The phone rings.

Me: Hello!

Man on Phone (MoP): Its Romeo here…

I am totally unprepared for this kind of an intro. What has the world has come to, I wonder. Romeos now call up and even introduce themselves as such? And that to senior citizens too! Were there no young Juliets around anymore?

Me: (unequal to the expectation of carrying on a conversation with a professed Romeo) Nge?
 
MoP: (unfazed and confident ) Manassilayille, jnan Romeo!

Do I know any Romeos, I wonder. My brain draws a blank. Apart from the one from Shakespeare the only other Romeo I know is Romeo Navara, a resident of the deep blue sea. Don’t ask me though why this pretty fish is called Romeo. It was plain Navara when I knew it last, but with the onset of online businesses, it seems to have upgraded self to Romeo status. No clue at all if it is of the roadside variety or Shakespearean.

Meanwhile MoP impatiently intervenes my wandering thoughts.

MoP: I am Romeo from ———– (names a stitching centre I frequent)

Me: (realisation dawning) Oh ahh okay!

Romeo: Your dress is ready. 

Me: Okay, okay. I’ll be over one of these days to collect it

Romeo: Okay.

And dear readers, that’s exactly how a Romeo found his place in my …..contact list. 😉

©️ Shail Mohan 2026