Uthkar to
aagaye hain teri bazam se magar
Kuch dil hi
jaanta hai kis dil se aayen hai
(Faiz Ahamad
Faiz)
(I left while the gathering
Was still
young
The lamp was
lit
Yet the moth
was denied
The kiss of
love
Only my
heart understands
The verses
of sorrow
Engraved on
the heart
As I came
home)
Reflections: Ruminated during a period of self imposed academic exile
at the University of Pune’s hostel 5 in the Indian state of Maharashtra. At
last coerced to writing after a more than six month long complete creative
drought and that too in such precarious circumstances, when the struggle for a hostel
room has tested the limits of my patience and tolerance. Sought refuge in the
room of a fellow Kashmiri where every moment is a mixture of delight and anger,
joy and anguish, liberation and captivity. Every passing hour I ponder on how freedom
and proprietorship are among the most supreme blessings bestowed to a man by
the almighty.
A word on Pune first: By and large Pune is a better city for living and
education because of its moderate temperature, highest job rate and the largest
chain of inter disciplinary modern colleges leading to the moniker ‘the oxford
of India’. It is one of the premier cities in Maharashtra after Mumbai and
Nagpur; the multicultural and multi ethnic diversity have earmarked it on the
national radar as the fastest growing cosmopolitan city. The nonstop
construction, effective infrastructure, growing automotive sector and the
establishment of IT parks and the educational institutes along with two reputed
Universities have certainly brought it national as well as
international recognition with in no time. Pune’s proximity to Mumbai, key location
and the availability of talent produced every year by the various centers of
learning made it most visited place in the Maharashtra. This city is a home of
almost three and half million people and is divided into four administrative
bodies apart from the main Pune municipal committee.
My acquaintance with the city is only two years old. I alighted here to
pursue my research and am currently engaged in seeking the ultimate destiny of
a doctoral from the University of Pune. I found it no different from its
descriptions which place it next to Bangalore as one of the premier study centers
in India. During my sojourn I have come across a dozen or so Kashmiri students enrolled
in the different courses but the majority is research scholars; the
corresponding number at graduate and post graduate level is considerably low. There
is not one cause which explains why Kashmiri students give Pune a cold shoulder
as compared to Bangalore and North India where they are found in large numbers.
The primary reason as Marx points out is the economical base of every society
on which super structures like judiciary, state etc are built. To survive and
sustain when pitted against soaring prices of eatables articles and high rental
charges (if your living outside the campus you have to pay one and half month
rent as brokerage) notwithstanding rent being outside the budget of students
from lower middle class families. But if the student has a fellowship or
scholarship then he need not worry much.
A problem faced frequently by the likes of me and other kashmiri
students in food. The typical spicy Mahrashtrian and South Indian food cooked
in coconut oil tastes bland. To taste North Indian food or Non veg food you
must go out and search. The silver lining in the cloud, however, is an
international environment both inside and outside the campus that helps improve
the communicative skills. Here either you have to learn local language or speak
broken English/Hindi for communication purpose. Marathi is not only the
official language but the language of transaction. It is immensely difficult to
converse as opposed to cities like Mumbai or Nagpur where people converse in Hindi.
One more deterrent is the
tormenting journey from the foot hills of Himalaya to the Deccan plateau – an
approx 2000 kms. The train journey by
the sluggish Jehlum Express is an absolute nightmare as the schedule is thrown
to the winds while the train halts at every God forsaken station. The misery
increases manifold after crossing Punjab as the three day journey spills into
four.
However the darkest hour is followed by the dawn. The student population
ensures a reasonable tolerance to cultural and political diversity. This makes Pune a safe sanctuary for Kashmiri
students. Unlike other cities, students usually don’t suffer harassment and
suspicion on the pretext of security concerns. The shady vast campus of varsity
and a significant presence of international students especially from Middle
East ensure a platform for interaction and exchange of ideas that is not
possible at home.
The funny thing however is that Kashmiris are often mistaken for Arabs
or Irani because of our similar
religion skin and color. Often I yearn to remark: Yes we are foreigners without
passports! One promised day with the grace of Almighty the desires shall find fulfillment.
But whenever any news related to any untoward incident happens at home in which
innocent civilians are killed in cold blood make us gloomy and sad. Whenever
asked about my identity with a heavy heart I instantly associate myself with a
region where violence, suppression and constant subjugation have submerged
every part and corner into perennial mourning and lamentations. There seems to
be no end to the cycle of innocent killings till the aspirations of people are not
fulfilled.
Often during discussions the media fed prejudices and myths about Kashmir
come to fore. You try and set the record straight only to encounter either
disbelief or plain denial. Both leave you fuming as you struggle to remove the
layers of falsity that cloak the truth. As such I have never faced any well
defined hostile behavior on account of my ethnicity like a friend of ours had
to face. Annoyed at persistent reminders of his ‘terrorist status’, he tried to
vent his anger on a paper tri colour embedded on the wall. The ensuing
hullabaloo and his prolonged social ostracization sent shivers down my spine.
At such moments you wonder how long shall home suffer the reign of tyranny.
However I am optimistic, to quote Faiz:
Lambi hai gham ki raat
Magar meray dil raat hi tau hai
The night braided by sorrow
Indeed stretches out to an eternity
Yet madcap heart! Take solace
Soon dawn shall be ushered in all its finery.
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