Maharshtrians and others

I am back to my pet peeve.  Why do we have this language based division of states and community based politics? Shiv Sena's mouthpiece Saamna has written really nasty editorial about Gujaratis using Mumbai like a prostitute. Well, it is more gross than what it sounds here. To think that the man who writes the editorial thinks like this and is not yet arrested for his inflammatory remarks? This is the Maharashtra's obsession with caste based politics. You know when a Maharashtrian meets you, the first question is "What is your surname?" The second question is "Kuthla gaaon" or which is your village? I have been listening to these two questions from the time I have got married and acquired a Marathi Surname. I am in half a mind to tell all these people that my surname is Das, Gupta or Dasgupta. May be the second question will not follow. All people in my Yoga class have asked me these questions, in the train, bus journeys or even in supermarkets this is asked with a hint of familiarity. The key is to give out the Maharstrian surname in the first place. Some of them even check my pronunciation of the surname. Proper noun does not exist for them.

Met some mother at my child's summer dance class. We got talking. She wanted to know why I have not gone to my native place for the vacations. I could have turned around and asked her the same. I could not tell her that my native people come to Mumbai or have moved to Mumbai, so why should I go to my native place? I never experienced this in Jharia or Dhanbad. We were not Biharis but we were never made to feel outsiders at all. No one in my fifteen years there, ever asked me where my native place was. My father and mother's families were three generations old in Dhanbad. Jharia was home and Jharia was our native place. Our family God/ Devasthanam/ Kul Devta is in Anjar, Kutch but that is our only connect to Gujarat. Everything else like Janm bhoomi, karm bhoomi was Dhanbad. Why this fuss then about my native place? During our vacations in Jharia, we either went on a trip or we went to live with cousins in Dhanbad. No one went to any so called native place. All my Bengali friends went to Mama Bari / Maternal Grandparents house and all Bihari friends did the same. The people mattered and the place did not. My friends who went to Kolkata had the same amount of fun as those who went to Purulia, Patna or Hazaribagh. What has a place got to do with it?
Over the years in Mumbai, I have learnt that Maharshtrians judge you by your village name. Your surname gives out your caste and your village name gives out your social standing. For them, this is of utmost importance. No wonder, Dr. Ambedkar who wrote our Constitution is a Maharashtrian and from a so called lower caste. All this reservation on castes has just given people the perks, the mentality of all castes remains the same. These are the urban educated middle class Maharshtrians asking me these questions.

I told this lady at the dance class that going to your native place is a very Bombay phenomena, where I grew up it did not matter. She asked me where, because out of sheer habit, she had to know, to be able to slot me. On hearing my reply, she was shell shocked." Oh, you are from North India?'" There was a sudden quiet amongst the group of chattering Moms. I stood with my head up and straightened my back a little more.

My In-laws' neighbour is against Gujaratis. Everytime she meets me, she insists I should talk to her in Marathi and not Hindi. She is a professional singer who has done shows all over India. This is her way of saying, I hate Gujaratis. Her husband speaks excellent Gujarati and loves to converse with me in Gujarati. She tells me that when she was working in a bank,she has been retired for the last twenty years, she would travel by first class in the local trains. Every day, fat Gujarati ladies entered these first class compartments with their shopping bags and talked loudly. I had two questions for the neighbour : Did the ladies have valid tickets? Yes. Did they ask you for food? No. But she was angry about these women being Gujarati and shopping . According to her, the trains should be for thin Maharshtrian working class women. This lady is a good neighbour and not senile. I am just sharing how narrow minded my Mumbai is getting. If I tell some Maharshtrians about good roads in Gujarat, they do not want to listen. Why are we wearing these blinkers? Why can't we see things at least? Opinions, all are welcome to have. But, at least have opinions which forward you.

Today in this crazy construction activity which happens around Mumbai, all workers are North Indians and most big builders are Non Maharashtrians. It just means that who works hard and works well, will do well anywhere. It does not mean that Maharstrians gave you place to come to Mumbai and make a life. Same thing USA and UK were crying about the outsourcing to India. Will stopping that increase their working population strength? This divisive politics is going to be our nemesis. I once met a corporate biggie and he told me he lives in South Mumbai. I was shocked. South Mumbai could be Dongri, Kalbadevi, Nalbazaar, Mohammed Ali road,Grant Road, Bombay Central. It does not necessarily  mean Cuffe Parade, Napean Sea road, Malabar Hill and Breach Candy.

I miss the broad mindedness of Jharia and Dhanbad. I could not roam alone there, but I was accepted fully and never treated like an outsider. Same goes for all the non-Biharis living in Jharia and Dhanbad. We never felt different. We were as happy in Chhath as in Holi or Diwali. And am equally happy in Ganpati in Mumbai.

All this pretence of being broad minded is wearing off, Mumbai.