"Vadodara is not your city, Mumbai is," my friend told me. I could have shirked it off as just a casual remark. But I didn't. It set me thinking. "Which is my city?" I have been living in Vadodara for the past one year (a fortnight less) but there's a lot more I still have to discover in this city.
In Vadodara when someone asks me where I am from, I say I'm a Bengali from Mumbai. In my 11 years in Mumbai when I was asked the same question, I would say, "I'm a Bengali but I've done my schooling at Pune." In Pune, I would boast of my early years in New Delhi. In Delhi, I would called Patna my hometown. In Patna, I would say, "I'm Bengali."
Every city has contributed to my being in some way. In Patna, I was born. I learnt the aplhabet in New Delhi. In Pune, I dreamt of being a scientist. In Mumbai, I realised that dream and went on to do other things - writing, just one of them. It was in Mumbai, I found love and work. In Vadodara, I've found companionship. Now, which city do I call my own?
I am not a nomad but I have no roots. I have moved places but there are none I can call my own. If I had the privilege, I would have preferred just India. But, like other things in this country, sadly it's the specifics that matter more...
In Vadodara when someone asks me where I am from, I say I'm a Bengali from Mumbai. In my 11 years in Mumbai when I was asked the same question, I would say, "I'm a Bengali but I've done my schooling at Pune." In Pune, I would boast of my early years in New Delhi. In Delhi, I would called Patna my hometown. In Patna, I would say, "I'm Bengali."
Every city has contributed to my being in some way. In Patna, I was born. I learnt the aplhabet in New Delhi. In Pune, I dreamt of being a scientist. In Mumbai, I realised that dream and went on to do other things - writing, just one of them. It was in Mumbai, I found love and work. In Vadodara, I've found companionship. Now, which city do I call my own?
I am not a nomad but I have no roots. I have moved places but there are none I can call my own. If I had the privilege, I would have preferred just India. But, like other things in this country, sadly it's the specifics that matter more...
2 comments:
Very poignant article! There would be many who would identify with such sentiments. All I can say is, every place you live, you leave a part of yourself there...
I share your sentiments, having led a nomadic life myself for the last 22 years. I was born in Agra, spent the next 5 years in various cities of Bihar, went to Assam after that, spent another couple of years in Kerala before moving on to Lucknow and finally Mumbai. Again went to Dehradun for 4 years in the middle before coming back to Mumbai. In reality my grandparents are refugees from erstwhile Pakistan, victims of partition. Till today i do not have the answer to the question of Where I Belong? but the perspctives gained from living in different parts of India are invaluable...
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