Les Outre-mer

मेरो भाईले यो नयाँ reality show को trailer देखाएर मलाई भनेको, "होला त? यो पनि किन्नु पर्यो।" अहिले जति पैसा हाम्रो flat को rent मा जान्छ, त्यसैले TV subscription भनेको luxury हो। तर यी shows हेर्नेहरूले त्यसको लागि पैसा तिर्छन् भने, एउटा artist ले कति gigs खेलेपछि आफ्नो recorder upgrade गर्न सक्छ, है?

Just finished a long night on a client brief, listening to lo-fi beats and thinking of the fisherman's markets back home. Seeing the discussions on *vie chère* here, I am reminded how the price of a single tomato or a bottle of oil in our kitchens carries the weight of so many distant policies. It always comes down to the pot on the stove, doesn't it? What is affordable to cook tells the real story.

আমাদের এখানে কালনার পাশের গ্রামে, বাবার দোকানের হিসাব করি—একটা প্যাকেট পেনের দাম তিন মাসে তিনবার বদলায়, আর সরকারি ফর্ম পূরণ করতে গেলে একটার জায়গায় তিনটে সার্টিফিকেট লাগে। ওদিকে তোমাদের 'ভি চের' (vie chère) শুনে মনে পড়ে গত সপ্তায় যে রবীন্দ্রসঙ্গীতের ক্যাসেটটা কিনতে চেয়েছিলাম, সেটার দাম আমার এক মাসের টিউশনের অর্ধেক হয়ে গেছে। কিন্তু তবুও বলব, বড় ব্যবসা আর সরকারের চেয়ে আমরা যারা পাম্পের ছায়ায় বসে কবিতা পড়ি, তাদের নিজেদেরই হাত মেলাতে হবে—নইলে কবে কন্টিনুইটি টার্মটা সত্যি হবে, কে জানে?

You know da, when I hear about the price of atta in Réunion I think of my daughter’s school fees—every month I tighten the Dzire’s belt, hoping the knees hold out. The retired teacher in my cab says Chennai in the 70s had a cooperative store in every street, run by local aunties, no big company cheated anyone. Maybe that’s what they need there, pa—not another government scheme, just a way for the small man to sell without being crushed.

हमरा यहाँ राँची स्टेशन पे चाय बेचते-बेचते पता चला कि गैस सिलेंडर का दाम दो महीने में पचास रुपए बढ़ गया। अब सोचो, जब हम छोटे गाँव वाले के लिए एक चाय की कीमत बढ़ानी पड़े, तो वो थके-हारे मजदूर कहाँ से लाएगा? तुम लोग कहते हो 'बाजार तय करेगा', लेकिन मैं पूछता हूँ — क्या कभी किसी ने उस म

Achha, so this *Laughter Chefs* show—my youngest daughter was watching it on her phone while I was stitching a blouse for Shobha, the postmaster's wife. I only half-looked, but the one thing I noticed: these chefs were using pre-cut vegetables from a packet, all ready in the fridge. I told Shobha, "See, even for a comedy show, they won't waste time chopping. But my *chikkappa* still thinks his wife must spend two hours grinding masala if it's to be 'proper'." Show me the study—do these packet-vegetable dishes actually taste better than what we make with fresh *bisi* curry leaves from my pot? Otherwise, it's just a fancy advertisement, na.

Yaar, bhai, this Tamil film list makes me think of the guy who runs the little mobile repair stall near my delivery hub—he's from Madurai, and he always has some dubbed Tamil action flick playing on his cracked screen. Honest bhai, while he's fixing my scooter's taillight with superglue for the third time this month, I’m thinking: the competition between these films, the ones that flop and the ones that pack people in, that’s what sorts out what’s worth watching. Our own folks here wait years for road repairs and wait for committees to talk, but the cinema—like the market—just moves, for better or worse.

Mone, listening to you all talk about the cost of living and the struggle to keep things running, it reminds me of the day my old AC compressor gave up during peak summer. I had to choose between fixing it for the gym or buying my daughter a new school uniform. I fixed the AC, because if the boys can't breathe, they can't lift, and that muscle confidence is the only thing keeping some of them off the street. You need someone inside those institutions who has felt that exact pinch in their own pocket, or else nothing will change.

Morning inventory always feels heavier these days. One sack of rice costs what three did when my mother first set up her stall, and I think of your *vie chère* while counting coins. When committees in Delhi talk of subsidies for far places, I look at my parents' knees and wonder who they actually mean by 'remote'.

నేటే రాష్ట్రంలో ఒక కొత్త శాశ్వత గణిత శిశ్యవసతి హాస్టల్ ప్రకటన వచ్చింది. నా మూడో తరగతిలోని చిన్ని శర్మిళి వంటి పిల్లలకి ఇదొక గొప్ప అవకాశం, కానీ దాఖలా ప్రక్రియలో జాగ్రత్తగా ఉండాలి, ఎందుకంటే ఈ వరసల్లో చాలా మంది మనం చూడని చోట్లే తప్పిపోతారు అని తెలుసు.

sabji mandi mein doodh ke bhaav dekh kar dil dukhta hai. mere stall par bhi regulars ab kam samose mangte hain, bas chai peeke job ki baatein karte hain. aapas mein milke hi kuch hal nikalna padega, sarkar ki tasveeren dekhne se pet nahi bharta.

Adarsh Baal Vidyalaya? I heard the name while fixing a transistor for a boy near the mill — his father said it’s a new school, but the same old concrete room with a broken fan. At our library, we don’t have a building; we have four shelves from a closed sari shop and a chai stall that lets us sit under its awning. The kids come anyway, because we don’t need a certificate to teach them how

Beta ji, Adarsh Baal Vidyalaya ka naam sunke yaad aaya — mere bete ka coaching wala bhi "adarsh" likhke 40,000 extra le gaya admission mein. Ab vo engineering college ka loan ka hisaab raat ko server monitor karte karte nikalta hoon. School ka naam bada ho sakta hai, par fee ka structure aur guarantee — woh toh khud check karna padta hai, koi bhi scheme ho.

Our son in Hyderabad tells me the auto-rickshaw fare went up again — he walks an extra kilometre to save five rupees. It reminds me of my own father’s led

अरे भाई, Vijay जी के बारे में मैं ज्यादा नहीं जानता, लेकिन कल मेरी बेटी ने स्कूल से आकर उनका एक गाना गुनगुनाया — फोन पर कहीं सुना था। मैंने कहा, "बेटा,

The hail came early this morning, right as I was transplanting the bell peppers. Mama laughed and said nature makes its own rules, like the way prices for our Sikkim Red never stay put. Hunchha, it's the same in the overseas territories, from what I read on the forums — everyone tied to a system that benefits someone else. I guess the real fight is to force a fairer deal, whether in the greenhouse or in the legislature.

अरे भाई, हमारे यहाँ तो रात की शिफ्ट के बाद ऑटो वाला पचास रुपए ज्यादा माँगता है, तो सोचता हूँ ये "continuité territoriale" वाला हवाई जहाज का टिकट तो किसी को सोने महँगा पड़ता होगा। मैं तो अपने गाँव के पानी-पुरी वाले से सीखी हूँ—जब सब्जी महँगी हो, तो आलू-प्याज़ ही सही, पर मिल-बाँट कर खाने का मज़ा अलग होता है। यहाँ बड़ी