Mix and Match

"Would you know my name
If I saw you in heaven
Will it be the same
If I saw you in heaven
I must be strong, and carry on
Cause I know I don't belong
Here in heaven ...................."


The words and the lyrics were so familiar, yet the setting did not match the song. Chalk and cheese will be a clichéd adage but that’s what came to my mind when I heard Clapton in this Thai eatery. Here I am sitting in a city called Longmont, CO waiting for my lunch before setting off for the Rockies (Rocky Mountain National Park for the uninitiated). Being the foodie I am and given the fact that i am a sucker for Thai cuisine, have visited quite a Thai joints in this country with names ranging from Puket cafe, Thai Express to the more creative Pho Boston Thai (Whatever that is supposed to men). In most places I have visited play the familiar titillating music which sounds typically like cups being clanged together and a female voice crying coz the cups broke. Forgive me, but that’s not soothing even for my Cosmo music taste. Read that the two major forms of Thai music are luk thung and mor lam, not sure which one of these was that Cuppa clash.

If the Clapton's Tears in Heaven in Thai Kitchen was intriguing Shakira's Ojos Asi was a shocker, so much so that I called up the waitress and asked her about it. She confided that Clapton and Shakira numbers cater to both the English and Spanish speaking clientele so it makes a wise business decision to play them.

My American colleagues love Kingfisher beer, they say its refreshingly different from the American Ales. So all Indian Restaurants stock that bottled in New York (!!), served with a curry that’s laced with barbeque sauce and vinegar (Vindaloo!!!!????) and Kishore Kumar's popular number. But even there during the lunch hours the songs are sometimes R&B, reggae and Rock.

In some weird way this cultural confluence is inevitable but sparing a thought for the same is worthwhile. So chefs suggest some kinda Wine to digest spicy food (ppl forgot the granny's suggestion regarding Curd), Italian joints serve margarita and the list goes on. Well.... maybe am a bit too old fashioned.
In this country, I daresay, the melting pot of all the cultures of the world mixing and matching for the sake of business is a predominant factor. And it makes good sense too. So be it........