal at a restaurant called Stardust. We had feasted on some "Manchurian Mushrooms" and Veg Biriyani. To be clear, these actually were mushrooms but they certainly tasted magical. Darjeeling does appear to be quite a liberal place and does bear a striking resemblance to the certain sections of the West Coast....
This day was our last full day in Darjeeling (which we were quite sorry about). I was due at the school to finalize a few things and I happened to land up just as they were having their morning assembly. As we were being presented to the school the previous time they'd held one of these, we hadn't been able to photograph it. Quite an impressive sight...
After a couple of meetings, I decided to take a nostalgic tour of my old stomping grounds in the boarding section of the Primary Department. There, I found the usual group of insane munchkins all eager get their 10 seconds of fame.
I said my goodbyes to a number of the staff and students and made my way back to town to meet up with Amber and some of the rest of the gang for a farewell tea/dinner. Both Fr.'s Kinley and Van made the trek over and we had a really fun few hours at Glenary's. Before heading off to bed, we had to hunt down a few more of the omnipresent Darjeeling toques for gifts. Of course, no one had a clue what we meant by the word "toque" - obviously Bob & Doug Mackenzie's influence has worn thin in this neck of the woods. Most of the toque sellers had closed up by this time, but fortunately, the good people at Hayden Hall also made some - and since we were with the Management...they had keys to the giftshop! Unfortunately, they also decided to dress me up as some kind of a honourary Nepali! That, by the way...is not one of the toques!
Posted: Thu - November 13, 2003 at 08:49 AM
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Published On: Nov 21, 2003 04:41 PM
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Published On: Nov 21, 2003 04:41 PM