Mumbai & Bangalore____ Varied Cultures.

Mumbai & Bangalore___________ Varied Cultures.
­­­­­­­­­­­­­______ Traveling Experiences______

Mumbai is an oblique city. I have been a resident of this city since my birth and I can vouch for its obliqueness. Its multi cultural ethos is reflected in its authentic cosmopolitism. Mumbai is in the state of Maharashtra and is situated on the west coast of India. There are many rumored stories on the name of this great city. When the British came over here, the city was consisting of seven islands. But, they found an ideal natural bay for the ships to berth. So they termed it as Bon (meaning fine in French) and Bay. Soon, ‘N’ was replaced by ‘M’ and the city changed over to BOMBAY. The other story is of a famous Hindu Temple called MUMBADEVI located in the famous congested bullion market, Zaveri Bazaar. So, a few years back, BOMBAY had a walk over to MUMBAI, keeping the sentiments of the Hindu Goddess in mind.

Mumbai has an extensive 7 km. coastline and its world famous Juhu Beach is the longest one in India. Just across this Juhu Beach, is Juhu Flying Club, the only one of its kind in India for amateurs fliers. Every now and then, , the swimmers huddle together, whenever they hear the buzzing sound of a small low flying plane zooming over them. The learner pilot waves from his cockpit and the swimmers return the favor by waving with both their hands. This is a thrilling moment for the swimmers below, as they imagine that they are flying the plane! The coastline is dotted with some of the most exquisite bungalows owned by some celebrities, corporate houses, Bollywood actors and the high profile. It is right here in these grand villas that massive finance deals are made by these big shots! It may be a casual meeting between a script writer & a film producer, a deal of joint venture amongst business houses or it may even be a huddle of drug activists. Money running into billions of dollars exchange hands in the blink of an eye! Sex, murder, extortion and other nefarious activities also cannot be ruled out in this diabolic place.

After partition, one of the great freedom fighters of India, Mr. Bal Gangadhar Tilak got an idea of dividing India on the basis of state language for better governance. But, the idea was flawed, because of different languages spoken in India. Hence, the states were divided into linguistic basis like, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Bengali, Oriya, Urdu, Guajarati, Kannada, and et all. In short, these languages made the states of India and language Marathi became the dominant language of Maharastra State, Tamil language of Tamil Nadu State, Telugu language of Andhra Pradesh State, Bengali language of Bengal State, Oriya language of Orissa State, Urdu language of Uttar Pradesh State, Gujarati of Gujarat State, Malayam language of Kerala State…………………… But to top it all this concept, Hindi Language was made into a National Language of India.

Now, the regional sentiment for one’s own mother tongue was too attractive to overlook. Hence, strong powerful vested interests for one’s region came into focus and regional politics was born. Unheard of names suddenly began to occupy the important posts in the regional government machinery. This in turn destroyed the oneness of Indians as a whole and patriotism was just a password in a computerized life of an Indian. In totality, India became of a country divided into various cultures with little care for thinking as an India, lacking in patriotic fervor. During my extensive travels in these different states of India, I found the Kannada people more appealing to mix and bond with. My experiences with the cultures of Maharashtra and Karnataka is the write up of this article……………………

Earlier, I had mentioned that Mumbai is an oblique city, a best virtual city in the whole of India. If a little more foresight was made, Mumbai could have been compared with the likes of London, New York, California, Washington D.C. Amsterdam, Germany and other dynamic cities of the world. But, Mumbai was made into a chess game and a pawn for powerful vote bank politicians, where they milked the city dry so that no progress, prosperity, art, culture, fine arts can thrive. In sum, it is a traveling city, where its citizens are forced into a travel habit of passing their time, leaving no time for the other pursuits to be indulged in. Only a few large corporate houses are carrying this otherwise dying city on their shoulders to keep it alive. There is no order, no rule, no governance to maintain the city and take it to the dizzy heights to be recognized as a world class city. Yes, my friends, Mumbai is dying a slow death.

The only charm left in this city is the age old fine Marathi Culture, where poetry, literature, drama, can find its true identity in the people of Maharashtra. But, here again the evil is ruling over the good. Many great saints, poets, dramatists, writers, have passed away and there is no true leader to guide the young generation and continue the traditions and the customs of the great Marathi people. Basically, the Marathi men are very talented tribe but………………………..??????
Ask about the Marathi cuisine and our mouths begin to water. This eat is a very delightful spread of various food items, totally ethnic ( with no influence from any other culture) and varied in its preparation, aroma, style, color and taste. Stepping into one of this hotel was a delightful experience for me. A Thali or a plate of meals in its true Marathi culture contains_________ chapattis, rice, amti (soup), some vegetables, pickle, curd, papad ( a snack) and a sweet of laddoo (ball made of sugar, grated coconut, cashew nuts, )and I had the pleasure of tasting this Thali in that hotel, a really sumptuous meal for the hungry stomach.
A true Maharashtrian wears a dhoti of simple white cloth material, a Gandhi an jacket, and a topi (Gandhi cap ). His walk is straight and proud and his spoken language a little rough and loud. The Marathas are a brave warrior tribe, ready to die for a cause they believe is right, according to their conscience. One of the weaknesses is in their thinking to be united and come under one umbrella to rule. Here, everyone wants to be a leader, who form their own groups to rule their own army and where his ideology is always different from the other leader. If only, the Marathi people could be united under one savior to guide them…………………………….??????
A habit most common amongst the working class Marathi man is chewing tobacco or eating pan (beetle leaves containing supari nut, chuna [lime], shaunf, and katha [brown liquid condiment]. A small oblong steel box is always kept in his inner pocket containing dry tobacco and chuna (lime) This fellow takes out this box, opens it and pours some tobacco into his left hand palm. Then, with his right thumb, he sort of grinds this tobacco into very fine particles and a powdery form. After adding a bit of chuna, he opens his mouth and places this mixture below his tongue. This tobacco gives a slight intoxication and the person feels relaxed for some time………….. but little realizing of contacting a deadly disease of the cancer of the mouth. Eating a pan is the easiest pastime for this class of people. He might just visit a tiny wayward shop and pick up his pan from the owner of the shop for Rs.5/= or even less. Chewing pan is also not considered good for health, as it may again cause the cancer of the mouth, especially the tongue. Many cases have been recorded in the hospitals for pan eaters or tobacco chewers for losing their tongues. But, a habit is a habit and a culture is a culture amongst this ethnic group.

I just traveled to the city of Bangalore (the city being renamed Bengaluru) a few days back and my experience was exhilarating! I went to my computer to book a train ticket, but was disappointed to find all the berths full. Unwillingly, I had to opt for a bus journey. I selected National Travels to take me to Bangalore. This company has a fleet of 10 Volvos running between the southern states of India. Volvo is a luxurious bus imported from Sweden and is great for a quick travel. This air-conditioned bus is equipped with 2 x 2 seats, elegant, very comfortable and very high tech. Each seat is attached with a pad for footrest, in case a passenger is interested in reclining and dozing off. The semi-sleeper super bus takes just 17 hours for a 1200 km. journey from Mumbai to Bangalore, in comparison to a train travel, which may extend up to a boring 26 hours!
When I entered my Volvo, I was pleasantly surprised to receive a free box containing a bottle of purified Bislerri water with a packet of Parle Glucose biscuits. There is a lever type of handle on the left side of each seat. Once you push this lever down, the seat automatically slowly goes into a reclining angle for a quick nap! This company has also installed a TV to screen some great Bollywood blockbusters. All these facilities make a Volvo bus journey very soothing for a tired body and the journey time flies off very quickly, adhering to the law that anything good lasts for a very short while.

Bangalore’s salubrious climate attracts many people from other states to migrate into this beautiful garden city of India. Its citizens are highly educated and is currently the best city of India. Its world famous IT company, INFOSYS TECHNOLOGIES is rooted here. Its roads are very clean and this reflects on the culture of the people. Its staple food is rice, from where all the varied food items are prepared……………. Like Idlis, (steamed round balls of rice) Vadas,(fried golden brown button holed rounds made from pulses), Dosas ( chapatti like) and other food items. I had the pleasure of meeting a young Bangalorean, who had made millions of rupees, just by selling the above items. Its unassuming wayside shop attracts many young bikers, who stop by for a quick bite. Last year, his shop, M/s Vienna Stores was awarded a certificate by the government of Karnataka as the finest makers of IDLIS.
An average Bangalorean is a very peaceful man, which shows in his walk and talk. He will never indulge in dramatics, showman ship or be in confrontation. His dress code is a lungi ( round cotton cloth wrapped below the waist, like a pant), and a Jhaba ( long shirt with full sleeves worn well below his knees). Bangalorean children, especially the girls are born beautiful and we have the Miss World, Ashwariya Rai Bachhan to back this claim. What makes these children attractive? Is it the climate, the thinking or the culture? Like Mumbai, the citizens of Bangalore go for the fine arts, dramas, plays, dance, music………….. the carnatic music being world famous in symphony. There are many drama theatres in Bangalore and so parents of the girl child are enrolled in these theatres to learn the various dance forms at an early age. This in turn leads these girls to opt for a career in film industry. The Kannada language continues to the mother tongue of a Bangalorean. The one factor that separates the Bangalorean man from his Mumbai counterpart is the total lack of fanatism in their lives. They are an open book, peaceful, kind and also ready to opt for a change. The one language & culture which they have imbibed very strongly is their love for anything English. They willingly name their schools, convents, business houses, pubs, hotels in English, while still retaining their ethnic image. They got for educating their children in the best English schools, while also learning their mother tongue, the Kannada Language. In sum, they have a modern outlook with a traditional bent of mind. Although, corruption is rampant every where, the Bangalorean man is a stickler for a rule of law. He will rarely break a law in trade, business, transport, society living, or in manners and etiquette. One of the oldest immigrants in Bangalore is a business house, M/s K. C. Das. His business is in the manufacture and sale of Bengali sweet delicacies, like……………… Rossagollas, Pure white Burfis, Jallebis, (dipped in sugary liquid) Basundi, Rossa malai, (floating in thick condensed milk) and many other sweets. The most favorite item in the card is MISHTI DAHI. This is a sweet curd, prepared very lovingly from a thick pure milk. It is distributed in their branches in various types of pottery containers. The secret of selling this exquisite curd in pottery vessels has a reason, as solid as its curd. Brick pottery made from red clay has invisible pores, through which there is a ventilation of air. So anything packed in these vessels ensures the coolness of its contents. Hence, MISHTI DAHI is these containers tastes fabulous to the tongue. Another latest sweet item added to its list are 3 items for Diabetics…………… Rossagollas for Diabetics, Sandesh for Diabetics, and canned Rossagollas for Diabetics. The other fast selling product is a quick breakfast item, called plate of PURI BAJJI ……….which consists of 4 small fried chapattis, baby potatoes floating in tomatoes liquid, and liquid channa dal ( a type of pulse) .All these products are freely distributed through their 10 strategic located branches in Bangalore, with their head office stationed permanently in Calcutta ( Kolkata). M/s K. C. Das also runs a R & D facility in Bangalore with stringent control over their food products. This is necessary, as it involves a bacterial culture for DAHI (Curds). M/s K. C Das is a billion dollars company and is an Iconic Landmark in Bangalore.

_____ The End ______

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