This is, so far, the weirdest object I've ever found at
Foy's.
I was poking around their off-season drifts of assorted clutter, past sets of pogs and olive forks and plastic wedding-cake toppers and percolator lids and giant Shrek souvenir pencils, when I came upon this box and instantly knew I had to have it:
Now, I'm not entirely ignorant of India. I was raised with Telegus, and I know that Champak is a kids' magazine. Like Highlights for Children, but with shittier print quality. I was expecting a fairly standard, straightforward, tin bus toy with maybe the magazine logo on it or something.
Ok, an Indian bus that for some reason carries go-getting caucasian commuters. But still. For some reason I thought that what was on the outside was a pretty good reflection of what I could find inside. So I opened the box, and here's what I saw:
Got to honestly say, I was not prepared for the possibility of this Indian commuter bus to be topped with freaking Santa Claus and some random Christian saint. Well, this is all mighty intriguing. Let's take a closer look, shall we?
So the bus company logo is a rocket-powered pig pulling a manic skateboard-riding clown dog in a blue straitjacket. Fair enough. And what of the passengers? If this were to scale, their heads would be the size of those ball things that kids sit and bounce on. I don't like the look of that guy on the far left at all. And what's with the kid in the glasses? I can't figure out if they just went over a bump, he's playing Jolly Roger, or what. The jolt also seems to have particolored his frames.
The other side has another weird assortment of kids, although none are particularly objectionable. Let's see who's driving this wacky thing.
Sort of like a little desi Rob Schneider. I don't know what the hell is going on underneath him.
The mouse kicking a brown volleyball doesn't really solve any mysteries.
While we're examining it, here, I thought I'd get a shot of the mechanism for you too. Brand new but looks like it has quite a few miles on it.
Anyway, for around $5 it was mine, and now enjoys pride of place in my kitchen. How this object came to Foy's, I have no idea. I've never seen anything quite like it.