I am back in Toronto. Home sweet home.
Right from the time I exited the самолёт (समल्योत = aircraft) to the time I arrived home (90 minutes), I must have received 12 Thankyou’s and 5 Sorry’s, approximately. Quickly I panicked to restore my North American ‘polite’ avatar which I had, after intensely painful efforts, buried for over 3 months. This avatar had a nasty habit of sneaking up in unexpected places when I was in India or even Russia – leading to embarrassing situations – usually causing me to apologise for being ‘polite’ in the American way, which again was met with glares and a sympathetic ‘oh, the poor boy is Americanized’ look.
I was walking in the very crowded Moscow metro when the tip of my wrist brushed against the tip of a woman’s handbag who whizzed ahead of me. Like any normal person in Toronto would, I thought she was rude for not apologising to me but nevertheless I said by reflex, “I’m sorry, извиненте!” (इझविनीच)
The huge lady turned around, stopped and giving me a look said, “что?” (श्तो = what?)
I laughed inside my head, said “ничего” (निचीवो = nothing) to her and left.
I spent many hours explaining to both, Americans and Indians, what the American ‘polite’ manners mean. The Americans don’t understand why Indians never seem to thank or apologise (one survey even put Mumbai as least polite city in the world – imagine!) and the Indians don’t understand why critical words like Sorry and Thankyou are treated like commodity and used hundred times a day. Well, cultural differences are so beautiful and I discovered that in spite of living in India for first 25 years of my life, I could not, after just 2 years in Canada, switch to a different culture in an instant. Predictably, it will take me some time to get used to thanking and apologising hundred times a day here too. 
Moscow from the sky
My Аэрофлот (ऐरोफ्लोट Aeroflot) flight flew from Mumbai to Moscow, change plane, Moscow to Toronto. Aeroflot served me BEEF in my Hindu meal (will make a post with pictures on my travel blog), they are known to flatly refuse to serve plain Water (which is what Indians drink), served a drink called “chai” which they think is tea (well it is Russian tea), their flight was 4 (FOUR) hours late and their seats are designed for discomfort. Yet, I flew them because I had to go to Moscow and the ticket cost was too good to be true. I discovered that the airhostess had a bias against, well, Russians and non-Russian-looking-but-Russian-speaking people like me on one side compared to other non-Russian-looking-and-no-Russian-speaking people on the other. boooo. Nevertheless I found this international discrimination less insulting than what happens in Mumbai between different ethnic groups ironically belonging to the same country…
As the flight landed, I was deeply touched to see the passengers clap as a ‘thank you’ to the pilot.
“Nyet nyet” my neighbor said wisely, “They clap to thank God that the plane has finally landed. It’s Aeroflot, Russian airline!”
View from my window
I was finally glad to be home. Toronto looks beautiful, wrapped in a blanket of snow and occasionally glittering with a scarlet glow from the rays of the sun. I tried to sleep, but I was still tuned to IST. Still I tried to get into my bed and catch some sleep something that was difficult to get without the familiar barking of street dogs…
To the wonderful blog readers of Mumbai,
We are thinking of organizing a blogger’s meet on Sunday, November 16th somewhere in Thane / Mulund area. I live in Dombivli so this location is quite convenient for me (LOL) and people of central, harbour and some of western suburbs.
This is intended to be like a blog-family meet and we do not expect loads of absolutely random, unfamiliar faces (there are mainstream blogger’s meets for that kind of socialization.) So if you can make it that evening, please RSVP by Friday (November 14th) to my email address, and we’ll all get in sync
mail at priyank dot com
I guess you are surprised by this constant use of ‘WE’. hmm…, since I am only a non-resident Mumbaikar, this whole affair is spearheaded by Nita.
cheers,
Priyank.
These kids from Bhivpuri village near Matheran, a hill station close to Mumbai, were eager to get photographed. The toddler in the girl’s arms started laughing after the flash of my camera went off It was such a wonderful moment!
कालच्या ई-सकाळ मध्ये ही बातमी वाचली आणि अचानक डोंबिवलीची (घरची) आठवण झाली.
अनेक पुरस्कारांनी नावाजलेल्या, प्रेक्षक आणि समीक्षकांच्या प्रशंसेस पात्र ठरलेल्या तसेच राष्ट्रीय व आंतरराष्ट्रीय पातळीवर गौरविलेल्या “डोंबिवली फास्ट’ या चित्रपटाने आपल्या शिरपेचात आणखी एक मानाचा तुरा खोवला आहे. ….
आज जाहीर झालेल्या राष्ट्रीय पुरस्कारांमध्ये सर्वोत्कृष्ट प्रादेशिक चित्रपटाचा (मराठी) बहुमान त्याने मिळविला. स्वदेशी एण्टरटेन्मेंट प्रस्तुत समीर गायकवाडनिर्मित आणि निशिकांत कामत दिग्दर्शित या चित्रपटाने चांगले यश मिळविले होते.
तुम्ही हा चित्रपट पाहीला नसेल तर लगेच् बघा, चुकवू नेये असा चित्रपट आहे. माधव आपटे ही व्यक्ति चित्रपटात तुमच्या-आमच्यातली आजवर लपून रहीलेली एक गडद रंग छटा सादर करते. माधव आपटे – एक सामान्य माणूस. बॅंकेत चांगल्या पदावर नोकरी, बायको, दोन मुलं, संसार सुखाने करावा, अशी इच्छा मनात, पण तत्त्वं सांभाळताना त्याची कसरत व्हायची…. अतीशय छान परीक्षण येथे वाचा.
खरंच… खुप काळानंतर मला उत्तम कथा, सादरीकरण व छायाचित्रण या चित्रपटात बघायला मिळालं. कथेचा वेग योग्य तर आहेच्, पण त्याच् बरोबर कलाकारांची भूमिका ही अप्रतीम. शेवट जरा विचित्र वाटला, पण तरी बराच वास्तववादी आहे.
[tag]Dombivli[/tag] Fast is a [tag]Marathi[/tag] [tag]movie[/tag] that was made in 2005. It is the story of Madhav Apte, a middle-class Marathi man who lives in Dombivli, a suburb some 50km away from Mumbai. He is a man with principles, who has a simple aim in life – to support his family and keep them happy. Madhav is troubled by the endless struggle and the problems that surround him. Suburban trains in Mumbai are referred to by their destination and speed. [tag]Dombivli Fast[/tag] thus indicates a local train that originates / terminates in Dombivli and stops at select stations (hence the word ‘fast’).
The film has won a string of domestic and international award, latest being the National award for best picture. The movie is based on a storyline that people of Mumbai can instantly identify with.
Marathi director Nishikant Kamath is making his Tamil debut by remaking this movie(starring R. Madhavan and Sangeetha) – Evano Oruvan
I remember watching the movie in a house-full hall. Even after the movie ended, people just sat there, in silence… it is a story that everyone can associate themselves with.
Dombivli is my hometown by the way.
September 2006, from the [tag]Gavdevi[/tag] Temple at Bhopar Village on the outskirts of my hometown, [tag]Dombivli[/tag]
Dombivli or [tag]Dombivali[/tag] is a suburb of Mumbai on the Central line. It has a population of about 1,193,000 (2001 census, provisional results). It is the first fully literate town in Maharashtra and the second in India. Dombivli is a predominantly Marathi speaking middle class city….
Sunset behind the Parsik hill where the [tag]Mumbra[/tag] devi temple is located. In a few minutes the path to the temple should be illuminated, and it looks like a bright serpant on the hill.
The blue-white [tag]Diva – Vasai[/tag] shuttle:
Finally, a goods train chugging silently:
The main [tag]Mumbai[/tag] suburban rail tracks are not visible in these pictures.
aka the Fourth Seat
Benches in [tag]Mumbai[/tag]’s [tag]suburban[/tag] [tag]local train[/tag]s have a fundamental flaw. They accommodate 3¼ persons each. Usually the trains are crowded and the entering commuters are on a mission to grab a place to sit. It takes monumental effort to snatch the first 3 places on the bench. But the mission doesn’t stop there. There is an equal urgency to occupy the balance ¼th piece of real estate – the fourth seat, erstwhile known as ‘request seat’. The fourth seat means compromise and submission to constant brushing against outgoing and incoming commuters. And whats worse, you just get to rest your butt partly.
Me standing on the footboard while the train chugs into the next station.
Hypothetical situation: Three passengers are sitting on the bench and there is a tiny strip of empty space.
This [tag]commuter[/tag] enters the compartment and frantically searches for a place to sit.
The meek: Realizes that this is a request seat. Asks the other [tag]passenger[/tag]s politely, “May I sit here?” These kinds are usually senior members, or those who are new to Mumbai and shy.
The frequenter: “Please move, I need some place to sit”. This is considered to be a plain ‘no-nonsense’ request typical to Mumbai. Most of the Mumbaikars belong to this category, and this is a part of their daily life. They know that its not possible to get anything without asking it, albeit he is polite.
The imposer: “Hey, move, I want this place”. The ill mannered consider the half seat as their birthright. They will often enter into arguments with others if they don’t give sufficient space to sit. Many people in this category are those who are some weeks new into the city, or the infrequent travelers.
Now lets look at the passengers who are already sitting on the bench.
The liberals: These people crunch and make space for accommodating the fourth person even before he requests it. Again, they are typical Mumbaikars, who realize that some day they would be the ones looking for a seat. These people are comfortable with ‘The meek’ or ‘The frequenter’. However, the moment they encounter ‘The imposer’, they get converted to ‘The unyielding’.
The reluctant: This group shows extreme reluctance to crunch. They are very lethargic and often the fourth person will have to repeat his request to get some concession.
The impostor: On request from the fourth person, he will make a token gesture of moving. This person is unwilling to cede any space. He is also confrontationist and short tempered.
The unyielding: These are the people who flatly refuse to accommodate the fourth person unless he is ‘The meek’. Often a gang of friends returning after a exhausting day at work fall in this category. They are not interested in confrontations and will simply ignore the fourth person.
Something worth mentioning is that the ‘fourth seat’ exists only in second class compartments. The fourth person can remotely be described as being comfortable, Tapan and full2faltu, write more about it. Vishy describes how the fourth seat is an ignominious position… lol
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