“And then the Lord took three mighty steps.” The Man from Madras Musings was reminded of his grandmother telling him the story. “With one step he measured the earth, with his next he covered the sky, and then from atop he thundered to Mahabali as to where was to be placed his next.” You know the story anyway. Poor Bali was perhaps the first victim of landgrab. And was pushed into the nether regions. MMM felt the same when during the height of the music season he was standing at the car park of the Mecca of Music. And was suddenly buffeted from the rear.

An Unexpected Re-enactment

The blow was so powerful that he practically fell on the two people he was conversing with. But MMM not being of mean bulk could not be dislodged that easily. He recovered quickly to find a man all apologetic behind him. It transpired that the assailant was busy reading messages on his phone as he climbed down the steps and had then tripped. With one step he took in the entire stairway, with the second he was airborne and the third he placed on MMM’s rear and came back to earth.

Steps That Left a Mark

And all in short, was well. Apologies were freely expressed and MMM, nursing a dull ache in his back, accepted them graciously, and removed himself from the scene. But the aftermath was not so good. The man had apparently been lunching at the season canteen and also done himself well. He had then gone to the washroom and was coming back with wet hands when this incident had occurred. As a consequence, he had placed his wet hands on MMM’s back leaving behind two soaking palm prints on MMM’s shirt. And judging by the smell that came from it MMM could also guess as to what the man had fed on.

This article appeared in Madras Musings-https://madrasmusings.com/vol-35-no-19/short-n-snappy-236/

My book, Chennai, A Biography can be ordered-http://-http://- https://sriramv.com/2021/12/27/how-to-buy-autographed-copies-of-chennai-a-biography-from-outstation/