Thursday, May 3, 2012

Mera Nagpur!

They say,

You can take a Nagpurian out of Nagpur,
But you can't take Nagpur out of a Nagpurian.

So true. Infact you can identify a Nagpurian anywhere. Just tell him that Pune is the better city and he will immedialtely pounce upon you and tell you why Nagpur is better! Don’t’ try and argue with him because arguing is every Nagpurian’s middle name!! It’s like “ ‘mujori’ is our birthright”.

Factfiles:

Fact 1: The "s"language

We have a large Marathi population that can speak fluently in Hindi and not Marathi. Rather it can be called
Hi-rathi( hi ndi + ma rathi)

For example "Hou".

When we say hou we do not mean "how" we mean "yes".
It is derived from the Haan(hindi) + Ho(marathi)= "Hao"..Bingo!!

Sahi means Good
Bum Sahi means- very good
Ek number- means- excellent
and MAHOL- means out of this world!!

Actually you will find “Mahol” being used like water!

“how’s my new dress?” Mahol!
“how was the movie?” mahol!

Abey kidhar means wassup?!!

Naasta marke aata hu, doesn’t mean he is going to kill breakfast but eat it!

And asking raasta kidhar ko girta hai? doesn’t imply where the road falls but rather where it leads to!!
Every old man is referred to as “Bawaji” and every other autowala, rickshaw wallah, shopwala, etc as kaka or mama.

And no sentence is complete without Bole toh! Bole toh is our gift to bollywood!

Item does not always mean hot chick as in this sentence- kya item(read: moron) potta hai!

Actually these words are our very own Takia Kalaam!!

Fact2 : The weather

The weather is a huge topic of discussion in Nagpur!

We have 3 seasons- Summer, Wet Summer and Chilled summer!

Needless to say the most discusssed figures in Nagpur are the temperature figures!
Aaj, ek sau athara(118) tha bhau..! meaning it was 118 degree farenheit today.

Infact I do not know any other place where the temperatures are talked about in farenheit!!

Most homes will have an AC, but it is more of a status symbol.

Yahan toh “cooler se hi kaam chal jata hai”!

For the uninitiated, a cooler is a huge equipment that has woodwool plates on three sides and a huge fan resembling an exhaust at the fourth side. It is a mandatory piece of equipment in every household!

And when the climate's hot can ice creams be far behind? Ice creams either mean the Haldiram softee or the Dinshaws ice creams..

 It never rains cats and dogs in Nagpur, it rains so bad, that people would say “hamesha kutte jaise barish girti hai!”


Fact 3: Girls!

No matter how they look,
No matter how the weather is ,
No matter how they travel-
You will never find a girl without the mandatory scarf on her face! The scarf is actually an understatement it looks something like a mask!



Actually even the eyes are not visible, goggles se chupa hota hai! The scarf is an all season garb! And to add to the effect, white full hand gloves and socks complete the picture.
Sun screen creams?? "Chal Hatt!" who needs them in Nagpur?

The girls are so fast on wheels that they can give Valentino Rossi a run for his money! Catch them if you can!!
Anyway if she happens to meet with an accident or hit someone, there will be 50 men trying to help her. But if it happens to be a guy then the same people will say- “
Kaay re boknya disat nahi ka? Baapacha rasta smajhla ka bey?” (are u blind can’t u see, is it ur dad’s road?)

LAD is the most wanted college here….no no not for girls, for guys… girls college hai na! Wonder if it a coincidence that Wockhardt heart hospital is situated next to LAD girls college!!

Fact 4: food

Oranges! The fruit we are most famous for! Though we grow them, yet we eat imported oranges, because all our homegrown ones get exported! And we do not get them cheaper at the local markets than any of you do..*sigh*

We regularly visit temples here, not because we are very religious or god fearing, but because we get the best samosas and bread pakodis next to most temples!!

Poha(made of fluffed rice) is “the” most heavenly food and when it comes with chana tarri it is divine! Actually to serve it without the tarri is criminal!

Aalo bonda is our “Big Mac” and Soya milk our version of “Red bull”.

We love our Haldiram softee and Dinshaws ice cream, but no one beat our Ice golas!!

Funnily enough, every Pavi bhaji cart is named “Srinath Pav Bhajiwala” for whatever reason!!

And lastly, the only thing other than god which is omnipresent in nagpur is the “pan tapri”
Every guy has his tapri and that is the first place you should look for him!! And never underestimate your friendly panwala, he may be a millionaire!!

Fact 5: Local Dance

No baraat( groom's wedding procession) is complete without "Naagin" dance!! You see, Nagpur is derived from "Nag" meaning snakes so we tend to take the name very seriously!

Sandall dance is our Prom, and every occasion, whether it is Ganesh Chaturti, Navratri, Holi or in short wherever the occasion merits dholaks, we break into "Sandall dance" which is our own invention!!

In fact, we look for the smallest occasion to ask our friends for a party, and party means, dinner accompanied by a small group dance!


So don't mess with a Nagpurian, because everyone has a "Pehchaan",

 "Tujhe maloom nahi mai koun hu, meri bahut pehchaan hai bhau"!!

( courtesy: Nagpurian Tips ,friends from Nagpur)

 
 
 

15 comments:

  1. Kya "Mahol" post hain :D
    And I LOVE haldirams ice-creams!!
    The sketch is amazing!! Did you make it??
    You guys eat exported oranges??? :O
    hehe.....you visit temples for samosas and bread pakodas :D Same here, whatever is available nearby!
    I loveeee Poha but I am a criminal as I don't know what channa tarri is :(
    hehe.....naagin dance :P

    I won't mess with you- Mujhe maloom hain tu kaun hain, err...aap kaun hain :D wahi jiski bahut pechaan hain :D

    LOVED this post! Got to know more about Nagpurians :)And love Haldiram thali! Infact whenever I am travelling by train and Nagpur comes in between, I never forget to order the thali :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a great... Funny...informative post. Your mention of coolers reminded me of the hot summers in delhi when the cooler was our only salvation.

    ReplyDelete
  3. thought I commented- just wanted to say this was an excellent post- informative with having a funny edge to it= the part about the cooler just brought back memories of me sweltering in New Delhi and the only thing that saved the day was the cooler.

    ReplyDelete
  4. This was one helluva read!! Delicious...absolutely enjoyed reading it, start to finish. :)

    Note: Err..about the scarf thingy, scratch ur head, isme ek 'idea' chupa hai (for a cirime ishtory) ;-) - think, think..hehehe

    (I got this idea when I visited pune, and marathi girls are pretty (mahol), hehehe - but yaar, chehre dekhne ke liye taras gaya, by God)

    ReplyDelete
  5. @ CD: Thanks...and chew this..

    Roopam Sakhare runs a stall on the Kingsway Road at Kasturchand Park, a popular hangout, with scores of regulars thronging the kiosk to gorge on a plate of this steamy Poha,served with 'chana dal tari', a spicy gravy, made using
    chillies and gram.

    The 52-year-old, who started out as a helper, has been in this business for the last 35 years. Today, assisted by his wife and a team of seven workers, Sakhare says he sells about 50 kgs of poha (made out of flattened rice), feeding 1,000-1,200 people daily, which fetches him over Rs 1 lakh a month.

    Operating from a makeshift tent, this unqualified and soft-spoken vendor earn an estimated Rs 12-14 lakh annually, making him perhaps the only roadside stall owner in this region to be covered under the tax bracket!!

    And no the sketch is courtesy google!

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  6. @ Anjuli: yep..the ubiqutous cooler!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. @ sirjee: nothing beats humour to lift one's spirit ,hai na?

    Thanks! the idea isn't starting to materialise yet, have to scratch my grey matter...!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Have too many Nagpurians in my circle these days - so this made much more sense to me.

    Agree with every single line you have written here.

    Cheers :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. this was very very interesting. i have never been to Nagpur and don't know anything at all about it or its people. until this post of course

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  10. AS: have u been to nagpur? I suggest that you must...! u'll love it.

    Sujatha: welcome to nagpur, it's a beautiful place..

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  11. Hey, I am from Nagpur, Saraswati till 7th and then left the city but back to Nagpur and LAD to complete education. But the Nagpur I knew is long gone. I left in the mid 70s. Loved the post though.

    Blog looks interesting and would definitely come back for more.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. nagpur is beautiful and clean and green now..lovely roads and fresh air...! and thanks for visiting..do keep coming back!

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  12. Hey by reading this m missing my Nagpur deadly. By d way u forgot d most famous food. Bole toh apna "Saoji chicken" dhaba's.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hello Piyush...i am a pure vegetarian na, isliye, non-veg khane ke baare mei nahi pata.... but great to know so many bloggers from nagpur!

      Delete
  13. I have recently come to your city and I read your blog on Nagpur,its very good.Please read mine,its new and i would love your comments. http://nimadas.blogspot.in/

    ReplyDelete

At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person..deep gratitude for those who have lighted the flame within me!! your comments will be appreciated..

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