Friday, February 05, 2010

Where do I belong?

I am a 42 and like all other clever 42 year olds, I was planning my retirement abode when I hit this problem. I like Nashik but can't live there since I am not a Maharastrian nor can I speak Marathi. I like Delhi, but can's speak Punjabi or Urdu nor am I a Punjabi, Haryanvi, Western UPite or Bihari who have traditionally laid claim to the city; I like Kolkata and West Bengal and can even speak the language; but the locals think I do not belong there since I have been an expat for two generations. Orissa and Assam are out because I would be identified as a Bengali there and I do not know the local language... Further north-east people will consider me as coming from India and therefore alien. Southern states too are out of the question, I will not be able to have any meaningful conversation there beyond sign language. Goa? Marathi's and RUssians are already fighting over it. Kashmir ideal by I am supposed to be a Hindu! Punjab no way, they are already chasing out anyone who smells of Bihar. Bihar? not a bad idea since I lived the first 16 years of my life there and my ancestors a few centuries from my mother's side. But Biharis always consider Bengalis as at best friendly aliens. So where do I go? Here is my profiile: I speak Hindi, Bengali and English; am a staunch secularist believing that religion does more mischief in human hands than good; I have lived 16 years in Bihar, 14 years in Delhi, 6 years outside India, 2 years in Mumbai and 4 years in Kolkata? It seems, India has no place for "Indians" -

2 comments:

awanderingaesthete said...

well said, Subho. I think a lot of us are going thru this predicament just now....!!! I for one was born of Bengali parents in Delhi,brought up and educated in Mumbai (then Bombay)married to a punjabi,lived 20 years of my life in Chennai and now I am back in Delhi... life does come a full circle.... I speak Hindi, Bengali,Marathi, Tamil apart from English...( not to mention a smattering of punjabi and gujrati) but where do I go from here.... :-)

Vishwas Patel said...

Come on...its not that bad...Always welcome in aamchi mumbai!