A man sleeps on the pavement around a round (also a round about for trafffic control) park, as another man talks on his cell phone. The man on the street may or may not be homeless. He might just live too far away from home and is taking a well needed nap during the day. Delhi, 2007.
I was quite apprehensive about my move to DC. I had moved to the suburbs before daring to live in the city.It was a big change from small town America. Yet, I got used to it. Found my hang outs, knew where to go for walks, and which malls had nice 'sitting area' to quietly sit in a corner and read. Leaving DC happened just as aburptly, as it did for any other place for me. I never stopped loving the city. In many ways I carried the loneliness of a big city, with me, and blended it with the hope that all migrants come to cities with. My favorite memory is of the Homeless man, who upon seeing me in a traditional outfit asked, 'So where are you from?* ' How long have you been here?* And when I told him, I had been in the country only a couple of years, he bowed and proudly welcomed me to 'America'.
I remain a city person, and yet never tire of small towns. Frustrated yes, but never tire......there is always much to do, tonnes to think and loads to share.....
The article is presented here, without any edits. Pardon the old style of writing. I was very unsure of what I was writing about. In many ways, like my present day blog, I simply wanted to document life, and all those beautiful moments that we take for granted. And I cannot help but acknowledge a very simple, idealistic albeit 'youthful' way of looking at the world!!
Modeled on Champs-Élysées, India Gate is a landmark monument in Delhi. The Amar Jyoti, -the flame burns 24/7 as a tribute to all those who died during World War I, and Afghan wars. At the time, Indians were fighting on the behalf of the British. The names of those who died are carved on the bricks used to construct the monument. Delhi, 2009. 
Comfort in crowd....Rickshaws everywhere. When I was growing up Rickshaws were not common in our posh area. However, today there is hardly an area in Delhi where you do not find Rickshaws. Chaotic and unorganized traffic supports the demand for this pollution free, but manpower demanding transport, for all those who find it hard to cross streets that run with non stop traffic.
Apologies that none of the pictures here are from DC, the city about which this article was written. Why you ask? Simply because that was before I owned a digital camera.....:)) Yup, there was a time....
CITY NEWS FROM MUNDANE TIMES
"A man with an iron leg led a blind man .
"An old homeless woman was given a $20 charity by a poor grad student at the local University."
"Sun shone brightly on little kids in the biggest slum in the city"
"Mundane Times, the only newspaper which concentrates on the "overlooked", and glorifies humanity. Unlike other newspapers it tells you what is right with the world, and why being human is the most exciting thing that can happen to any living being."
Living a city life barely leaves you time to read newspapers or watch television. It is then that one starts to make a mental note of incidents one sees and keeps one's own information journal. “Around the world" To me any drought, flood or famine struck third world country or even the developed countries for that matter (including such places in the US) are usually too far to know or help. My being aware helps, I think..but not unless I do something about it -- to spread goodwill.
Every time when someone moves to a city we hear people sigh and say "Yes exciting life but be careful, gunshots wake you up instead of church bells, make sure your windows have iron bars, do not go out late at night, do not wear gold in the city..."
I heard the same too, but something deep inside me told that it was not true. May be because I grew up in the heart of a major city or because I believe in the divine nature of any body who claims to belong to the human species.
Through an array of experiences I confirmed my belief.
So I tend to think that there is a bend towards utopian model of the world rather than the opposite (can't pinpoint one name, the list is endless...). Someday when I can afford to have a newspaper of my own ...I think, it will contain news such as these...
II. OVER HEARD AT THE ATM
A thin man in a long queue in front of an ATM was heard saying to himself "Isn't it great we stand in front of these machines and they give us money without asking too many questions"
"Now be careful..." a fat lady, two people away said languidly in a very parent like tone.
"Why aren't these things connected to Ross Perot's wallet? I thought they were"
"I'd rather have it connected to Clinton's bank, after all I voted for him" said another man
"That's is why you all pay huge taxes....Clinton makes sure he takes away just a little more than he gives." the fat lady intervened keeping her parent like tone.
"But that is not fair, I did not even vote for Clinton" protested a young lady in red!
It was followed by a roar of laughter, and the queue moved another person ahead.
NEXT TIME YOU SEE ME
A short person at a bus stop was trying to look for a shade to avoid the rain when an umbrella covered her head. She turned around to find a large African American woman smiling at her "Freezing rain gives you head cold" she said with a smile.
"Thanks" said the short person and smiled as profusely as she could to show gratitude.
As they boarded the bus, the big woman handed the umbrella to the short person. After they had seated, the short person tried handing the umbrella to the large woman, who further smiled and waved as if denying the ownership of the object.
Puzzled the short person verbalized her intention. To which the large woman answered by requesting the short woman to keep the umbrella. She also pointed out that since she was garbed in rain coat she had less need of it than the short woman.
Touched to the core again, the short person asked for her savior's address. The large woman who was now getting ready to get off the bus at the next stop smiled her authentic smile and said "You don't need to return it and if your folks taught you to bring back everything where it came from, you can always return it to me the next time you see me."
The short person who was filled with gratitude and immense appreciation for the large woman's behavior muttered "thanks", which was barely heard by her helper who was now crossing the street!
AFTER ALL WE HAVE A COMMON LANGUAGE BETWEEN US
On a cold November evening Asian origin woman took a cab. She however requested the cab driver to stop at some store so she could get herself some change. The cab driver agreed. As they drove off he asked her where she was from "I...." she answered. The driver told her with delight that he was from Bangladesh and further asked if she had any knowledge of Bengali, his native tongue. The woman answered in negative and informed him that she was fluent in Hindi.
This piece of information was received with pleasure by the Bangladeshi, who expressed his emotions in broken Hindi. This made the woman break into hearty laughter. She asked him "So how do you know Hindi? Is it the Hindi movie influence?". He joined in the laughter and told her how crazy they were about Indian movies.
As they talked about their lives in the US, he slowed the car down. This scared the woman. As is if sensing he said, "Please bear with me, it has been ages since anybody asked me about my life, I thank you for listening, would please allow me to share."
The woman though skeptical, gave in for not wanting to be rude. Also since she had believed in the angelic nature of human beings, she thought it was worth a chance.
The Asian woman was a little sad to hear his melancholy story. However she tried to cheer the cab driver up by saying "Tomorrow is another day, believe that rising sun always brings hope."
However she tried to cheer the cab driver up by saying "Tomorrow is another day, believe that rising sun always brings hope."
She then requested to stop at seven eleven so she could get some change. The cab driver stated he did not mind since he wanted to pick up a few things from the store too.
When the Asian woman returned to the car, the driver offered her orange juice.
"Just thought we could sit here for couple more minutes"
Full of skepticism the woman tried to pay for it. "I'm not that poor" he said with a grin. They talked a little more. By now the woman was getting worried and scared--- he sensed it and drove her to her destination.
"Please don't" said the cab driver when the women started to pay.
"But that's your living"
"Told you I'm not that poor"
"My boss pays for this"
"Keep it please"
"But I don't feel right about it"
"Why? Why can't I do that much"
"But why?"
"Simply because we have a common language between us....."
A Note from the Editor:
The Editor proudly declares that all the above incidents and many more like this were experienced first hand. Along with the experiences mentioned above there were those cab drivers from Africa who talked about God and importance of family, or the old officer at the metro who sketched few colorful pictures of the old baseball games with his loving words, the bus conductor who brought the file folder I had forgotten in the metro bus to my door step, the lady from India at the local pharmacy, who shared the joys of her son's success at the medical college, the staggering homeless man in rags at Dupont Circle, DC who bowed down and said" Welcome to America"...Oh the list is endless!!.
Life comprises of both the pleasant and unpleasant experiences. This goes for all those who live in royalty (ask the Queen of England), those who live in rags (ask the beggar down the street--you will find many in DC & Delhi) and those in-between (we know it all too well, don't we?). However, for some reason we ignore the good and talk about the bad over and over again.
I do not know if it was my optimistic attitude or my trust in human beings but these amazing experiences did enrich my life. Won't it be nice if we could someday slow down to smell the roses, lend a hand, pass a smile, and simply wipe a tear. I do know that there is some truth to the crime in the cities and rudeness and callousness in the world but I hope and pray my experiences are such that I never agree with the news casters and that someday I really publish this newspaper called "City News from Mundane Times".
No comments:
Post a Comment