"What's your name?"
"Akankshya"
"What's your caste?"
"I'm sorry?"
"You eat idli sambhar every day?"
"No, why should i?"
"You're a South Indian na?"
"No, I am not."
"Oh..ok, which state are you from then?"
"Orissa"
"It's in South."
"No, it's not among the South Indian states!"
"Ok"
Jagriti Vihar(MCL, Sambalpur), a place where I have spent around 16 years of my life before coming to Delhi. In that place I have seen people from most of the regions, religions, caste and creed. I have seen the fairest of a face to the darkest. I have celebrated all kinds of festivals from Lohri to Teej to Pongal which we, as Odia people do not actually celebrate. The only reason why we did so was because we were in Jagriti Vihar. As far as I know, every child who has been in JV never wants to leave the place.
When someone became my friend it was because who he/she was. Even today I do not know what my best friend's dad does. It never mattered to me which class/caste she belonged to. It's not like I would first find out her caste/family's profession/religion and then shake a hand with her. It never occured in my mind to ask. In my friend circle I had a Sikh, a Christian and a Muslim. After so many years of friendship I have never been said that you're a hindu and he is a muslim or she is a sikh or christian. When all of us were together in the same place, religion played no role at all and today, its the same.
When I was shifting to Delhi from Sambalpur, I knew it would not be easy. But I had no idea what would bother me the most. I had always heard about the not-so-good Hindu-Muslim relations but never had witnessed it. Here I saw couple of my friends saying that they wouldn't want a Mohammaden to be their friend. Then I heard one thinking ill of them, being afraid of them. I was speechless. My BFF is a muslim and he is one of the best persons I have known.
Another shocker was the caste. Before your name, your surname is important. When sometimes I talk about my old friends, someone would ask which caste does your friend belong to? And I wouldn't know the answer. Of course I know their surnames but which caste does the surname belong to??? It never mattered to me but it does to people here and I do not understand why. This bothers me even more.
Given the fact that my colour is dark, I was taken as a South Indian which I'm not. I was irritated in the 1st couple of months after my arrival here. Everyday atleast twice or thrice I was asked if I was a South Indian. Why? Because I am dark? Then I should just let people know that in my almost-one year stay at Vellore, I had seen some of the most beautiful and fair people belonging to south India.
Sometimes I am simply ashamed of being with such people for whom division and difference means so much.
I had always loved to call my class at school a follower of National Integration. We had the south Indians, North Indians, Gujaraties, Rajasthanis, Bengalis, Sikhs, Christian, Hindu, Muslim and we were all the same. We never felt any kind of difference between each other. All of us had 2 eyes, 2 ears, 1 nose and a mouth. Where did the variations lie???
Pissed with all the talks of caste and creed, region and religion, Hindu and Muslims, we and they, I called up my friend and asked him, "Why did you never made me feel that you're a muslim and I am not. The difference is all around me and you've been with me so long but I never felt it but now. You've been in Delhi for a couple of years, did you feel the same???"
The suffocation by this pollution of division came out as a catharsis that day.
In the end he said, "You have been only in Sambalpur. Now you're in Delhi. It's a big city. WELCOME TO REALITY. You'll get used to it."
Though that day I came to know that he is an atheist but he was right. See, this is me. I did not know that my BFF is an atheist. I don't know now if it's a good thing to not know. Now every time I hear talks about stuffs I don't like, I remind myself "Stay calm. Welcome to the Reality."
People talk of their dream place, someday Delhi was mine and now I can't even remember why!
"Akankshya"
"What's your caste?"
"I'm sorry?"
"You eat idli sambhar every day?"
"No, why should i?"
"You're a South Indian na?"
"No, I am not."
"Oh..ok, which state are you from then?"
"Orissa"
"It's in South."
"No, it's not among the South Indian states!"
"Ok"
Jagriti Vihar(MCL, Sambalpur), a place where I have spent around 16 years of my life before coming to Delhi. In that place I have seen people from most of the regions, religions, caste and creed. I have seen the fairest of a face to the darkest. I have celebrated all kinds of festivals from Lohri to Teej to Pongal which we, as Odia people do not actually celebrate. The only reason why we did so was because we were in Jagriti Vihar. As far as I know, every child who has been in JV never wants to leave the place.
When someone became my friend it was because who he/she was. Even today I do not know what my best friend's dad does. It never mattered to me which class/caste she belonged to. It's not like I would first find out her caste/family's profession/religion and then shake a hand with her. It never occured in my mind to ask. In my friend circle I had a Sikh, a Christian and a Muslim. After so many years of friendship I have never been said that you're a hindu and he is a muslim or she is a sikh or christian. When all of us were together in the same place, religion played no role at all and today, its the same.
When I was shifting to Delhi from Sambalpur, I knew it would not be easy. But I had no idea what would bother me the most. I had always heard about the not-so-good Hindu-Muslim relations but never had witnessed it. Here I saw couple of my friends saying that they wouldn't want a Mohammaden to be their friend. Then I heard one thinking ill of them, being afraid of them. I was speechless. My BFF is a muslim and he is one of the best persons I have known.
Another shocker was the caste. Before your name, your surname is important. When sometimes I talk about my old friends, someone would ask which caste does your friend belong to? And I wouldn't know the answer. Of course I know their surnames but which caste does the surname belong to??? It never mattered to me but it does to people here and I do not understand why. This bothers me even more.
Given the fact that my colour is dark, I was taken as a South Indian which I'm not. I was irritated in the 1st couple of months after my arrival here. Everyday atleast twice or thrice I was asked if I was a South Indian. Why? Because I am dark? Then I should just let people know that in my almost-one year stay at Vellore, I had seen some of the most beautiful and fair people belonging to south India.
Sometimes I am simply ashamed of being with such people for whom division and difference means so much.
I had always loved to call my class at school a follower of National Integration. We had the south Indians, North Indians, Gujaraties, Rajasthanis, Bengalis, Sikhs, Christian, Hindu, Muslim and we were all the same. We never felt any kind of difference between each other. All of us had 2 eyes, 2 ears, 1 nose and a mouth. Where did the variations lie???
Pissed with all the talks of caste and creed, region and religion, Hindu and Muslims, we and they, I called up my friend and asked him, "Why did you never made me feel that you're a muslim and I am not. The difference is all around me and you've been with me so long but I never felt it but now. You've been in Delhi for a couple of years, did you feel the same???"
The suffocation by this pollution of division came out as a catharsis that day.
In the end he said, "You have been only in Sambalpur. Now you're in Delhi. It's a big city. WELCOME TO REALITY. You'll get used to it."
Though that day I came to know that he is an atheist but he was right. See, this is me. I did not know that my BFF is an atheist. I don't know now if it's a good thing to not know. Now every time I hear talks about stuffs I don't like, I remind myself "Stay calm. Welcome to the Reality."
People talk of their dream place, someday Delhi was mine and now I can't even remember why!
Comments
Your generation will bring in the change in our ageold mindset. I am more than confident about it.
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