They say, a pilgrimage happens, the Lord willing it. With the Himalayan experience (where everything that can go wrong, went wrong, but only and only after my sojourn at that divine place was fulfilled) and now the Ganga Sagar attempt (my train back to Pune, the Duronto express, might reach 4 p. m.ish, while it was supposed to reach at 10 a.m.), I have started believing that dictum!
While travelling, one gets to meet all sorts of people. Let me here talk of the two varieties of the Bangla clan whom I encountered. One of them is the taxi fellow to-n-fro my immensely fortunate slog to Ganga Sagar. He told me, he could complete his education up to the H.Sc., had managed in Mumbai a good job which had a better future, but left it all to respect his mother's wishes.
He was concerned about his children's future, tried to understand how the AI would change the face of work, was immensely happy when I told him of the "bajrangi lep" for his mother's minor fracture.
Not only considerate of n for his family, moreover, in the typical Bengali fashion, he was acutely aware of the political issues. Wonder of wonders, he was aware of the grandeur of Bengal. He knew all the greats of Bengal literature and films. He himself referred to them. No wonder! He was a "gayen", a surname that refers to traditional bards! He was even aware that the behaviour of his kind of people determines a tourist's impression of a city/a state. Most willingly, I would share his card with anyone going to Kolkata. Oh, yes, I tipped him generously, too.
Now the other side of the coin. I had the misfortune of sharing their noisy and extremely ugly company till Bhusawal. From the second they arrived, they were hell-bent on making a nuisance of themselves.
They were extremely well-dressed. With a silly n sick curl of lips, they would mention their swanky address in "Cal". They carried huge luggage they pushed everywhere, absolutely inconsiderate of others. When they were supposed to get off, they did not bother to fold the bedding the train provided.
"We paid, no!?!" was their attitude. They ate and ate and ate. They belched, they burped, they farted, they slept, slept, slept, absolutely inconveniencing fellow travellers, and snored n snored n snored LOUDLY. They fought for even the charging point. Extremely uncouth! Their kid was forever in to the mobile, and coolly talked of how studies are boring which Mumma (and obediently, Daddu!) found cute!
The disgusting crude nouveau riche behaviour! Genuinely, I did not feel like waving good bye to the kid, and not only because they ran away with my water bottle!
Pratima@ Money does not make (wo)men, forget cultured, even decent!
Quote of the day: "Culture does not make people. People make culture." So argues Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, an interesting African author.
Word of the day: Sophistication Sophistication means being cultured and knowledgeable about art, fashion, and life, showing refinement and good taste. It means, moreover, being worldly wise. It can also describe something complex, highly developed, and intricate, like advanced technology or a subtle system.
Let us learn grammar: It is the week end. We meet on Monday.
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