Flash

On our way to an expat party in Koregaon Park -- skinny jeans, Western tops, hair and makeup patiently done. Restless to begin the night and failing to find vacant rickshaws, we opt to climb in the trunk area of a six-seater rickshaw that is already brimming with a family of eleven. Bump bumping on wooden planks in the back, heads hitting the canvas roof covering. Weighed down from existing beyond full capacity. A man in front of us, who is sitting on the lap of an older man, shares an old Bollywood music video saved on his aged cellphone. An undulating female soprano providing the background music to our late night ride through town. The rickshaw pulls up to the Swargate bus station, and the family gets out, pulling suitcases out of hidden crevices, helping more people descend than we knew were in the rickshaw to begin with. Waving goodbyes and wishing good lucks, we climb over the trunk divider and settle onto the cushioned back seat bench. Onward to a costumed night of expat shenanigans!