On the Eve of Departure

Europe - a place I have head is very beautiful and a place I have wanted to visit for a long time. I still regret the fact that I was not proactive enough to apply for a summer internship in Europe during the junior year of college. But no more regrets! I am going to Europe tomorrow and am pretty excited about it.

The purpose for going to Europe is to visit universities in Switzerland, Italy, and France and learn about the higher education system in those universities, and at the same time forge research collaborations with those universities. Given my interest in learning about higher education and especially how academic cultures vary across the globe, I am really looking forward to this trip as this trip will unravel some of the intricacies of the higher education system in European universities for me. I am specifically interested in knowing how the universities that I will visit address the issues of diversity and inclusion, given they have a diverse student base that not only differs on the basis of race, ethnicity, and gender but also differs in terms of linguistic abilities.

While I am excited to be going to Europe, a part of me is nervous as well. I think there are two reasons for my nervousness. First, I have some kind of travel-phobia where the fear of unknown makes me very scared of traveling. Before travel, I am usually anxious about whether I am forgetting some important things that I should pack or if I will be able to reach to the airport in time or something else on similar lines. Second, this is the first time I will be traveling in countries which do not speak Hindi or English. And to be honest, I am a little scared about that aspect.  I have been to the Dominican Republic before where people speak Spanish but I went there with a school group and all the arrangements where done by our hosts to make sure we are comfortable once we reach. This time, I do not get to meet with the school crew until I spend three days there by myself. I was thinking about it yesterday morning - what happens once I reach the Munich airport and need to know specifics about the local transport system and nobody speaks English? What happens if I have to find directions on the street and I ask people and nobody understands me? I know that it will be not as bad as someone will understand and speak English (my English privilege), but as of now the fear of unknown dawns upon me.

While I aim to forge professional collaborations while I am in Europe, I aim to build personal friendships with many, especially the ones who will be with me as part of the school crew. I think there is something about being together in a foreign land that brings people together in unique ways. Needless to say, I am excited for the educational and cultural experience. See y'all in Europe!

Tum Bihari Ho Na

This post should have come about a week ago at least but call it my laziness or the blame it on the World Cup or Poonam Pandey that it took so long. However, even though I am late, I am here to unveil another face life had shown me a few days ago. While coming to Delhi on last Tuesday i.e. 29th March, I had a verbal fight with a family sharing my train compartment. The reason was simple, they wanted to sleep during the daytime and wanted me to go to my berth and sleep as well. I refused and this led to the quarrel. Generally, I avoid such things while travelling, but this almost around 60 man and his wife and his daughter looked too haughty to me and I decided not to 'cooperate' with them.

So, when I refused to change my place and go to upper berth, this family started shouting at me and called up the TTE. The TTE, as the rules say, took my side. And then the family started taking it all on my 'Bihari' culture. "Lagta hai tum Bihar se aaye ho. Yahi culture hai tumhara? Itne din ho gaye mujhe travel karte huye, kabhi aisa koi nahi mila tumhare jaisa. Train me gunda gardi karte ho tum. Mera bhi beta tumhare hi itna bada hai, wo to aisa nahi hai." (It seems you have come from Bihar. Is this your culture? I have been travelling for so many days but never seen anyone like you. You behave badly in train. My son is also of your age but he is so cooperating.). The uncle now intimidated me by citing his all important and powerful contacts in Lucknow. I don't understand a few points here:

• How can someone from eastern UP accuse a Bihari of being uncultured?
• They should have requested me as they were asking for a favour, yet they forced me. Still, they call themselves cultured??!!!!
• The three of them were shouting about my culture as if shouting will wash away everything bad about my culture and show that they are more cultured?
• Talking about contacts in Lucknow made them very cultured?
• If a fellow Bihari doesn't agree to all your whims at any place, you start taking it out on the Bihari culture?

People are going to have stereotypes about Biharis, I agree but they should also think before they are speaking or doing anything. And this incident has strengthened my stereotype about the 'self believed importance and intelligence' of people around Lucknow.

Why should I Buy a Ticket?

Actually this post should have been titled “Where should I buy a ticket?” instead of ‘Why’. But since the location is not defined, how can the reason be.

Anyway, my latest angst is over the pathetic situation of Indian Railways which gets worsened every day despite soaring revenues and claims by honourable railway ministers. A few days back, I was returning from Delhi and had a booking in H Nizamuddin – Rajendra Nagar Garib Rath. So, I got down at Patna Jn. and went to the ticket booking counter to get another ticket to home. But when I entered the ticket booking complex, I was for forced to believe that the actual population of India is not around 1.20 billion but actually three times that number. The lines were so long that I was almost sure to miss my train in order to get a ticket. What I couldn’t understand was why more than half of the booking counters were closed. And then as I stood thinking about what to do, a person approached me and offered to buy a ticket after taking 20 rupees as his commission. I refused and got to the end of a line which, as I later found out, was barely moving. The ticket booking clerk was moving his hands as he was learning to type. Moreover, he also didn’t hesitate getting up for sipping tea or even drinking water. And then all of a sudden, I heard the announcement about my train arriving on platform number 2. I went to the booking counter, requested a man buying ticket to get a ticket for me as well explaining him my situation. But again, the booking in charge refused to give another ticket to him despite pleading by me.

As I was moving out of the booking complex, I thought of asking an old man standing at the senior citizen counter to buy a ticket for me again explaining to him what plight I was in. I thought he would be kind and listen to my situation and understand it but to my utter dismay, he was rude and refused me bluntly. And we are taught to respect the aged people and treat them well!! Our social values need to be restructured soon. The young population should be given more credits for its helping tendency, patience and what not.

With the idea of undertaking a bus journey, I moved out of the station. And then, I again thought of talking to the TTE in the train and asking whether he could do something. I went running to the platform 2 and see if the train was still standing there. It was there. I found the TTE and told him the story. And what he told pleased me like anything. He said that he could make an extended ticket even if I had not bought any. And thus, I returned home learning new lessons about life and travelling.

However, this ticket problem is not new with railways. Similar kind of long queues are there for Mumbai Suburban tickets. And I have even witnessed the booking clerk refusing a person refusing him ticket after about half an hour of wait because it 12:30 pm and the clerk got up for lunch. Though railways are the cheapest and best means of transport in the country in many parts but still its condition is degrading every day. Trains are becoming overcrowded, coaches are becoming dirty and the speed is getting lower every day. Something needs to be done urgently so that commuting doesn’t become a pain.

Ms Bannerjee, listening?

Puri Yatra

Yesterday, I returned from a three day trip from Puri and needless to say that the trip was refreshing. Puri is one of the places I love a lot. It has the best beech I have seen till now (of course, I have to visit Mumbai and Goa first and only then, I will be in a position to declare the supremacy of Puri Beech over all the Indian beeches), you get nariyal paani (coconut water) at real cheap rates and the most important of all, being situated in a less developed area, the place still maintains its natural beauty and delicacy.

There are two things which make me deeply concerned after this trip. The first is the Naxalite problem which prevails in West Bengal, Jharkhand, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and other Indian states. But how does the Naxalite problem come in between my trip? Actually, I had no idea that after the (suspected) Naxalite links in the Gyaneshwari Express train accident in May this year, all the traing running at night between Tata-Kharagpur section were stopped and train traffic would only start after 5 am in the morning. And because of this we had to stay at Tatanagar railway station throughout the night unnecessarily. The trip schedule got affected a bit and we had to face some difficulties as well. And when I think of it, it really scares me thinking of the people who live in the Naxal-affected area as when a big organization like Indian Railways can get helpless in front of the railways, what condition and fear must the people be living in the area!! On the other hand, I came to know that all the Naxalites in the region have some political contact and support and which prevents the police to act against them. Jai ho Indian Politics!! (Hail the Indian Politics!!)

The second concern is the sad state of the Indian temples which are more of a market place for the pandas or pundits (priests). And I came to know that the Jagannath Temple in Puri is the most affected by the tyranny of the pandas on the visitors. They don’t let you walk inside the temple premises peacefully unless you keep on throwing money wherever and whenever they suggest. And the worst of all is the fact that they stick to you like a fly on sugar until and unless you pay them off with some dakshina (money). This is despite the fact that the government has taken the temple under its control and fixed salary is given to all the priests. And the most surprising fact is that the pandas even used physical assault on visitors to get money from them. Use for abusive language is still prevalent, even we had to face it :-(. I know money is involved with most of the religions and almost all the temples in India but what I saw at Puri and Sakshi Gopal Temples could not be termed anything less than loot.

But who said one travels across to other places to see the places only? One travels to experience different cultures, people and lifestyle and a lot of other new things and the trip excelled in providing a very different experience of life. And the best of all was the awesome Puri Beech. Hope to visit the place again soon!! :-)