Same Old Horizon
From spending my childhood in Delhi to finishing high school in Mumbai to coming to Kolkata for college, its been quite a journey. None of this compares to how much people have to move when their parents work for certain government jobs or the armed forces, but I can say I've learnt a bit from the places I've been to.
The most important thing I've learnt is that no matter where you go people are...just people. You can assign characteristics to the way people speak in an area or the way people dress, but you should probably not do the same for the way people are. So never say Mumbaikars are like this and Kolkatans are like this. At the end of the day we're all just human. We all want the same things. Sure, some of us are good and some of us are as much, but that has nothing to do with the way they live.
Speaking of which, I'd just like to share a few things about my observations regarding the way people speak in the three places I've lived in. In Delhi, every word end with 'iyo'. 'Karna' becomes 'kariyo', 'jaana' becomes 'jaiyo' and so on. You get into a fight with someone on the road and he'll say, "Tu jaanta hai main kaun hoon?' (Do you have any idea who I am?) regardless of whether or they are someone special. But at the same time, old ladies speak in the most endearing fashion, their roots (Sindhi, Punjabi or whatever) seeping into their accent.
In Mumbai, people speak less. Its better if you know Marathi. In local trains, especially in the ladies compartment, there is one frequent question that's asked by the passengers- "Where do you get off?" If you say you'll be getting down soon enough, they point at your seat to ask, "I'm going to take your place once you get off, okay?" So everyday, female passengers strike these seat transfer deals with each other. One I gave my seat to two women and they got into a fight the moment I rose to get off the train. Also, you don't have to look out the window to know when you have reached Kurla. All of a sudden, your train compartment fills up and you hear all kinds of shouts, hoots and yells, and you know you're at Kurla station.
In Kolkata, people talk loud and people talk a lot. I went to an advocate for an affidavit and he told me his name, age, experience and basically his whole life history. Then he boasted about how the best of lawyers trust him for advice and gave his opinion on all the good engineering colleges in the state. I got on a rickshaw with a friend and when the rickshaw puller heard me speaking to my friend in English, he told me about his shattered dreams- that he always wanted to learn English but in his school English classes began in Std. VII and that was the year he had to drop out of school, that he had taught himself to write names in English and compose small sentences but he wants to learn more. Even my classmates talk very loudly, but its not offensive or anything. Its just how they've picked up on the art of speaking.
Now I come to the second thing I've learnt- good friends keep in touch with you. I've lost touch with most kids I knew from school, but I still talk to my good friends. Inf act, my best friend from Delhi still calls me sometimes. So next time I have to move, maybe I'll be a little less afraid of losing out on old friends and look forward to making new ones.
Last but not the least is the poetic truth. Everywhere you go, you have the same old horizon. And just beyond that horizon lies your next destination. So don't be afraid to walk towards it. The horizon's an old friend, after all.
The most important thing I've learnt is that no matter where you go people are...just people. You can assign characteristics to the way people speak in an area or the way people dress, but you should probably not do the same for the way people are. So never say Mumbaikars are like this and Kolkatans are like this. At the end of the day we're all just human. We all want the same things. Sure, some of us are good and some of us are as much, but that has nothing to do with the way they live.
Speaking of which, I'd just like to share a few things about my observations regarding the way people speak in the three places I've lived in. In Delhi, every word end with 'iyo'. 'Karna' becomes 'kariyo', 'jaana' becomes 'jaiyo' and so on. You get into a fight with someone on the road and he'll say, "Tu jaanta hai main kaun hoon?' (Do you have any idea who I am?) regardless of whether or they are someone special. But at the same time, old ladies speak in the most endearing fashion, their roots (Sindhi, Punjabi or whatever) seeping into their accent.
In Mumbai, people speak less. Its better if you know Marathi. In local trains, especially in the ladies compartment, there is one frequent question that's asked by the passengers- "Where do you get off?" If you say you'll be getting down soon enough, they point at your seat to ask, "I'm going to take your place once you get off, okay?" So everyday, female passengers strike these seat transfer deals with each other. One I gave my seat to two women and they got into a fight the moment I rose to get off the train. Also, you don't have to look out the window to know when you have reached Kurla. All of a sudden, your train compartment fills up and you hear all kinds of shouts, hoots and yells, and you know you're at Kurla station.
In Kolkata, people talk loud and people talk a lot. I went to an advocate for an affidavit and he told me his name, age, experience and basically his whole life history. Then he boasted about how the best of lawyers trust him for advice and gave his opinion on all the good engineering colleges in the state. I got on a rickshaw with a friend and when the rickshaw puller heard me speaking to my friend in English, he told me about his shattered dreams- that he always wanted to learn English but in his school English classes began in Std. VII and that was the year he had to drop out of school, that he had taught himself to write names in English and compose small sentences but he wants to learn more. Even my classmates talk very loudly, but its not offensive or anything. Its just how they've picked up on the art of speaking.
Now I come to the second thing I've learnt- good friends keep in touch with you. I've lost touch with most kids I knew from school, but I still talk to my good friends. Inf act, my best friend from Delhi still calls me sometimes. So next time I have to move, maybe I'll be a little less afraid of losing out on old friends and look forward to making new ones.
Last but not the least is the poetic truth. Everywhere you go, you have the same old horizon. And just beyond that horizon lies your next destination. So don't be afraid to walk towards it. The horizon's an old friend, after all.
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