Yesterday I had been to the now famous - Aayushyavar Bolu Kaahi - show. After the show I met Dr. Salil Kulkarni and Sandeep Khare back stage - was nice, both the show and meeting them. Enjoyed every bit of it. Their comments while reciting poems or singing songs are remarkable. I appreciate their talent!
I am a great fan of this duo, Salil and Sandeep (taking the liberty to refer them by their first name). Salil is, no doubt, one of the best Marathi singers and Sandeep has proved himself with all his well known poems and songs - my favourite of all being "Damlelya Babanchi Kahani". They have made all Punekars (or should I say all Maharastrians?!?!) proud.
Jara chukiche jara barobar bolu kaahi ...
Mee morcha nela naahi, mee samp hi kela naahi ...
Punekars like to take life on a lighter note ...ekdum araamaat! Being in Pune itself makes it that much more easier. There are no local trains, fast or slow, running every two minutes... just means that there is nothing to run for. Most of the shopkeepers themselves opt to keep their shops closed in the afternoon to have a good afternoon nap.
Puneri pati (boards in Pune) are one more very talked about thing, especially by Mumbaikars. When I used to stay in Pune, I never felt anything special about it! But at the same time, find them interesting now. Most of them are to avoid uncalled for disturbances - Dupaari 2 te 4 bell vajvu naye (do not ring the door bell from 2 to 4 pm); ikde Joshi rahat naahi, ugaach bell vajvun vichaaru naye (Joshi doesn't stay here, please do not ring the bell to ask for Joshi's address)! Other boards in the shop saying, we do not have any other branch (aamche kuthehi shaakha naahi!) is to prevent others cheating their customers (many Mumbaikars interprete it differently).
Many outsiders fall for some boards outside shops - maybe because of the words being used - yantra for instance makes many think of some automatic machine, while it is something very trivial being referred to as yantra. Many other boards are to keep silence (horn related issues) in the street or to avoid parking / traffic problems.
Basically, Punekars have one motto - "Live and let live (peacefully)!"
... mee manaat hi maazhya kadhi danga kela naahi!
Damlelya babanchi kahani...
Mumbai! The name itself flashes the picture of an over-crowded fast local train - so-called lifeline of Mumbai! People rushing to catch their 7:22 fast to their work place. They know that a minute lost in the morning may magnify the loss many a times... very much disturbing their schedule! Time spent in commute varies from 2 to 4 hours daily, add to it working hours of 9 hours - makes, for most of them, 12 to 14 hours daily - spent to earn their living.
...roj tech aahe kaahi aaj naahi!
Jara chukiche jara barobar bolu kaahi ...
One thing I noticed yesterday - is in live performance the response from the spectators (rasik shroteho) is very important to get the best out of the performers. I had seen television advertisements during cricket world cup saying - team jeetati nahi hain, jeetana padta hain (team doesn't win on its own, we have to make teams win). It is even more true in the case of live music shows. And I am sure, though there is no ready statistics to prove my point, that had I been watching the same show in Pune, or maybe in Dadar or Vile Parle, (where there are a lot more marathi speaking rasiks) the show would have be much better and both, performers and spectators, would have enjoyed a lot more. Though I said I do not have statistics to prove my point, but the number of performances in Pune against that in Mumbai, may just prove the point. More the number of spectators, more the number of shows! Which also means that more is the interest in people and so better response and more will they enjoy and so more will be the spectators - kind of vicious circle, is it not!
... ugaach valse shabdaanche he det raha tu!
Chala dost ho aayushyavar bolu kaahi ...
There has been a lot of debate on Pune vs Mumbai; notice that I naturally said Pune vs Mumbai. I believe that a Mumbaikar would have said Mumbai vs Pune. I think, the place that you feel you belong to always comes first - many may differ on this.
... bhidle naahit dole tovar bolu kaahi (or kaahihi :))!
Punekars like to take life on a lighter note ...ekdum araamaat! Being in Pune itself makes it that much more easier. There are no local trains, fast or slow, running every two minutes... just means that there is nothing to run for. Most of the shopkeepers themselves opt to keep their shops closed in the afternoon to have a good afternoon nap.
Puneri pati (boards in Pune) are one more very talked about thing, especially by Mumbaikars. When I used to stay in Pune, I never felt anything special about it! But at the same time, find them interesting now. Most of them are to avoid uncalled for disturbances - Dupaari 2 te 4 bell vajvu naye (do not ring the door bell from 2 to 4 pm); ikde Joshi rahat naahi, ugaach bell vajvun vichaaru naye (Joshi doesn't stay here, please do not ring the bell to ask for Joshi's address)! Other boards in the shop saying, we do not have any other branch (aamche kuthehi shaakha naahi!) is to prevent others cheating their customers (many Mumbaikars interprete it differently).
Many outsiders fall for some boards outside shops - maybe because of the words being used - yantra for instance makes many think of some automatic machine, while it is something very trivial being referred to as yantra. Many other boards are to keep silence (horn related issues) in the street or to avoid parking / traffic problems.
Basically, Punekars have one motto - "Live and let live (peacefully)!"
... mee manaat hi maazhya kadhi danga kela naahi!
Damlelya babanchi kahani...
Mumbai! The name itself flashes the picture of an over-crowded fast local train - so-called lifeline of Mumbai! People rushing to catch their 7:22 fast to their work place. They know that a minute lost in the morning may magnify the loss many a times... very much disturbing their schedule! Time spent in commute varies from 2 to 4 hours daily, add to it working hours of 9 hours - makes, for most of them, 12 to 14 hours daily - spent to earn their living.
...roj tech aahe kaahi aaj naahi!
This being the story for both, mom and dad, children spend their lives waiting for weekends! Weekends again are for extra work, to prepare the household for another week, and to recharge oneself to face another long week. And so weeks make months and months make years. And then...
...babansaathi yeil ka paani dolya madhye?
It is more about how majority of the people think and what kind of lifestyle they get used to! Most of the people in Mumbai, I think, cannot escape the grind of life which the maximum city takes them through. Whereas, most in Pune save a lot of time in commuting - can afford houses closer to their office. With same working hours, a Punekar can give their family much more time, which alone breaks so much complexity. And you will admit that, one complex thing has the potential to make simple things complex; whereas, many simple things can even break a complex thing into simpler things.
