Mr J Christ

Exams leave me in a strange frame of mind, and I am usually not aware of the metamorphosis till the transition is complete. My realization of this transition, hence, is usually stark. Yesterday, while trying to sleep two hours before my usual bed-time at 2:00 am , drifting between the delirium induced by an effort to sleep when not sleepy, and thoughts of getting up and doing some reading, I dozed off into a small nap. I don't think I slept for more than 15 minutes, but I realized that exams were here when I woke up, because I usually do not have such senseless dreams.

I have a friend who lives in Bethlehem, a place near New Jersey. I dreamt of the following conversation:

"Where do you come from?"

"I live in Bethlehem. You know where that is?"

"Yeah..thats where J Christ comes from. That guy with the huge fan following? His biography, whatsitsname, yeah the Bible! Its been on the bestseller's list since like the Renaissance. Apparently that is when they made the first printing presses because the folks couldn't get enough of him and they wanted more. I heard that Britanny Spears got so jealous of his popularity that she got breast implants."

"Britanny Spears has breast implants?"

"Dunno, never seen them. So where exactly is this Bethlehem place?"

"Somewhere in New Jersey."

"They have a New Jersey in Israel?"

"Chinmaya, New Jersey is in USA."

"No wait, I don't get this. JC was born in Bethlehem. Then Herod sent his lackeys to hunt him down. You mean those Romans came all the way to USA? Wasn't Columbus the first to discover the Americas? Or was he before Herod? No way man...there was a gap between them, I am sure."

"Yes there was. There are two different Bethlehems. One in Israel, where all the things with Herod happened, and there is another in NJ, USA."

"What is with naming places after places? I mean I found it funny enough that there is a Delhi in New York, and now you are telling me that there is a Bethlehem in New Jersey! Recently I found out there is a Lucknow in Ontario. And that there is a Hyderabad in Pakistan. Cashmere is a city in Washington. There is a Cashmere in New Zealand. Next you'll be telling me there is a New Zealand in Ohio or something. Hey! Are you even listening to me...?"

This is around where I woke up.