The konfusing kultural chaos

I will not hide the fact that I am bored to death with the German classes of B2.1 level.  I miss my peaceful and quiet home.  Even as the voice inside my head screams for home, there is one small problem.

I am walking towards a cultural shock.

There is every possibility that I might lose my German language. I do not know how many people will understand my Germanized Marathi and Konkani.  My friends in Pune find it absolutely normal to scream ‘Gesundheit’  (good health) when someone sneezes.  ‘Gluckwünche’ (good wishes) echoes everywhere  when it’s someone’s birthday or ‘Alles Gute’ (I wish you all the good ) during exams. When I was home for a brief time in August, my Goan friends were rolling on the floor laughing when I instinctively shouted these words. 

My German classmates move seamlessly between English and German, often mixing the two languages mid-sentence. They will casually say “‘That’s so ‘peinlich’” (that’s so embarrassing),…  “We were ‘kaufing’” ( kaufen-shopping/to shop/ to buy). “Lets go for ‘Essen’” (essen-eating/to eat).

I am sure I will have to spend ein halbe stunde (half hour) giving Erklärung (explaination) to my Goan friends when I speak. 

Language is not the only problem I face at home.

Pune has a huge market of second hand books. From  Jeffry Archer novels or Fifty shades of gray to Adam Lashinsky ’s  Inside apple or S Hussain Zaidi’s History of the Mumbai Mafia, one can pick up any book for just Rs. 100. I read seven books in six months, spending a total of just Rs 800 for the whole collection.  (I picked up the entire Shiva trilogy for just Rs. 250.) One can also sell one’s book to the book vendors at a meager price.

Goa is a fun place for out going party-loving people. Books and business do not feature in the state’s leisurely life as much as they do in Pune.  I have spent countless hours discussing international relations with my friends in Pune who have same interests whereas my friends in Goa think I am a crazy man for loving such weird fields.

Here, I even met a 25 year old mechanical engineer who talked passionately about planes and tactics of the Indian air force. at 25, he designed small remote controlled planes to serve as practice targets for the tanks of Indian army. I met 22 year old designer who designed interiors for Mercedes Benz cars in the Pune plant and had visited 19 countries, studying their cultures in detail. There was also a guy in our German class simply known as ‘Drogendoktor’ (doctor of drugs). He was a doctor who had completed his specialization in surgery in Russia and had the information as well as experience of all kinds of dangerous substance that are available in Russia.The stories of his escapades in Russia have enriched me a lot as a writer. 

I also tried hard to talk to a girl I nicknamed as ‘Fuhrerin’. That’s because she specializes in language and culture of the countries that were defeated in the Second World War. She has learnt three out of five levels of Japanese and is one of the toppers in the German language class as well. Noticing that she graduated in English literature, I tried to shanghai some information about her favorite English authors and about different cultures she has experienced but she was too busy with dance classes to stop and chat after German class.  I also tried to talk to a bright little microbiologist about rats and frogs but she was too busy practicing violin.

It is difficult to leave such interesting friends.

Of course Pune has its strengths but I this noisy city can’t give me the quiet, peace and security of Goa.  One’s mind does not blossom here, the way it does on the calm and clean beaches at home. I am returning just in time for the International Film Festival and the Goa arts and literary festival. These two are the most tempting factors that drive me to come home. 

I do not have access to a computer as my cousin has her own laptop and take it with her everyday to office. (I could have bought a laptop when I had my job but influenced by the  Japanese principle of giving priority to investment in education over defense, I spent all the money paying the rather high fees for German class.) I am tired of having to beg her to give me the computer. I get it roughly for an hour or two, that too if her teen age brother lets me use it. Thanks to my habit of googling stupid things in the middle of writing, I am unable to write anything creative in such a short time.

I miss my computer. I miss the beaches and quiet suburbs of Panaji. I miss that 'susegad' spirit.

When I come back, I will miss knowledge and open minded, colorful people of Pune as opposed to reserved and thoughtful Goans

I am unable to stay and unwilling to leave.


Comments

  1. Rajesh Prabhu SalgaonkarSeptember 25, 2013 at 12:31 AM

    (y)

    ReplyDelete
  2. thelaukikSeptember 25, 2013 at 10:37 PM

    "I am unable to stay and unwilling to leave." - never read a more potent line!!!'
    OMFG, you are a writer, like a serious one. I would pay to read what you write...no, really.

    ReplyDelete

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