busker

Indian

Bizarre little item about Indian Airlines dropping the 'Airlines' to become just 'Indian'.

What's "new look" or boldly, strikingly, progressively distinctive-imaged about *that*?

At least they painted it in *red*, assuring themselves of protests from this or that correctitude-enforcing ninnies when they try to land in the land of Sacagawea.

When we used to play cowboys 'n' indians up in Mountain View, we always made Nevin Prakash the redskin.

"Not fair. Why am *I* always the baddie?"

"Because you're Indian, silly."

"But I'm not red Indian."

One day when he'd come off his Raleigh 'Dasher' and gashed himself on his Sturmey-Archer gear, claret streaming from all orifices, John Kilbee piped up, "Well, you're red *now*."

Of course, you couldn't get away with that these days.

Funny thing is, even at that age - what? nine or 10? - he used to be packed off once a week to Master Kim's taekwondo dojo to learn how to walk with death in both fists

He must have been at least a brown belt around then but he never used it against our taunts.

Today's equivalent would have flattened us and it would've been internal bleeding for a week.

I met him years later - rimless specs, respectably married, diffident manner - and asked him if he'd ever kept it up.

"A bit. You know, keep in shape ..."

"Any good?"

"Actually, Chris, I've just brought home the Silver from the Asian Olympics."