It started with a request from the boss two levels above mine which eventually convinced me to go on this trip to Gurgaon from the unperturbed confines of my home in Hyderabad. Just the thought of travelling to my roots brought in excitement which knew no bounds - little did I think how drastically different the whole thing would turn out to be. I felt I jeopardized my own situation a little bit by not thinking about the inevitable misfit this place will pose itself to be. Courtesy, when excitement takes over righteousness and some of your brain cells don’t support you in the right spirit.
This city is a series of contradictions – on one side it’s a concrete jungle with skyscrapers everywhere and on the other there is no proper mode of transportation – you are talking about a place in the vicinity of our national capital – isn’t that plain outrageous or out right unacceptable. In the only mode of transportation available, you would have to share space in an auto with thirteen other human beings of different shapes, sizes and smells. And you end up getting stuffed into them in different order and shapes to say the least. Somedays are better in terms of the company you end up with in these autos - the beautiful girls in delhi. It sans thoughtfulness if I dont mention them in my first blog post.
An authentic reality in gurgaon is that even if the girls here have outnumbered the malls but the malls have beaten them in terms of the most happening entities around here. Malls have come in every tit-bit corner of the place that retail stores or the so-called kiranas/dabbas have forgotten to exist. Shall we call this "India Grooming"?? OR just that this place is running 10-15 years ahead of its time where the autowallah is still called bhaiyya rather than some modern chauffeur/cabbie.
One other thing that drives me crazy is the complete ignorance the people (literate and illiterates) of this place have towards oral cancer – they will be chewing on almost everything that they can lay hands on involving tobacco. One of the most readily available products at every nook and corner other than the paratha centers. Statistics say that Asia has one of the highest rate of oral cancer in the whole world. Not to underestimate or undermine the stink that comes along with this chewing that you want to just speak to the consumer from ten meters apart (Grrrrrrrrrr……rrrrrrrrrrrrr).
The only silver lining to this entire trip were the couple of days I had spent with childhood buddies, past neighbors and relatives in Faridabad. I just felt it was a wise decision to leave this place 27 yrs back after completing my schooling in Faridabad.
This city is a series of contradictions – on one side it’s a concrete jungle with skyscrapers everywhere and on the other there is no proper mode of transportation – you are talking about a place in the vicinity of our national capital – isn’t that plain outrageous or out right unacceptable. In the only mode of transportation available, you would have to share space in an auto with thirteen other human beings of different shapes, sizes and smells. And you end up getting stuffed into them in different order and shapes to say the least. Somedays are better in terms of the company you end up with in these autos - the beautiful girls in delhi. It sans thoughtfulness if I dont mention them in my first blog post.
An authentic reality in gurgaon is that even if the girls here have outnumbered the malls but the malls have beaten them in terms of the most happening entities around here. Malls have come in every tit-bit corner of the place that retail stores or the so-called kiranas/dabbas have forgotten to exist. Shall we call this "India Grooming"?? OR just that this place is running 10-15 years ahead of its time where the autowallah is still called bhaiyya rather than some modern chauffeur/cabbie.
One other thing that drives me crazy is the complete ignorance the people (literate and illiterates) of this place have towards oral cancer – they will be chewing on almost everything that they can lay hands on involving tobacco. One of the most readily available products at every nook and corner other than the paratha centers. Statistics say that Asia has one of the highest rate of oral cancer in the whole world. Not to underestimate or undermine the stink that comes along with this chewing that you want to just speak to the consumer from ten meters apart (Grrrrrrrrrr……rrrrrrrrrrrrr).
The only silver lining to this entire trip were the couple of days I had spent with childhood buddies, past neighbors and relatives in Faridabad. I just felt it was a wise decision to leave this place 27 yrs back after completing my schooling in Faridabad.
Experiences of this kind would certainly help an individual to be a better person, to understand our environment much deeper, develop concern for people around us rather than sticking to our comfort zones, being just happy handling projects/programs.
ReplyDeleteGood start Venu. It is very well written. Makes me think as if you are talking to me in person. Looking forward to more posts from you.
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoyed very much with varied people and with your past remembrances during your stint at Gurgaon.
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