An Incident happened today in the bus.
I just got in and took a seat, was listening to music and as always was in my own world.
The TC/conductor was collecting the money, I couldnt see him because I was on the 1st seat. So when my stop neared, I gave the money for the ticket! The TC probably thought I ignored him all this while...( in any case, why should I be paying attention to him?? But whatever...) , he refused to take the money, instead he gave me a lecture on how we North Indians think too smart of ourselves and we, the North Indians take the South Indians for granted and now a days how hoards of us are settling down in Bengaluru and spoiling the city's culture! All in all, I feel he just missed one dialogue- I was expecting him to say, " We should also have our own Shiv sena here who takes care of people like you!"
I only smiled in return and waited for my stop!
Just before getting down, I went to him and disclosed my real identity, " I am not a North Indian!"
" Then? A South Indian?", He looked shocked and worried!
" No. I am only an Indian!"
It's not his fault........now that I am not a localite, I realize how my fellow countrymen treat our own people!
When I've got angry at non Goans , I've definitely called them "Ghatis"!
We all love to divide and rule, don't we?
We Goans feel there is something different about us, some sort of class which these South Indians lack!
South Indians think we Goans only know to show our skin and get drunk!
North Indians pride themselves on their color and build!
I don't really know where I belong?
Map wise , I am a west Indian, then there are east Indians, and are people from the islands- island Indians?
Where is the Indian?
?
?An American visited India and went back to America
Where he met his Indian friend who asked him
How did u find my Country
The American said it is a great country
With solid ancient history
And immensely rich with natural resources.
The Indian friend then asked.
How did u find Indians??
Indians??
Who Indians??
I didn't find or met a single Indian there in India.
What nonsense??
Who else could u met in India then??
The American said..
In Kashmir I met a Kashmiri
In Punjab a Panjabi
In Bihar, Maharastra, Rajasthan, Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala
Bihari, Marathi, Marwadi, Bengali, Tamilian, Malayali
Then i met
A Hindu,
A Muslim,
A Christian,
A Jain,
A Buddhist
And many many many more
But not a single Indian did i meet
Think how serious this joke is..
The day would not be far off when indeed we would
Become a collection of nation states as some
Regional anti-national politicians want...
Fight back -
Always say I am Indian
Jai hind
I think the T/C dude was just having a bad day and took it out on u.. and dont we indians love to take the HomeGround advantage... as the saying goes "Apni Galli Mei Kutta Bhi Sher Hota Hai" :D
ReplyDeletehmmm,quite common experience in city like bangalore! I fisrt time came to know in bangalore that I am north Indian! and not Maharashtrian!. But saying I am Indian doesn't help. Language, culture make a huge difference which cannot be bridged by the word Indian, neither in Mumbai or Bangalore or Delhi.
ReplyDeleteSad but true.
I dont think it is entirely fair to blame the conductor; just as I dont think it is fair to blame a "North Indian" when I visit there and expect to find only idli-dosa and make a fuss about eating or whatever the local habit/culture is.
ReplyDeleteIt is possible that the conductor doesn't really feel that way - it might have been an outburst resulting from exasperation.
Back to the real point of this post - I agree with you: divide and rule is inherently ingrained in all of us. I have a half-written post on a similar topic .. hope to post it someday soon.
To summarize my opinion : The only solution to all of this is to collectively broaden our minds. For hosts to give space to their guests and for guests to understand and gel in with the hosts. This will enrich both the hosts and the guests. I wonder why people dont see this simple point!
I am not blaming the conductor at all!
ReplyDeleteHow can I blame someone else when I myself have passed comments on " outsiders" ?
@ Kiran: Your conclusion is absoluetely right! We have to try to gel in this culture, but still a few habits will remain unchanged, you know? The 1st thing they catch you on, is the language...
But is it that North Indians try to show off in front of the relatively darker South Indians? Mayb be that's the cause of all this frustration!
@ Alf: Yeah I agree with you......
ReplyDeleteThe problem starts when "outsiders" act oversmart with the localites!
@ Bhavin: Yes! Even I got to know in the last couple of days that I am a North Indian......Amazing how color defines one's identity in India!
Nice post, really nice post! I esp liked the response... Let the others think what they want to, all we can do is atleast control our own emotions, our ideals.
ReplyDeleteWe always say we are proud Indians, with our diverse cultures are varied religions and languages, even our national enthem is about praising our unity in diversity! But we hardly see that anymore around us, we always have someone else to blame for the way things don't work out for us! More often that not, its our own people we blame, the same people we defend when they get attacked in foreign countries.
I find the whole discrimination on basis of colour, caste, religion, just confusing! People atleast be consistent!
But a good post neverthless.
thanx sim!
ReplyDeleteI knw v all feel d same abt our country n nt discriminating- bt v do end up doin tht sumwhere o d other! :-)
but yeah.....v have to change that attitude!
Every Indian feels his State is his Home. There is nothing wrong in feeling so. It is natural. We would never love to have unwanted guests in our Homes, would we? Guests who litter around, who commit crimes, who would put a strain on infrastructure and the local people would have to fight for resources. We all get so irritated when such unwanted guests arrive. Don’t We? The Bigger question is whose to decide who is wanted and who is unwanted? I think we all should respect regional affinities rather than be in awe and react far too strongly. This will only foster hate and discord. We should much rather build confidence and behave ourselves when we are in a different State. Much like how we would behave when we are in someone else's house. And we will have to keep doing this until we win the confidence of our brethren in other States and until they make us a part of their homes. . . And I am sure they will
ReplyDeleteAnother Bus Incident!
ReplyDeleteThese buses are ideal to see a typical Indian attitude!
There was this traditional Hindu old man with "tika" on his head and a lungi and all that! He prayed at the sight of every temple. He sat alone on his seat. The bus filled up and the seat next to the old man was the only seat available! A muslim woman in a burkha stood next to the seat and asked the old man if she could take it!He looked at her from head to toe and said something back to her- I didnt understand it cause that was kannada. But as a result, she didnt sit on it! After a while, more people filled in, and the other ladies started starring at the old man, he felt a bit awkward. So he called on the muslim woman, and she went to sit near him! For a while I was glad to see both of them almost making it on the same seat. But as soon as the lady sat, the old man shot up and got down the bus talking to himself!
I smiled. Some other ladies around me talked amongst themselves irritably! I didnt understand any of their dialogues- but their actions spoke louder than their words for me to understand the incident!
So brothers and sisters, We still have a long way to go! :-)
Some people have horse's blinkers and its very difficult to hammer sense into them.
ReplyDelete@ Haddock: I Agree!
ReplyDeleteHey dint hear this 2nd incident from u in person... sad to knw this happened :(
ReplyDeletem speechless!!