Is it marathi manoos or manhoos?
Bombay will be always special to my family for it was where my grandfather began his career as he set foot into the city with his newly wedded wife. It was where my father has spent a major chunk of his life and also my early growing years. We’ve moved on to live in many other cites thereafter but Bombay always holds a special place in our hearts. The city that never sleeps has always been in the news but this time it’s not the floods of ’05, dalal street or the film industry. Bombay is being held hostage to an outsider issue and in the politics behind it is claiming innocent lives. For months now, the outsider imbroglio has been festering like an open wound and enjoys prime time discussions on every news channel. The latest causalities, two Young Bhaiyyaji Kids, Rahul Raj(YBK1) and Dharamdev Rai(YBK2) have been the posthumous recipients of The Great Indian Media Circus award. Pleased with receiving this award, the two youths decided to pay their now best friend Raj Thackeray a visit. Of course one must not forget that they were on a special gate pass for the night as they had unfinished business in this world. They enter the MNS headquarters that resembled a Maratha fortress only to find their one-time-nemesis Raj Thackeray(RT) in deep slumber. Let’s just see what happened thereafter.
YBK1: Wake up you fool! How can you even sleep while innocents burn?
RT: Tujha aayla kaun hain bey, Aai shapath teri toh… Who the…. What the… wait a min, I’ve seen you….
YBK2: Yea you’re right, we’re back from the dead. Even if it’s only for a night we’re here for sure!
RT: Aah now I know, It’s like that film where you die and the Lord of
Hell
sends you
back to fulfill
your incomplete wishLord of Hell sends you back to fulfill your incomplete wish!
YBK1: See I told you, these Mumbaikars can only think about cinema all the time.
RT: Are you out to kill me? The last time I saw you on TV, you were brandishing a gun in a BEST bus!
YBK1: Ah that was a case of brainwash. We are here for you longevity, more like your guardian angels.
YBK2: Yea hell is such a brilliant place and we are here to keep you away from hell for as long as possible!
RT: Wait a nimit for two minutes, you guys are here for my safety? Assa kay, kya baat hain!
YBK1: I must add yaar, ever since the Shiv Sena swept the municipal corporation elections, you seemed to be wiped of the Mumbai political scene.
YBK2: Now we see you’ve bounced back and every local and national daily has you on the front page. Damn you sirjee, you are the subject of television debates and you’ve united the whole of UP and Bihar.
RT: Now was that supposed to be a compliment, coz it sure didn’t seem like that!
YBK1: Tell me something Raj, does bashing up north Indian examinees, getting arrested and all that drama will ensure you mandate in your constituency, but will it be enable you in your dream to succeed your uncle Bal Thackeray as the ultimate Marathi manoos?
RT: Well the game plan doesn’t always execute as expected, so stop being so critical.
YBK2: Na re baba, I can clearly see the strategy now. Balasaheb rose to prominence with his rhetoric against all the Srinivasans, Krishnamurthys and basically anybody south of the Vindhyas. You’ve seen to have taken a liking for the sons
of the GangesYou’ve seen to have taken a liking for the sons of the Ganges!
RT: You can’t blame me for treading the path laid by my elders. Afterall that’s what a true Thackeray does, we always look for outsiders!
YBK1: I think the average manoos, today has a sense of frustration at losing out economically and culturally to other social groups in Mumbai’s endless battle for scarce resources. So is there an inferiority complex somewhere?
YBK2: The current government has squeezed the state dry and Sena now seems likea house cat. The stage is set for a dynamic leader to emerge as the messiah of the sons of the soil.
RT: So you think I should channel my energies on Marathwada instead?
YBK2: Also paagal ke aulaad, don’t you know that electoral politics is very different from street agitations. Just because the news channels report round the clock coverage of taxis being stoned and buses being burnt, you sure get tonnes if publicity. Does instilling fear in people like your uncle, translate into votes these days? Votebank politics made sense in the 60’s or in remote villages divided by caste and religion. It doesn’t make any sense these days, especially in a multi-cultural city like Mumbai.
YBK1: Don’t you forget what your cousin Uddhav did with his ‘Mee Mumbaikar ‘ campaign a few years ago that actually made some sense, but yet was interpreted as being anti-migrant. We all know what happened as a result when the Sena lost the 2004 elections both Lok Sabha and assembly.
RT: Don’t you dare compare me with Uddhav, he was pro-Mumbai and I’m anti-Bihari. There is a difference there mind you!
YBK1: I think you’re not looking to gain the electoral mandate, it more seems like you want to stake claim to the legacy and out do your cousin.
YBK2: My guess is that even the Cong-NCP wants the same, with two tigers going at it its always the hyena that benefits!
RT: So you guys think that this divide-and-rule politics is just eroding our family ties and eating into our own votebank?
YBK1: Let me add to that, playing fire with fire doesn’t help your cause. The only outcome is a burning metropolis and innocent deaths.
YBK2: What do you gain by this ‘goonda raj ‘ I ask. What is the message that you try to put across by stoning taxis and shutting shops? Beating up a daily wager or a student from Bihar only deepens the chasm and increases the regional divide.
RT: I actually broke away for I harbored the dream of a modern Maharashtra.
YBK1: If that’s the case then do something for the Marathi youth. Help them be more competitive, set up some institute of sorts.
YBK2: If the factories are employing us and if we are preferred over the locals then, why don’t you help them hone their skills? It appears that they are technically inept, so do something to improve that!
YBK1: If Bihari youths are appearing for railway exams so can the Marathis. If we are getting selected then that is on merit, so why don’t you help them to be more competitive.
RT: You migrants don’t respect our culture and ethosYou migrants don’t respect our culture and ethos. The Marathi culture is slowly disappearing today.
YBK1: If that’s the case then instead of attacking us try promoting Marathi culture. If you feel that Bhojpuri cinema is killing the Marathi film industry then try supporting the local talent. Do your bit to promote the local art and theater instead while you can spare us.
RT: What do you have to say bout the slums and squeezing of the city’s resources by you migrants.
YBK2: Look the crumbling infrastructure isn’t created by us. Don’t tell me you aren’t aware of the real-estate sharks and land-grabbing mafia. There is a huge nexus between politicians and builders where crores of rupees changes hands everyday. Try pelting stones at them for a change.
YBK1: Also Mumbai is not the only city, aren’t you a statewide party? Try creating jobs in Vidaarbha, marathwada and there may not be so many farmer suicides then. Such things may not make it to prime time news discussions, but they sure will contribute to your vision of a ‘Modern maharashtra ‘.
YBK2: Chalo bhaiyya hum chalte hain. We are on a gate-pass and heave to get back. We also have to attend a Sambhavna Seth stage show on the way. Ganga maiyya ki saugandh, watay dancer she is! Chalo phir, Jai ram ji ki.
Please don’t take this as a rant of a so-called-migrant. Now, like everyone else even I’m proud of all the cities I’ve lived in. I feel that not just Maharashtra, but every state needs to preserve it’s cultural heritage and cater to the economic well being of it’s locals. However this doesn’t have to be interpreted as hooliganism against non-locals and forcing everyone including shops to adopt the local language. We left Mumbai fourteen years ago and Hyderabad three years ago. You can call me a lungi/mundu wala sitting across the seas and passing witty comments on the sorry state of affairs. But before being identified as Marathi, Gujju, Telugu, Mallu or Tamil, I’m a proud citizen of the greatest democracy of the world. People move to other cities seeking professional growth and in a way we are all migrants in the Lords playground. State/country borders never stop the birds, rivers nor the wind. Borders are made by only us and I wonder what we have gained as humans.
PS: The pun in the title is totally intended and solely in jest.
- Marathi Manoos:maharashtrian local or domicile
- Manhoos: cursed, ill-fortuned, unlucky
- Mundu/lungi: Tube shaped loose garment worn by men in south India.
(Images Courtesy: Satish and Manas.)
Khoob Chaangla aahe! Missed Baba Bangali’s contribution to this – is he waiting for bengalis to get pulled into this?
And last paragraph lae ‘migrants in the lord’s playground!” OmG OmG!!!
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me: nvr thought that you knew marathi! he he thnx…
You forgot I belong to the land of nomads.. where I’ve met other nomads who happened to be maharashtrians!
I hope Raj Thackeray is reading this. It had bloody well hammer some sense into that goddamn head of his. His bigotry seems so have burnt the last shreds of sanity in him.
Jai Hind!
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me: power equations I’d say..
thala……engyooooooo poitaaaaaaa…i would like to quote nri maami too. Waah waah, kya baat hai…
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me: shukriya dost!
kay re baba…zabardast post aahe!
amchya mumbai baddal lihilela vachayla faar anand zhaala…
tumche vichaar bhaari and cogerent aahet.
PS: cartoons sexy aahet
PPS: changla lihitos pora!
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me: too bhari vichar i guess! thnx anyways…
Aiyla! very hurt, angry and saddened too.
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me: yea, it’s sad. But then its cut throat competition and someone will be left out eventually!
Good post… .but I hope like many others, you don’t think what Raj T is voice of every Marathi manoos.
Cheers
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me: hey, thnx for stopping by. No I don’t subscribe to his views!
Khaiy potya, tu khai licktous. Mumbai amchi hahey. are you not aware that the “Sons of the soil” doctrine is prevalent in all nooks and corners of our Mahan desh. don’t we have the mulkis in Telegana, the kannadiga factor in Bengaluru, the manibhens and the bhais in Amdavvad, the trinamool effect in red Bengal, the separatists in kashmir, the safforn brigade in Jammu, the maoists in Khandhamal,Chatisgarh, Jharkhand etc. Each of these desperadoes wish to protect their ethos and culture and create lawlessness in the process. Well Bharat Mata ensures equilibrium-in diversity lies unity. The numerous bomb blasts across the country leaves us shattered for a moment, but our resilience helps us to pick up the threads and resume our normal life thereafter.
-mille sur me hamara…
– we are the bhais……
-amchi mumbai, amchi mumbai….
-mee kosam
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me: brilliant pa, yea we learn to pick the threads!
Romba feel pannita polarku. Its okay, politicians may come politicians may go but mumbai will live forever! 😀
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me: Strangely, there’s a strong bond with the city. hence the feelings!
I used to be in Pune during training days. I thought the people there were very friendly and I liked the culture. The city was great too. But if these sort of things happen, I may not go there even as a tourist. Guess who will be affected here, not me but the economy of the state.
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me: offlate Pune is more cosmopolitan and much more non-local tolerant!
‘Borders are made by only us and I wonder what we have gained as humans.’
so very true !!!!!
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me: yea it is!
Being a marathi girl..i will remain a fan of Maharashtrain culture. I did come across one such interesting article on our culture..do read it..
http://www.marathisongs.org
Only you could have done it this way! 🙂
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me: LOL, thnx.. hope u feelin better…
Hey been reading you for sometime now and thought this was as good a time as any to comment! Love your writing, thanks for providing the laughs!!
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me: Hey thnx for delurking! I’m glad you liked it.
Vaaranam Aayiram review??? Waiting.. Inniku naaliku thaan shows irukku inga.
We should be proud to be Indians first, then Marathi’s, Tamilians, Biharies etc..Mumbai would have never been the financial capital of India if not for the hard work of the migrants from other states. I am sure not many Marathi Manoos share the same feeling as that of Raj. I hope something is done to stop this Marathi Manhoos from trying to spoil the Mumbai Environment.
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me: I totally agree with your views and I’m not condemning the marathi manoos. All I say is that the recent events have left an unpleasant taste with both locals and non-locals
You said develope Vidharbh, marathwada…..tec and creat jobs there. For the people like you?good. All you are selfish people. You will never say to your state politicians to creat jobs there ….I think you dont have self respect and love abt your homeland…….. good.
As an Indian I think we need to respect the differences and stop passing derogatory comments to any community. Every community in India has its own pros & cons. Sindhis, Gujrathis have their own traits which make them good business community, people from Punjab have done great sacrifice for this country and shown great tradition in Army, Business,Agriculture…so on & so forth Everybody has different ideas which are right or wrong in many contexts. But that doesn’t make any community go down.
I think the problem doesn’t lies in Language or Region but the problem lies in imbalanced growth, age old caste system, corruption, gender bias, etc . This lead to inevitable migration….be it Brain Drain of India or people migrating to Mumbai Bengluru or any big metro of India. Continuous migration is really harmful for both places …people migrating to and people migrating from. Bengluru might have seen migration after IT industry growth..but Mumbai is a victim since last so many years. This is evident from many events (26 July Rain or Slums ). I dnt say migrant population is wrong or locals figthing for the rights are wrong. Finally it should be a balanced system. System might be able to restore its balance upto certain extent …but when a situation like Mumbai arises system is prone to loose the balance and witness fights, floods,riots and what not. Mumbai can not bear the load of such a huge population with such small piece of land available. Bengluru is victim of high prices and great traffic jams. End of the day you and me are responsible for all these and need to think and act for Balanced Growth, getting rid of ageold caste system, corruption, pollution. Existing system needs to be improved by being conformist, by being a part of the system.
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me: and your point is?