When dreams stay dreams

While walking back from work in the Indian sun today I saw a very delectable man. He had a mustache and a large, round face. To add to his keen features, he had soft eyes that could melt a baby. I recognized this man from somewhere. After passing him, I racked my brain for what he reminded me of, and finally I hit something! He looked like no other than a young Mario of Super Mario fame.

young Mario of Super Mario fame

After letting this sink in for a bit, I wondered to myself: what if Mario was Indian? What if Mario's parents decided not to live in Italy but instead in Kolkata? Well, first of all I bet his name would not be Mario and he wouldn't have a brother named Luigi. It would most likely be something like Zeeshan and Rahul, which wouldn't be that bad.

large colored flag

Imagine: Super Zeeshan. Or playing Zeeshan Kart and fighting over who'll be Rahul (though who really wants to be Luigi anyway). All these things are fine, but it would also completely change Mario's look. He'd no longer sport suspenders and patent leather shoes. I don't think he'd even be a plumber (because India sure doesn't seem to offer it as a profession). I scoured Google for any pictures of an Indian Mario, but had no luck. I imagine he would be wearing some sort of cotton attire, perhaps hand-made but who knows (hey mom and dad!). He'd wear sandals leisurely stained with cow poop. As a matter of fact, Yoshi would be a cow. The game would be completely turned upside down.

Yoshi's competition

But there's more. His catch phrase: "It's a'me! ... Mario" -- which to be honest I never really understood, it's a tad bit obvious unless you're literally blind. What would the Indian version be? Of course it could be in English, pretty much everyone here knows a form of the language. I think it would it would either be "What country from?" in the most heavily caked Indian accent or for the hardcore Hindi version "Paise de do!".

Either way, it would be an outstanding game both in the sheer amount of colors and in stray dogs. I'm sure there would be more realistic dangers as opposed to the man-eating flowers and waddling potato looking creatures. Things like heavy traffic, fried okra, and water-borne diseases (all serious things!) would be on the loose. It would be a true test of fortitude and not some silly children's game.

possible Luigi?

This may have a market, ... I'll go as Super Zeeshan for Halloween to check it out. But after I contemplated the possibilities for a little while I got back to the guest house, drowned by French tourists for the fifth time in as many days. They just keep on coming.

I'm thinking I may need to do some sight-seeing on the only day of the week that's actually off: tomorrow. It's too bad all of the other long-term guests are out and about traveling India this weekend: Chloe is in Jaipur and Juliana is in Mumbai checking out her broken nose with as real of doctor as she can find.

Other big news: the Dark Knight is playing at the cinema in Hindi. Biggest opportunity of my life.