StranGER @ KroGER

Meeting new people and new places are always a change to one's routine life, isn't it? You tend to know about a person, their life and try to forget ur worries (no matter how big it is) after hearing about theirs and you go to extent of consoling them...

After a spicy meal at Chipotle (Mexican Restaurant) we stepped into Kroger to buy some frozen stuffs...There at Kroger, I met an oldman...He was working over there as a cashier and suddenly he attracted my attention when he voluntarily came and spoke to me with a feeble voice...

Old Man: Namaskar! how r u doing?

I paused a little not sure what to tell him, stared at him with surprise...After a minute pause, I uttered...

Me : Hello! I am fine.

I was curious to chat with him as I assumed he should be of indian origin (seeing his looks), but he broke up the silence and asked me...

Old Man : Are you from India?
Me : (Promptly with a pride and smile, I replied) Yes...

After some initial ice breakers like these, I was eager to know how he joined Kroger and about his visit to India... So I started probing him...

Me : So, When was your last visit to India?
Old Man: I remember the last time I moved out of my village in Gujarat that was way back in 1952 when I was 22 yrs old...
Me : Ohh! So you've been here in US for the rest of our life. Is it?
Old Man : Not whole of my life, but I can say most or rest of my life in US...I had spent quite a
some time in Uganda and UK too before moving here...

My eyes lit up as soon as I heard about Uganda,UK & Gujarat as I started thinking that he should be a victim of Idi Amin's Regime...So I tenaciously asked...

Me : Were you in Uganda during Idi Amin's Regime?

Yes I was right...The man's voice went more shrill as soon as he heard about Idi Amin...He said that this was exactly the reason why he was exiled from Uganda to UK, when Idi Amin gave Uganda's Asians, mostly Indians of Gujarati origin 90 days to leave the country, following an alleged dream in which, he claimed, God told him to expel them... He also said that they were granted visas to seek asylum in UK...Thus he came to UK and then he and his family moved to US for a better living..He stated that his days in Uganda were the most worst time in his life under Idi Amin's rule...

Indeed meeting this man was a pleasure and now whenever we meet at Kroger we have a nice little chat and he is no longer a stranger to me!!!

- Suresh Gangadharan