The Indian Derby - Overdressed Men, Underdressed Women .....and also some Horses!
Yesterday, the first Sunday of February was derby day in Mumbai and I was there among the teeming thousands to savour the ambience. On the race turf, there are two kinds of people – the gamblers and the gawkers. It is easy to spot the gambler; his eyes will have a glazed look. He will be clutching the race book in one hand, while the other holding the cigarette will be twitching nervously. Gamblers will rarely be spotted watching the live race. More often than not, they will be studying the horses as they are being paraded around the paddock. Now to identify a gawker, you have to be one yourself, for if you are a gambler, you won’t gawk.
Mahalakshmi Racecourse on the derby day is an ogler’s paradise. You can gawk away to your heart’s content without being embarrassed. For the guys and gals like being ogled at; that’s why they are there for! Overdressed guys in black suits and underdressed gals in short frocks. Men who try to hide their age in the dye of their hair and women who try to look sexy by exposing their fat short stubs of legs.
An Elvis Presley look alike belted out foot tapping numbers of the great King. Whisky was served freely in yellow plastic cups, and the brand was not Black Horse! It was a carnival. And the horse reduced to a mere object of entertainment. But one horse had other ideas in his mind.
Horse no.18 at the 2400 meter long Blue Riband race. He refused to take off from the stalls. The jockey astride him was whipping his derrière furiously. But he did not budge an inch. The big favourite predictably lost, the horse tipped to cause an upset predictably won. But horse no. 18 was my winner, for being so unpredictable! As I walked away from the racecourse, I was wondering what the jockey would tell the horse no.18 that evening.
Horse no.18 at the 2400 meter long Blue Riband race. He refused to take off from the stalls. The jockey astride him was whipping his derrière furiously. But he did not budge an inch. The big favourite predictably lost, the horse tipped to cause an upset predictably won. But horse no. 18 was my winner, for being so unpredictable! As I walked away from the racecourse, I was wondering what the jockey would tell the horse no.18 that evening.
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