Languages, Dialects and Conversations

Travel has become a commonality. Living like a gypsy has become a reality, one that I am finding quite interesting. Of course, needless to say, it gets quite tiring but there are so many things to do when you are travelling - reading a book, listening to music, completing incomplete assignments, listening to what people around are saying and sometimes having conversations of your own. I have started enjoying travelling by flight especially when the aircraft goes through air-pockets or turbulence. It reminds me of the thrill of the uncertainty of life. Recently, as I was travelling from Mumbai to Delhi, there was a lot of turbulence on the way and we had been warned about it from the start. I was sitting by the window looking at the different colours of clouds that we were passing when suddenly a huge flash caught my eye. For a second I thought someone in the flight was taking pictures but then realized soon enough that it was lightening. We were about to go through a thunder storm. I got very excited and took out my phone to take pictures. I started noticing the people sitting around me. They shifted uncomfortably in their seats, quickly fastened their seat belts and sat down with their arms across their chest or holding their children. The gentleman next to me quietly started praying in Bengali. I was probably the only one in the aircraft who was laughing. Not because it was funny but rather because it was thrilling.  

People say travel teaches you a lot. It does. It teaches you how to get along with people you have never met before, how to keep yourself occupied, how to be patient (especially you have co-passengers who you find annoying) and a lot of other things to teach you mostly about yourself. Its amazing to hear the change in languages when you land in a new airport. The happiness of hearing names like Borivili, Kurla, Vashi and Nariman Point when you step out of the aircraft and take in the smell of salt and the humidity of when you land in Bangalore and hear people talking in Kannada asking the cab drivers if they will go to Marathahalli or Koramangala. Going to different place has a different sort of excitement for the person going there. Dehradun, for me, only starts when I see the line of trees lead up to the path going down to my house. I love listening to the different languages that people speak while in transit. Being someone who understands different parts of Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, Malayalam, Hindi and English, its interesting to listen to conversations that people have. Most of the time, the conversations revolve around current affairs to do with politics or Bollywood. Interestingly, I have never been travelling to any place where someone around me isn't talking about Modi. In the last two years, every trip that I have embarked on has brought me across people who are talking about the changing landscapes of India and how Modi has politically and economically made such a big change to the country. Its also a lot of fun to notice how people dress at airports, stations and the various cities around the country. Its almost like each of these places has an unsaid dress code. Airports - people are normally very well dressed. A lot of girls will be adorned in accessories, wearing skirts or shorts with a top. Boys will be in shorts, three-fourths or jeans, People travelling for business will be very well dressed in shirts, trousers and probably a blazer or coat. And then, there will be this relatively large population of newly married women who, no matter what time of the day/night it is, are decked up in bangles, earrings, necklaces, payals, heavy make-up and very dressy clothes. Everyone has a different way of behaving with the people they are with or around and that is the most entertaining and interesting part to watch. I guess I have learnt a lot about myself travelling around and its something that I think everyone should take out the time and do.