The men who eat oysters

"You write like Lewis carrooll

 Carroll*

i like Lewis Carroll", she tells me, after I tell her things.

Nepali culture may have given a lot to the human society (eg: momo, chatpate, and so on) but it lacks in one way-- they don't tell you how to handle compliments.

I take the only road I know-- evading it for as long  and as further away from myself as I can.

"Where did this come from anyway, " I ask.

"His writings are whimsical. Yes, and odd. Bizarre. But fun to read. You should read his poems, " she says.

"Jabberwocky," I say.

That's all I can think of. Once upon a time, when Pr was still in Kathmandu, she'd told me that the writer of Alice in Wonderland also wrote poems, and her favourite was Jabberwocky from the same book, mostly because it was so--whimsical-- that was the word, I think. She'd later posted it online (I'm not calling facebook by it's name because its time is over, and internet is internet and no one owns it, and the reason I had opened it exists no longer so it might be seeing the death soon) and it'd been liked, and commented upon. When the 3D movie of the film came out, I'd said JABBERWOCKY, but then it had been almost forgotten. Conversations were a lot shorter, because by then we both had lives.

"Sure," she says very patiently.

Four hours later, as I'm writing something, and she sends me one of Carroll's poems.

"Yo ho mero fav poem Lewis Carroll ko...sooo sounds like you, link ," I receive in gChat. I've already evaded. <3 is all I can think of now. Because I'm no Lewis Carroll.

I like the poem-- The Walrus and the Carpenter.

My favourite part:

'A loaf of bread,' the Walrus said,
'Is what we chiefly need:
Pepper and vinegar besides
Are very good indeed --
Now, if you're ready, Oysters dear,
We can begin to feed.'

'But not on us!' the Oysters cried,
Turning a little blue.
'After such kindness, that would be
A dismal thing to do!'
'The night is fine,' the Walrus said,
'Do you admire the view?'

'It was so kind of you to come!
And you are very nice!'
The Carpenter said nothing but
'Cut us another slice-
I wish you were not quite so deaf-
I've had to ask you twice!'

Just as I am putting finishing touches to this post, my hall erupts in a flurry of excitement. Several floormates love the poem--one knows the poem by heart-- and they tell me Carroll choose a carpenter over all other professions because his illustrator said it would be the easiest to illustrate. Interesting.