Somehow I have over 10kg (22.2lbs) of black seedless grapes in my kitchen. I'm not entirely sure how this came about but I certainly could have prevented it. It started on Wednesday afternoon when I sent Prasad, our driver, out to buy some black seedless grapes. I gave him 200 Rs or ~4 $USD to buy grapes: definitely seedless, preferably black. January & February are grape season here in Hyderabad. You will often see pushcarts on the side of the roads piled high with grapes for sale. Prasad left on his motorcycle, to return less than an hour later with a bag full of grapes. "80 Rs/kg Ma'am, so I bought 2.5kg" = 200Rs. Great. Super. Yay, grapes!
Thursday, I was in the car doing some errands. Prasad's phone kept ringing. Unusual. He answered the phone...even more unusual. A discussion took place (not to mention on speakerphone-granted in Telugu)...very VERY unusual. Finally Prasad started to tell me:
P: "Yesterday Ma'am, when you sent me to get grapes....I went to different shops before finding grapes. So I talked to that guy (some person at some shop) and he said it is end of season. In few weeks, no more grapes. So he went to market today to get wholesale grapes. 60Rs/kg! Yesterday we paid 80Rs/kg"
Me: Ok, that's a good price (mild furrowing of brow....why is he talking about this and taking calls about this??)
P: He has them now.
Me: Oh...(what is going on...can he stop talking, so I can continue reading my book?) (The car is the only place I read... and sometimes it is very difficult with the bumpy roads)
P: Silence...
[Hours pass...Shopping occurs....]
A few more phone calls occured which sounded to me like discussion/back and forth, and always ending by Prasad's "Ok, Ok ok".
Finally, heading toward home, Prasad breached the subject again:
P: "Ma'am, I have talked to that guy and he has increased the price. He is saying 70 Rs/kg. for 10kg."
Me: "Do we have to get all 10kg?"
P: "Yes......... If you want...If we have time we could go to Kondapur and see (the grapes)"
Me: (thoughts churning "he's put SO much effort into these grapes...that is a good price...the girls do love them...I can give some to friends, and neighbors, 10kg isn't really that much...etc etc etc.) "Ok, that's fine. Lets go."
Short drive. Grapes inspected. Verified to be seedless. Money changed hands. Car makes U-turn to head towards home.
And so, I now possess a ridiculous amount of black seedless grapes: the newly acquired 10kg in addition to the 2.5kg Prasad brought me yesterday.
Got Grapes??? Need Grapes???
Thursday, I was in the car doing some errands. Prasad's phone kept ringing. Unusual. He answered the phone...even more unusual. A discussion took place (not to mention on speakerphone-granted in Telugu)...very VERY unusual. Finally Prasad started to tell me:
P: "Yesterday Ma'am, when you sent me to get grapes....I went to different shops before finding grapes. So I talked to that guy (some person at some shop) and he said it is end of season. In few weeks, no more grapes. So he went to market today to get wholesale grapes. 60Rs/kg! Yesterday we paid 80Rs/kg"
Me: Ok, that's a good price (mild furrowing of brow....why is he talking about this and taking calls about this??)
P: He has them now.
Me: Oh...(what is going on...can he stop talking, so I can continue reading my book?) (The car is the only place I read... and sometimes it is very difficult with the bumpy roads)
P: Silence...
[Hours pass...Shopping occurs....]
A few more phone calls occured which sounded to me like discussion/back and forth, and always ending by Prasad's "Ok, Ok ok".
Finally, heading toward home, Prasad breached the subject again:
P: "Ma'am, I have talked to that guy and he has increased the price. He is saying 70 Rs/kg. for 10kg."
Me: "Do we have to get all 10kg?"
P: "Yes......... If you want...If we have time we could go to Kondapur and see (the grapes)"
Me: (thoughts churning "he's put SO much effort into these grapes...that is a good price...the girls do love them...I can give some to friends, and neighbors, 10kg isn't really that much...etc etc etc.) "Ok, that's fine. Lets go."
Short drive. Grapes inspected. Verified to be seedless. Money changed hands. Car makes U-turn to head towards home.
And so, I now possess a ridiculous amount of black seedless grapes: the newly acquired 10kg in addition to the 2.5kg Prasad brought me yesterday.
Got Grapes??? Need Grapes???
