A reason to flee - Quick(x)star

The greatest pleasure I derive can be attributed to the incoming flux of new people that I get to befriend. I have always found it fun to hang out in groups, come up with long discussions late into the night, hit the right topics of interest and venture out for some outdoor activities. As I came to Boston, my enthusiasm for meeting new people never died down. My enthusiastic fervour as a student remained the same even after employment, and I went on to grin and smile as soon as I met a fellow Indian. Not that I did not smile at an American, but it is just that a fellow Indian provides a local solace!

I realized over a period of time, how wrong I could be. Here in Boston, hardly the Indian public returned the smile. Oh! Let alone a smile, it was a stare like that of Shoaib Akhtar giving at Sachin Tendulkar after the latter hits a six. This did not happen just to me, but to a couple of other guys too from school. We were all in a fix. We did not know whether to continue grinning or smiling at people or give them a cold stare before they do! But, habits die hard you see!

A common Friday evening hangout for us is the Hot Breads at Woburn. Who would want to cook back from work on a Friday evening? It is an Indian joint, and invariably you get to see a good chunk of the Indian people helping themselves with vada paav, dhabeli, masala dosai, idly and pastries. As usual we would give a friendly smile, and sometimes to our luck, we would have some people conversing with us too. Hi, I am abc from this place. Hi, I am xyz from so and so place. The talks would go on for some time and then he would invariably throw in some key words. I am involved in business development in a big way. These words would create a feeling of terror within us. Obviously, we know what statement he would throw at us next. Have you ever heard of Q-U-I-C-K-S-T-A-R?

After a point of time, we came to this conclusion, either an Indian would walk past you with a cold stare or he would stay back and talk with you, but talk about Quickstar, for which they have that undying source of enthusiasm to spoil other people's happiness. There are some who do not talk about Quickstar in the first meeting, but they would take your phone number and not forget to call you up to lure you into the trap. Where is the question of lure when you do not express even an iota of interest? But, they realise that with great difficulty. As recently as yesterday, we(five of us) were cornered by a Quickstar (that is what such guys are known as!) guy, who was lecturing total crap, took about twenty minutes of our time hovering around us and trying to have an easy way to stick on in the group. In the end, I told him Oh! It is so nice to know an Indian talk with us like this and that too not about that unimportant entity Quickstar! We all hate those people who are prowling for business. He just lifts his head, and with a pale face comes up with Oh, all of you hate it? We screamed in glee as he fled from the scene within the next two seconds.

So, if ever you meet an Indian at Boston suburbs, beware! If he turns out to be genuine, there is nothing wrong in falling at his feet! I know it is not good to be rude to others, but there is a limit beyond which people should not test our patience. There is always the lure for money, and it all depends on the way you want to earn it. Quickstar is not just my cup of tea. Being a total people's guy, I do not want to knock at my friend's door and say Hi, would you be interested in an alternate source of income? I love to meet my friends and call them up at any time of my choice, and I do not want marketing to be a common topic of discussion!!!

Quickstar guys, please stay away from me!!!!!