Old Beliefs, Old Customs
Imagine DI (Data Interpretation) taking its toll. About 10 question types to be explained, and about 90 questions to be solved. Tired I was, after the class ended. I wanted peace, I expected peace in the bus I was about to catch to get back to home. I finally found one, and I was seated near the cabin.
The man seated near me asked me about the time. I didn't had the watch on my hand today and since I wanted to check time as well, I took out the cell, and reported him the time, "10:08 PM Sir" and then I was cursing myself for what happened for the next 20 minutes. He asked me "Is this a Nokia cell?", "No, it’s LG", I replied. That fired a discussion on the cell phones and the companies that make them. That man taking out his cell which was Nokia and as if forcing me to say, "Yes! I've committed a crime by buying LG, I must throw my cell out of this window, or even better, I should throw myself out, catch a bus back to Indore, go to a Nokia shop, and get one Nokia for myself." After I committed, yes, Nokia was the best, that man asked me the price of his cell phone, like "what do you think, how much does this cost?” Fortunately, this didn't last long, not more than 15-20 minutes. The conversation was in Hindi, no doubt.
It’s good to sit near the bus cabin at around this time, when the lights are off. Since the lights are off, you can't read. So, the best way to pass the time is to look in front, on the way the bus goes, and keep thinking. At least I find this amusing. After some minutes, there was a jerk, as if brakes were applied instantly while the bus was in speed. The man near me shouted, "It was a weasel!". He added, "Weasels are a good luck, now we're going to have a safe journey", the driver nodded. This man wasn't alone; there were many of his allies present nearby. Another commented, "Chameleons are also a good luck, when they pass by, in and crossing your way.", another commented, "But cats really bring bad luck". And I guess, then they discussed about the breeds of cats that bring bad luck, and those breeds that don't affect you much when they cross your way. The driver looked like he disagreed with the cat thing, perhaps he knew cats crossing your way won’t bring bad luck to the journey, through his driving experience.
I live in a place that's the largest district of MP. The only thing that lets it be a bit modern is its closeness to Indore, just 35 Kms away. While, much of its area is still 'villages', my place (Dewas) has many things to its credit - The B.N.P. (Bank Note Press) and the famous Industrial Area with industries like Kirloskar, Ranbaxy, Tata International and many more, and for religious aspect - Tekri. But still the majority of the population is what lives in the rural areas, small villages that come in the district. And no wonder! They believe in those old beliefs, and many more like the bus incident today. Approaching 'Tantriks' for the illness, and although very few in number but still in practice - sacrificing children for some good. It once or twice happened near Delhi too. Government here, has tried hard to educate those living in these areas. To bring more people in these learning temples, there's some scheme that if you send your child to school, you get wheat - all required for your daily meals, since many living in these areas are below the poverty line. But then these people send their children only for the wheat's sake, and you get rare, very rare cases that a student there is willing to study what the teachers teach. My aunt is a teacher in one such government school and she told me this story. Strange but then, the situation is under no ones control. Soon, the government officials will say that they can't do much about it except leaving the system like it is. Who knows when's the situation's going to improve, when will they learn?
But on the other hand, you also have some great students from these rural areas. Some months back I heard about some student's science project (the student being from the same rural area) being selected at the national level, and then that place's people took out some rally to praise the boy. Good, but the old customs still find a place and that's a story you hear every other day in the local newspapers - as sacrifices, believing in Tantriks, and stuff.
Nothing but that small bus incident forced me to think over it, and relate to the place I live in.
------------------------------------------------
Word of the day:
spelunk
Pronunciation: (spi-lungk')
—v to explore caves, esp. as a hobby.
Synonyms: cave, spelunk, explore
Usage: After everyone was exhausted of the tiring business tours, the company had a nice arrangement for those exhausted to go for spelunking.
The man seated near me asked me about the time. I didn't had the watch on my hand today and since I wanted to check time as well, I took out the cell, and reported him the time, "10:08 PM Sir" and then I was cursing myself for what happened for the next 20 minutes. He asked me "Is this a Nokia cell?", "No, it’s LG", I replied. That fired a discussion on the cell phones and the companies that make them. That man taking out his cell which was Nokia and as if forcing me to say, "Yes! I've committed a crime by buying LG, I must throw my cell out of this window, or even better, I should throw myself out, catch a bus back to Indore, go to a Nokia shop, and get one Nokia for myself." After I committed, yes, Nokia was the best, that man asked me the price of his cell phone, like "what do you think, how much does this cost?” Fortunately, this didn't last long, not more than 15-20 minutes. The conversation was in Hindi, no doubt.
It’s good to sit near the bus cabin at around this time, when the lights are off. Since the lights are off, you can't read. So, the best way to pass the time is to look in front, on the way the bus goes, and keep thinking. At least I find this amusing. After some minutes, there was a jerk, as if brakes were applied instantly while the bus was in speed. The man near me shouted, "It was a weasel!". He added, "Weasels are a good luck, now we're going to have a safe journey", the driver nodded. This man wasn't alone; there were many of his allies present nearby. Another commented, "Chameleons are also a good luck, when they pass by, in and crossing your way.", another commented, "But cats really bring bad luck". And I guess, then they discussed about the breeds of cats that bring bad luck, and those breeds that don't affect you much when they cross your way. The driver looked like he disagreed with the cat thing, perhaps he knew cats crossing your way won’t bring bad luck to the journey, through his driving experience.
I live in a place that's the largest district of MP. The only thing that lets it be a bit modern is its closeness to Indore, just 35 Kms away. While, much of its area is still 'villages', my place (Dewas) has many things to its credit - The B.N.P. (Bank Note Press) and the famous Industrial Area with industries like Kirloskar, Ranbaxy, Tata International and many more, and for religious aspect - Tekri. But still the majority of the population is what lives in the rural areas, small villages that come in the district. And no wonder! They believe in those old beliefs, and many more like the bus incident today. Approaching 'Tantriks' for the illness, and although very few in number but still in practice - sacrificing children for some good. It once or twice happened near Delhi too. Government here, has tried hard to educate those living in these areas. To bring more people in these learning temples, there's some scheme that if you send your child to school, you get wheat - all required for your daily meals, since many living in these areas are below the poverty line. But then these people send their children only for the wheat's sake, and you get rare, very rare cases that a student there is willing to study what the teachers teach. My aunt is a teacher in one such government school and she told me this story. Strange but then, the situation is under no ones control. Soon, the government officials will say that they can't do much about it except leaving the system like it is. Who knows when's the situation's going to improve, when will they learn?
But on the other hand, you also have some great students from these rural areas. Some months back I heard about some student's science project (the student being from the same rural area) being selected at the national level, and then that place's people took out some rally to praise the boy. Good, but the old customs still find a place and that's a story you hear every other day in the local newspapers - as sacrifices, believing in Tantriks, and stuff.
Nothing but that small bus incident forced me to think over it, and relate to the place I live in.
------------------------------------------------
Word of the day:
spelunk
Pronunciation: (spi-lungk')
—v to explore caves, esp. as a hobby.
Synonyms: cave, spelunk, explore
Usage: After everyone was exhausted of the tiring business tours, the company had a nice arrangement for those exhausted to go for spelunking.
posted by codeextracts at 3:14 AM
3 Comments:
oh your bus journey has reminded me of my journey back after my classes. i have had many peaceful and interesting thoughts during that 1 hr journey.
ahh!!!!miss Dewas so much :)
lol..
No Ms. Razzberri, I didn't. I'm happy with LG these days, but I'll get a new one (hopefully Nokia) before I go out for training next year! :D
Btw, are you on that guy's side or mine? :p Nokia or LG?
hehe...i must say this..LG and Samsung phones suck..and nokia is better...and Motorola is much better...i have a Samsung phone and i will change it soon ...it has given me a lot of pain...
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