Morning laughs

I woke up late for work, in July oppressive,  muggy New York area heat. I caught jitney bus to port authority bus terminal as usual to catch subway. I landed in the back seat, always the back bencher since ages. I sit and involuntarily a person greets, exchange pleasantries in Spanish. I respond in Spanish, I only know two, three words and they do put smile on other when put and replied for exchanging greetings. He suddenly changes language and hello again, we both laugh. He was sipping coffee, I ask how it is, fine he replied. As conversation ignited he asked where am I from I responded India. The conversation furthered, traffic was notorious as was the day. He asks if I drink coffee, I told no, tea is my to-go; coffee is A-OK. He continued saying his country got tea from India (he turned out from Turkey), as I told him it was British rule that brought in India. Meanwhile he tells what and how tea in Turkish is pronounced, written with a tick beneath C in Chai, so and so forth. He was a painter so he mentioned that painter is rangwala in Hindi, giggling.  He takes a look at him and passes comment that I'm too young to know about Raj Kapoor. I snubbed saying of course not. He them hums saying who doesn't know aawara hu, we both bursted into laughs.

All this was going in bus, with bumper to bumper traffic. Conversation opens up about life, US and such. Turned out he had three marriages, on way to fourth. So and such kid from so and so wife, such and such wife assisted in papers. We both terminated conversation as was the nature of topic and bus then crawled in the city center, near by subway station. I bid bye and sprinted towards platform.