There’s been so much brouhaha revolving around regionalism lately and if you’ll excuse those painfully alliterative chain of words, I’m gonna add my twopennybit here.
It started with an open later (read http://raagshahana.blogspot.com/2011/09/open-letter-to-delhi-boy.html hereinafter ‘original blogpost’) but if you go into the linguistics of the term used, you’ll see the author was pretty closed in terms of her take on the subject. It’s one thing to point out and to an extent even make fun of regional quirks but quite another to generalize and mock it on a public forum. While I appreciate the wit and the sarcasm and a whole lotta tongue in cheek innuendos, the substance and the sentiment was banal and pretty demeaning. If the world was a generalization based on individual experiences, Kalmadi would be printing his own notes, Dravid would’ve made the champions league a test match feature and Maradona would promote coke snorting as recreation during half time. Well the point I’m trying to drive home is that it isn’t. You can’t stereotype a category of people based on your individual interactions with them. You can’t define and restrict a part of India to accommodate them in your textbook of thoughts. The country, it’s people(their eccentricities notwithstanding) and their existence is much too large a concept to be type-casted and reviewed individually. Didn’t the whole country rush to Gujarat’s aid when the Earthquake shattered the state ? Don’t we all lick our spoons clean after finishing a plateful of chaval and kaali daal ? Don’t we gawk in awe at Rajnikant and his theatrics ? Don’t we all unite under Lokpal Bill proposals, Slut Walks, Anti Terrorism Stands and various other pink chuddies when the time comes ?
I must also mention how articulately a certain somebody has responded to the letter while maintaining absolute political correctness(read http://www.lavanyad.com/madmomma/?p=6298 hereinafter ‘comeback #1’) while a very anal retentive somebody else has tried in vain to retort with an equally regional rejoinder(readhttp://openlettertoopenlettergirl.tumblr.com/ hereinafter ‘comeback #2’)
If there were to exist such hard felt and cogent boundaries between regions and regionals alike as expressed by the sentiments in the original blogpost and retort #2, inter region marriages wouldn't happen, you wouldn’t see Gujju Thali places in delhi or Chaat corners in Bangalore, Dhoni wouldn’t play for Chennai Super Kings and one would pick a local beach spot over goa for a vacation plan. Not discounting the cheap liquor and easily available contraband in Goa, you wouldn’t want such a thing happening, would you ? I’m sorry, the contraband bit was a comic twist that didn’t really fit in, but please appreciate the sentiment.
It is in this context that I support complete rejection of abject regionalism and vouch for the One India concept that certain adverts on TV were about. Tout Ensemble such regionalism IMO is just a divide which is sometimes of political convenience and sometimes comic relief in the form of the aforementioned blogposts.
Necessary Disclaimer :This post is coming from someone who was born in Bangalore, has lived in Nagpur, Baroda, Aurangabad and Bombay. He thrives on Maharashtrian and Gujarati food, sluuurrrps on sindhi kadhi, loves going to bangalore every year, wants to end up working in Delhi and is enthralled by how pretty Punjabi women are, has more bong friends than he can count(it’s not my fault they diverge and proliferate like that!) and cant imagine college without them, thinks the best voice he’s ever heard belongs to a north easterner who lives in his block and spends most of his time(and enjoys it) in the hostel with his friends who are staunch UPites-even to the extent of being told that his hindi has acquired quite a UP touch to it, so there!
0 comments:
Post a Comment