‘Bong’ed at JNU

on November 13, 2011

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Shaival Thakkar

The author talks about his time at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU, Delhi) and his fondness for Bengalis.

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I am a Gujarati. However, when I hear disparaging things being said about Gujarat or Gujaratis, I am usually on the side of the people who are saying it. We have many faults; we’re too money-minded, profiteering, lack cultural activities, we’re found everywhere in the world (which can be really annoying!). And of course the communal riots of 2002 are a huge shame on Gujarat. Some of us might have heard the music of Richard Marx, some might know about the comedy of Groucho Marx but most of us don’t have an inkling what Karl Marx was all about! Being from a dry state, many of us go completely bonkers over alcohol when we finally find some [Oh my God, Alcohol! (Glug, glug, glug, glug!) Where were you all my life! (Glug, glug, glug, glug!)].Moreover, one really big pain that Gujarat has inflicted upon the world is the singing of Himesh Reshamiya who hails from Bhavnagar!

When I was in Ahmedabad, I was heavily influenced by a family friend of ours who happens to be a Bengali. After hearing his stories about Calcutta, trade unions and Socialism, I used to really look up to the Bengalis. And the same Bengali uncle had a young son, who like many brats of his age was fussy about food. Many times his mother had to mix rice and dal into small balls and feed him in order to get him to eat. Thankfully, he has grown up now and doesn’t throw such tantrums!

So when I went to JNU to get a masters degree in literature, I thought I had left the Gujjus behind in their Gujjuland and had great expectations from Bengalis on campus. However, my experience with Bengalis is such that I divide them into 2 types: 1) The kind, gentlemanly/ladylike, scholarly Bengali and 2) The mean-spirited, ‘naika’ (dramatic), pseudo-Bengali. The second type of Bengali really lives up to the ‘gaali’ part in the ‘Bengali’.

Usually when you mix two cultures, either something really good or something really bad happens. So when you have Bengalis who are brought up in Delhi, either they turn out to be great movie directors like Dibakar Banerjee who made ‘Khosla ka Ghosla’ or, to put it mildly, they turn out to be extremely difficult human beings. By difficult I mean, coming to campus only to party (which is cool), trying every method imaginable to hurt the good people around them (which is stupid), making life as difficult as possible for outstation students( some of whom have gone on to become IAS officers or are on their way to becoming researchers and lecturers). And then running back home to mommy with their dirty laundry, spending the weekend home relaxing and then coming back to spread fresh negativity on campus.

These difficult pseudo-Bengalis were so much in your face that it was tough to get away from them. And so the good people of my batch usually ended up taking them seriously. However, I used to imagine that after they were done spreading their ‘bad boy’ image on campus for the day, they used to go back home and were fed rice and dal balls by their mommies. So that image helped me in not taking them too seriously! Moreover, when it was time to write exams or submit term papers, I have seen them looking very lost and as vulnerable in the library as a deer caught in the headlights. Too bad the aimless testosterone and the misguided machismo can only go so far and not really help with matters cerebral!

Post Script PJs:

Q: Why can the Bengali intellectual never go hungry?
A: The Bengali intellectual can never go hungry because s/he always has a chip on his/her shoulder!

Q: Why can the Gujarati intellectual never go hungry?
A: The Gujarati intellectual can never go hungry because s/he simply doesn’t exist!

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Classroom: Location of blood-baths between Shaival and Bengalis

Photos: Shaival Thakkar

The author does not intend to hurt anybody or any community.

In the next story, Shaival will talk about students (minus Bengalis) and other cultural facets of JNU and Delhi.


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