15 February 2008

High Society, High Tea & Me

I went to see a Western classical music concert some nights back. 5 star hotel, bejeweled people in glittering clothes, and we turned up in jeans and t-shirts, with enormous laptop backpacks - looking like we'd just descended from the Himalayas. I liked it, because I don't want to be like them.

We were a bit early, and a classy, expensive-looking woman asked us to join them for "high tea" while we waited. That made me almost gag. I thought the British left ages ago! But I can be polite, so I thanked her nicely, gave her some excuse about having to run somewhere, and we escaped to the hotel's bar where we were sure no "high tea" is ever served. I don't want to become a person that drinks high tea.

The string quartet were good. Very Western, very classical - blonde and blue-eyed and neat suits. But I sneezed, my throat tickled endlessly, I couldn't stop fidgeting, I had to fight a serious urge to whip out my iPod but I thought that would be too rude and despite my lack of "culture," I'm not a rude person. It was not that I didn't like the music, I did, but it's still the kind of music that lulls. And I'm a very lull-able person.

They did play a really delightful piece by Rabindranath Tagore at the end, which was better than the Beethovens and Bachs they'd played before, in my opinion. Not that I don't like Beethoven, but I like it spiced up. Like what the Trans Siberian Orchestra and Metallica did to his 5th Symphony. Or to Pachelbel's Christmas Canon. That's my idea of good "classical" music.

More whispers and complaints - "I don't understand the chandeliers..are they even chandeliers?" remarked one friend. "What don't you understand about them?" "They look like they're having a massive hailstorm in here..it's too overdone!"

"I hate those flowers (anthuriums) - they look sordid with those male-genitalia-like-things sticking out of them.."

"The cellist is really cute, I wish he had some serious Indian-fetish..hehe" "Maybe if we join him for high tea..."

"I don't understand why they've spelt 'Quartet' with a double 't' - I hate it, just like the way I hate and will never date men that spell 'Good' G-U-D"...

More titters. More turning heads and glaring eyes.

End of concert, and the crowd gives them a standing ovation. "I don't even know what exactly standing ovations are supposed to mean" said one friend. "It means 'Stand up and ovulate' girls, so let's stand and ovulate."

I had fun, but the fun mostly came from tearing the place and the crowd apart. It wasn't right, but it sure made me laugh. We spared the quartet at least. I find it difficult to understand such a world of pretense and ostentation. And I'm very glad that this is not my world.

I can listen to classical music and even love it in the privacy of my room or my headphones. When one doesn't have to wear fancy clothes and it doesn't have to be associated with high tea. And where you don't have to watch out for high-tea drones - old men with weak necks. No strength to carry their heads upright, I assume, because their faces will continuously be turned down in a bust-level angle, gaze firmly fixed frozen on your chests... **sigh** Poor chaps.

All I know for sure's that high society and I don't mix. Maybe if they take the high tea out, I'd be willing to compromise... :P

.

17 comments:

Lalremlien Neitham said...

High Tea? What's that? You mean that 'High Tea'? I would have taken it. Ha ha. I hate 'formal' parties and hubs and stuffs. Waste of time and money :-p

I hate it more (pub and hub..whats the difference between the two?) when they advertised - free for gals! That's discrimination for both the sexes. Why is it free for gals and not for boys? :-))

Discrimination for boys coz they pay to enter. For girls, it means they are 'still' considered cheap and money-lovers (even if not intended but unconsciously).

Jerusha said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jerusha said...

haha yeah lal "that" high tea. Discrimination huh? Maybe you're right, but then I don't think you'd be complaining much about this 'particular discrimination' if you were a girl :)

Puia said...

:)

Lalremlien Neitham said...

oh yeh, the more i think about it, i think i am right. :-)) but yeh, i won't put this particular as a discrimination, what i mean was those others. :-o wonder if anybody have ever thought of it from that angle.

Mizohican said...

Ah! so THATS high tea. Once my roomie added some marijuana in my tea and I got high after drinking it. I always thought that was the high tea :-)

Love your entire take on the high society interaction. Gotta give credit to your friends too. I don't like to interact with the la-di-da society too, with all their champagne and brie.

Linked you to my latest post, about the evil "thing" you once did upon me :-P

Almostunreal said...

i kut chang i tum thiam kha i show ve em? lolzz

Jerusha said...

lal - yep, that's a very interesting angle. You should probably do a blog post about it..

kim - I like champagne, but only if I can also drink it with my friends in some lowly shanty, no chandeliers, no fancy gowns :P I'm still giggling at your latest post :)

unreal - hahahha I awm lo a ka ngam lo lawm, awm la chu kan tum khum tur nia!

sawmpuia said...

where is my comment? haha vawithum ka chhut thatna fuh theilo rere, Ka ti tha leh tho ang "East or West, High or low ruspuii is the best." A thupui ka kalsan lutuk em aw... dont mind maw lolzzzz

Jerusha said...

sawmpui-pui - kan va han inhmu khat ve tiraw tunlai chu..I ngaihawm hle mai!

Anonymous said...

Same here, Maimawm. Sometimes, when I am around these high society ladies (because of my work) who talks ‘arts’ and ‘exclusive clubs’, it makes me wanna reach for my inhaler.

Still, I am not gonna waste my ‘high tea at the Ritz’ gift voucher...even though you have to stupidly dress up in formals just for tea cos its a must in that specific area of the Ritz to be formal…don’t ask me why the English are so…. The reason I will redeem the gift voucher is only because of my love for FOOD!. I just can’t resist freshly backed scones.

Wait a min, is gluttony one of the 7 deadly sins??!!

-Blackmagicwoman

Jerusha said...

Blackmagicwoman - LOL I am afraid it is...and that's one sin I am also very much guilty of. Also not the only one from the deadly 7.

Enjoy your scones in peace, as long as it's not you "responsible" for the high tea. Freebies forever :)

Lal Jo-a said...

was wondering about what is 'high tea' and it turns out to nothing extraordinary :D :D. nice writing maimawm..

Jerusha said...

father - nice surprise seeing you on here! Thank you and drop in more often, and yes, high tea is NOTHING extraordinary.

sawmpuia said...

Thil ho mai mai Uncle pakhat chuan High tea chu thingpui sa deuh hi a nimai zuk ti a! Sunhlu zu a tui zawk lolzzz

Awzzman said...

High tea?thingpuisen hang????how was the taste like?iranian chai chu tluk lo deuh ang a?lolz.

Jerusha said...

ka pu sawmpui ka nui nasa ltk I uncle sawi khi, a nih duh hmel eeee, hei vai ho pawh ka leh sak a a nih duh hmel ee an ti ve nasa mai..

azzman - chu ka in in ka ei ta lem lo a, mahse engmah dangdai em em awm lo tih chu ka hmu thei...iranian chai tui zawk!