Just One Word of French

Of a lazy Sunday afternoon, I was home reading a novel. A friend of mine, Niri, called me and asked me if I was game for a couple of games of chess.

This friend ran a popular arts and crafts shop (Mysore Curios, Arts and Crafts) in the city centre. It was strategically located and during the ‘season’, attracted many tourists, quite a few of them foreigners. One such tourist, Roger, a French speaking Swiss had struck up a conversation with Niri and had asked him if he knew anyone with whom he could play chess.

I played a lot of chess during the years of the great rivalry between Spassky and Fischer. Many of my friends were drawn to chess thanks to the unbelievable amount of media attention that the antics and eccentricities of Fischer generated. But I was never a good player.

I explained all this to Niri and he in turn to Roger, who said that it did not matter. So, we decided on the venue - the lawns of Hotel Metropole, at 3:30 in the afternoon.

I went there and played a few games. Roger went on sipping beer and I thought I had an advantage since I did not drink any. But it was not to be. He beat me comprehensively in all the three games.

We folded the board, packed the pieces away and chatted.

Roger asked me, “Do you have any French?” I said, “Unfortunately, I know only one word in French”. Roger was very curious. “What is that one word?” he wanted to know.

“Merde¹”, I said.

He held his head in his hands and groaned, “Of all the words in French!”

I laughed and consoled him, “I said that too only because that was the first word to pop up in my mind. In fact, I know Merci² too”. He was much relieved.

1: Shit

2: Thank you