Mind your language!
India is a country with 22 official languages, 1652 languages and dialects in total with over 216 languages with more than 10,000 native speakers. Of them, Hindi is the most spoken in India.
One of these languages is Gujarati, my mother tongue. Gujarati has almost 46 million speakers in the world, most of them being in India. However, every man whose mother tongue is Gujarati knows that Gujaratis are found almost everywhere on the Earth (and a lady in the space too!). So don’t be surprised if you stumbled into one in an almost undiscovered place on earth.
I was in the 12th Grade and preparing for IIT - JEE at a good 22 km away from my home town. Travelling these 44 kilometres everyday was a very tiring task, particularly when you travel in a S.T bus. People who travel on these buses know that these buses are nothing short of a roller coaster ride. You could get the same thrill riding a roller coaster in Essel World for Rs.600 except that in a bus, it was 30 times cheaper.
My class was just over and I was waiting for the bus. It was raining like hell and I was firmly concentrating on getting a seat on the bus. It felt like me winning a lottery had far greater odds than getting that seat. Luckily I found a friend waiting for the same bus. My odds had increased.
The bus came. It was a stampede. Everyone dashed towards the door. Judging by the number of people going in at a time, I was surprised that the door did not tear apart.
Finally, we got the seats. That awesome feeling….!
My friend and I had a talk for a while till the bus filled to over its capacity. After approximately a quarter of my ride, I realized that two girls - probably sisters, of 20 years of age, were standing next to my seat. I couldn’t help but overhear what they were talking about — Me, in Gujarati. Sadly, they had overlooked the fact that they almost certainly knew - that we gujjus are everywhere! They were going on about how my oversized watch (according to them), looked on my rather thin hand, how my green shirt looked on me and how I had absolutely no dressing sense.
I glanced their way and couldn’t help but notice that they themselves were ugly enough to make even Shehnaz Hussain lose her job. I sat there calmly and speculated to fake a phone call to my mother and be just so loud enough that they know that I, too, was a Gujarati. But I didn’t want to throw them off their comfortable balance. I sat there with a poker face and half a smile thinking what more sweet things could these strangers want to tell me. I was still far from home……
So, the next time that you think to criticize someone in your mother tongue, think twice.
One of these languages is Gujarati, my mother tongue. Gujarati has almost 46 million speakers in the world, most of them being in India. However, every man whose mother tongue is Gujarati knows that Gujaratis are found almost everywhere on the Earth (and a lady in the space too!). So don’t be surprised if you stumbled into one in an almost undiscovered place on earth.
I was in the 12th Grade and preparing for IIT - JEE at a good 22 km away from my home town. Travelling these 44 kilometres everyday was a very tiring task, particularly when you travel in a S.T bus. People who travel on these buses know that these buses are nothing short of a roller coaster ride. You could get the same thrill riding a roller coaster in Essel World for Rs.600 except that in a bus, it was 30 times cheaper.
My class was just over and I was waiting for the bus. It was raining like hell and I was firmly concentrating on getting a seat on the bus. It felt like me winning a lottery had far greater odds than getting that seat. Luckily I found a friend waiting for the same bus. My odds had increased.
The bus came. It was a stampede. Everyone dashed towards the door. Judging by the number of people going in at a time, I was surprised that the door did not tear apart.
Finally, we got the seats. That awesome feeling….!
My friend and I had a talk for a while till the bus filled to over its capacity. After approximately a quarter of my ride, I realized that two girls - probably sisters, of 20 years of age, were standing next to my seat. I couldn’t help but overhear what they were talking about — Me, in Gujarati. Sadly, they had overlooked the fact that they almost certainly knew - that we gujjus are everywhere! They were going on about how my oversized watch (according to them), looked on my rather thin hand, how my green shirt looked on me and how I had absolutely no dressing sense.
I glanced their way and couldn’t help but notice that they themselves were ugly enough to make even Shehnaz Hussain lose her job. I sat there calmly and speculated to fake a phone call to my mother and be just so loud enough that they know that I, too, was a Gujarati. But I didn’t want to throw them off their comfortable balance. I sat there with a poker face and half a smile thinking what more sweet things could these strangers want to tell me. I was still far from home……
So, the next time that you think to criticize someone in your mother tongue, think twice.
Gr8 Darshit....AWESOME!!!!! :) :)
ReplyDeleteThank You! :)
Deleteoh dear,
ReplyDeletenever knew you are amazing writer. i saw your post today only.
keep it up.