Friends, as I set on to start my blog, the first experience in blogging for me, I am a little anxious. The anxiety is for the fact whether I will be able to keep up to this task...or frankly...should I take up this task at all. But I have anyways decided to give it a shot. I seek your support and blessings!
So what should I write in my first ever blog, I ask myself? After giving it a thought for a while, I decide to write something about my native city where I spent my childhood.
The town, where I was brought up,is a small town named Miraj. It is a city in South Maharashtra, on the border of Karnataka, and hence has a mix of people speaking Marathi and Kannada. In fact the two languages go so hand in hand and have so inter-mingled with the lives of the people of Miraj, that I wonder why there should be any disputes arising out of language in either of the states. Many from my family spoke both these languages frequently and still speak. Alas.. this bilingual way of life is getting extinct...children speak mostly Marathi...which I understand is a practical choice by their parents...however the beautiful co-existence of these two sister languages will be a thing of past in the years to come.
One more noteworthy thing about my city was also the communal harmony betwen the Hindus and Muslims, till recently. I say 'till recently' because a year and half back during Ganesh festival there were riots in my beloved city, which humbled my pride that there would never be communal tension in my city, inspite of the fact that both communities have more or less the same population in the city. Now that it has happened, I shudder of the fact that the name of Miraj may be taken in the same breath as a Bhiwandi or a Malegaon. God forbid...!
I have fond memories of going with my grand mother to the famous 'Mirasab Dargah' in Miraj, which is as frequented by Hindus as by Muslims. My grandmother used to visit the shrine every Thursday, till her health could allow her. It never came to my mind in the childhood that I am visiting some shrine which is of a other sect. It was as normal as visiting the Ganpati or Mahalaxmi temple, where we used to go. I pray to god (and also allah) let sense prevail and Miraj get back its old distinction of a peace loving city.
Miraj is known for its good weather and therefore has been a leading centre for health services and hospitals where millions of patients from across states come to get treated. Earlier it was known for the famous 'Wanless Memorial Hospital' which was considered to be one of the most modern hospitals of its time...but now over the period has many others too which have made Miraj proud of its distinction.
I now rarely go to Miraj. Its only once in a year that I get an opportunity. Having stayed in a bustling metro like Pune for quite a few years, I feel very squeezed when I travel in my hometown. The roads are the same narrow, the people still mostly on bycycles, the same market at the centre of the city, the same theatres..not much of a change. On the other hand I feel that it is better for the city...because the people here like it this way..they are content. The mass materialism of the cities is still not arrived here. I have seen Pune getting from good to bad..and now from bad to mad. I hope this does not happen to my birth city.
I dream of one day, in my old age, going back to my city, and when as a old man walk on its roads,I will never feel lost. It would be as if I have woken after a 30-40 years and had never left it. Amen to the spirit of 'contentment' of my beloved city, my Miraj..!
So what should I write in my first ever blog, I ask myself? After giving it a thought for a while, I decide to write something about my native city where I spent my childhood.
The town, where I was brought up,is a small town named Miraj. It is a city in South Maharashtra, on the border of Karnataka, and hence has a mix of people speaking Marathi and Kannada. In fact the two languages go so hand in hand and have so inter-mingled with the lives of the people of Miraj, that I wonder why there should be any disputes arising out of language in either of the states. Many from my family spoke both these languages frequently and still speak. Alas.. this bilingual way of life is getting extinct...children speak mostly Marathi...which I understand is a practical choice by their parents...however the beautiful co-existence of these two sister languages will be a thing of past in the years to come.
One more noteworthy thing about my city was also the communal harmony betwen the Hindus and Muslims, till recently. I say 'till recently' because a year and half back during Ganesh festival there were riots in my beloved city, which humbled my pride that there would never be communal tension in my city, inspite of the fact that both communities have more or less the same population in the city. Now that it has happened, I shudder of the fact that the name of Miraj may be taken in the same breath as a Bhiwandi or a Malegaon. God forbid...!
I have fond memories of going with my grand mother to the famous 'Mirasab Dargah' in Miraj, which is as frequented by Hindus as by Muslims. My grandmother used to visit the shrine every Thursday, till her health could allow her. It never came to my mind in the childhood that I am visiting some shrine which is of a other sect. It was as normal as visiting the Ganpati or Mahalaxmi temple, where we used to go. I pray to god (and also allah) let sense prevail and Miraj get back its old distinction of a peace loving city.
Miraj is known for its good weather and therefore has been a leading centre for health services and hospitals where millions of patients from across states come to get treated. Earlier it was known for the famous 'Wanless Memorial Hospital' which was considered to be one of the most modern hospitals of its time...but now over the period has many others too which have made Miraj proud of its distinction.
I now rarely go to Miraj. Its only once in a year that I get an opportunity. Having stayed in a bustling metro like Pune for quite a few years, I feel very squeezed when I travel in my hometown. The roads are the same narrow, the people still mostly on bycycles, the same market at the centre of the city, the same theatres..not much of a change. On the other hand I feel that it is better for the city...because the people here like it this way..they are content. The mass materialism of the cities is still not arrived here. I have seen Pune getting from good to bad..and now from bad to mad. I hope this does not happen to my birth city.
I dream of one day, in my old age, going back to my city, and when as a old man walk on its roads,I will never feel lost. It would be as if I have woken after a 30-40 years and had never left it. Amen to the spirit of 'contentment' of my beloved city, my Miraj..!
No comments:
Post a Comment