My first foray into Indian social life occurred on our second day in country (“in country” is Foreign Service lingo). I say second day, which really means first day, as the literal first day was spent in limbo awaiting the arrival of our missing luggage. Our new upstairs neighbors, Jason and Lola, generously invited us to go see a play with them. Eager to wear something other than my overalls, I gleefully accepted their invitation.

There is a theatre group that was, apparently, started by two former .com businessmen who had had enough of the rat race and just wanted to act. They now do performances with their troupe, which is supported by many business sponsors and whose proceeds go to good causes. The particular play that we saw was to benefit the construction and upkeep of the cancer ward at the children's hospital.

I had no idea what to expect. We were going to see an Indian production of the Odd Couple. You know. The great Walter Mathieu/Jack Lemmon movie. I love that movie.

As the lights went down, I recognized all of the tell-tale signs of a high school play. Rowdy audience jostling for seats, goofy mc's yucking it up for laughs, and some basic public service announcements. Even the obligatory raffle tickets. An adventure, to be sure, but certainly not a very good play. Boy was I proved wrong. It took a brief moment to get used to the familiar dialogue emerging in an Indian accent and to reconcile the New York location of the play with my new and very different location, but the performance was a raging success. The two front men, Oscar and Felix, were rendered with a skill and precision worthy of those greats who played them in the film. Even in the bleary haze of jet lag (My bad time of day is between 6:00 and 8:00pm. The play began at 7:00.) I was laughing hysterically and drawn into this familiar story completely. I'm gonna love Chennai, says I to myself..

Of course, as we were walking back to the car, a new acquaintance said “This is something special. Don't get used to it.”