ક્યાંના છો ?

 ક્યાંના છો ?

As I travel in the inner-lands of Saurashtra, the district
Surendranagar under the School Health Program, I'm being haunted by a
peculiar question. "ક્યાંના છો ?" ( Meaning: where are you from?)

Not that I'm facing this question for the first time in my life. Not
that its the frequency of the question which has got on my nerves.
Neither is the fact that with each question I have to give a lengthy
explanation. But, but, but.... There's a reason, and I say a profound
reason which has prompted me to write this piece.

Every conversation, mostly with strangers; starts with some mundane
comment, and when you answer properly, then leads to a string of
questions, of which this ક્યાંના છો ? Makes an important part. Though
not an offensive question in truest of senses, but surely it can lead
your mind to go haywire when every 3rd person you meet asks it within
first 2 minutes of onset of conversation. And its not solely the case
of this region. Every part of Saurashtra, will have more or less
degree of sharpness with this question.

Well, I had these many experiences: I got down at the train station,
took an auto, the autowalla asked ક્યાંના છો ? Then got to the
government office to collect my posting order. The clerk there,
groping for my relevant file in the pile asked ક્યાંના છો ? In the bus
on the way to Thaan (the P. H. C where I was ordered to present my
humble services) the fellow seat-partner, seeing me talking in the
phone with my friend, asked ક્યાંના છો ? Getting to the C.H.C, the
staff members asked ક્યાંના છો ? And so on.......

Now before you guys wonder what the heck has pissed me off to such a
level, you'll need to learn a bit of history.


My great-great-great forefathers belonged to the Koradiya (કોરડીયા)
clan. And as the legend goes, they came from somewhere outside Gujarat
and settled in the નાગનેશ (Nagnesh) village in Limdi taluka. My
paternal grandfather Shri Raamji Koradiya -- born and brought up in
the village, passed almost whole his life farming there. Having
struggled in making the ends meet in his youth, Dada had a strong
desire to make 'Sahebs' out of his sons. Hence my father, and all his
6 siblings received higher education to settle in various government
departments.

As the prospects for job were virtually zero in the vicinity of the
village, Pappa took the road to college in big towns. First a school
in Bhavnagar, then the 'Bahauddin' in Junagadh followed by 'Madhwani'
in Porbandar. Though there was no such concept of 'campus-placement'
in those days, he got a pen-pushing job in P. W. D. Junagadh district.
(considering the financial condition of the family , I guess 'HAD TO
GET A JOB' would be a more appropriate phrase!)

As per the social traditions, a marriage was the next logical step.
Hence thus entered my Mummy: a daughter of a civil contractor in
Limdi. My maternal grandfather(sorry, I haven't got any name for
him,because I wasn't lucky enough to play in the lap of Nana. But I
guess had he been alive during my childhood, I would've liked to call
him Bapa-- what he was known fondly in the whole town.) was a man of
vision. Though tied to traditions, he made sure my Mom could go to
school.

This young couple, with fresh hopes, and flowery dreams lined up in
their eyes set for their own little nest. As my Pappa got adjusted to
the bureaucratic machinery, they changed places with frequent
transfers. First Batwa(બાંટવા), then Kutiyana(કુતિયાણા), then a stint
in some nondescript village, and then finally Porbandar in the '80s.
This humble narrator was born there, on 5th July 90. Well, since the
day, it's been around 22 yrs that I've been calling Porbandar my home.  But this was not meant to be as simple as that. As I grew up, I
came across issues that would one day be detrimental in shaping up my
personality, issues both minute and mammoth. Take for example-
language. Gujarati is spoken in almost whole of Gujarat, but the
shades differ with area. There's a proverb "બાર ગાઉએ બોલી બદલાય" to
justify the case. In primary school, with classmates, I caught up
urban-kathiyawadi tongue. While at home,we spoke the Zalawadi version
of Gujarati. In high school, i.e. The Navodaya, there was an environ
of rural Kathiyawadi, plus some Hindi sprinkled to accommodate
Non-Gujju teachers and students. After 12th, destiny brought me to B.
J. M. C where I got exposed to almost each type of Gujarati slang
among my friends: Amdavadi, Surti, Bhavnagari, Mhesoni(મ્હેશૉણી), and
અતિ-શુદ્ધ ગુજરાતી.




The end result was that with mix-up of so many languages, my tongue
lost its own uniqueness. (or to say it more effectively, It derived
its own twang with tiny bits of these all) Hence, even if I spoke
normally in Porbandar, people think આ તો અમદાવાદી લાગે છે. While in
Ahmedabad, after listening just 2-3 words, they exclaim કાઠીયાવાડી છો
ને ? In Limdi, where chiefly Zalawadi is spoken, they'll think my
શુદ્ધ ગુજરાતી to be a little more 'snobbish'.


Not just language, this phenomenon has wider spectra of effects. With
a place,comes its way of living or રહેણી-કરણી. And all this has
immense bearing on someone's culture and way of life.
*****************************************




This discussion brings us to the crux of the brainstorm swirling
inside my cranium. That, ' Where, Exactly Do I Come From ?'



I know, I might sound a bit philosophical, but really, this is the
question not to be taken lightly. Every person, however uncivilized,
or unsocial, has a place he can truly call 'Home' . There's a piece
of earth for every human being to relate to as 'Motherland'. There is
a sense of belonging to the place, or area to which the heart truly
belongs.


In my case, things are jumbled a bit. As with traditions, a person's
roots are told to lie in the land of his forefathers. My father, born
and brought up in the village, likes to call it his વતન. While I think
that since Pappa left it since around 45 years, and settled in
Porbandar since 30 years, it is no more eligible for the title. My
Mom, on the other hand,with the more compromising mentality
characteristic of womenfolk, try to settle the doubt by mentioning
just the district as the place of belonging.


The problem comes mainly to me. I can not relate to either the
village, or the district as my homeland. Though I was born and brought
up in Porbandar, I can't claim it either. Because I left the town for
school even before my childhood was over. The formative years of my
adolescence passed in the closed campus of the J. N. V porbandar
located in a tiny village Vanana. How can you expect a teenager boy to
imbibe the culture when he's visiting his place only in the vacations
? I missed many things, (though I didn't realize till some time back)
the local Holi, Janmashtami, the local Theater, walks on the Chowpati,
the High-school Lingo, Maava-fakis............. It all dawned on me
when I saw the difference between me and my peers in the college. When
I could not connect to even the people from my town who went to
different schools.

In B. J. As the time passed by, I met people, made friends, engaged in
social activities in the Amdavadi milieu. Without the discrimination of
caste, color or creed the friendships blossomed. Friends from Junagad,
Rajkot, surat, kadi, patan, bihar, u.p. , rajasthan ...............
Everyone with their unique tongue, a piece of their culture. The local
environ too shaped a few blobs of my imprint. The bazaars, the
Autowallahs, the A. M. T. S commuters, neighbors, the radio, the
patients...... And before I could grasp, I had grown a little
Amdavadi.

I got money minded, counted every penny spent, started to haggle and
bargain while shopping, learned to begin a conversation with 'અલ્યા એય
!' stopped trusting strangers, became M.Y.O.B.ish snob. The
Amdavadiness sipped slowly inside my being and merged into the
Kathiyawadiness lying there.

***


So today, when I sit silently pondering on the question ક્યાંના છો ? I
think about a million answers, but do not find a single one to satisfy
the quest for Identity smoldering inside.

In Ahmedabad : I'm from Porbandar,
in Mumbai : I'm from Ahmedabad,
in Porbandar : I'm from Surendranagar,
in surendranagar : I'm again from Ahmedabad


I think this is the situation of not just me, everyone in this era of
globalization and  वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम  is facing a fragment of this
question. There are people who have migrated for labor,education,
career or political situation. And who are facing similar issues of
Identity regarding their homelands. I fortunately have not gone so
far. And its God's grace that I have still the Gujarat, and India as a
common thread to call my native.


I hope one day, when I'm done with my studies and Job, I'll settle in
a place not far-away from all these lands , and make a new beginning.
My children and oncoming generations too will have to go through the
rites of the society, and they too will one day, find a place they
will surely call HOME.