#MetroDiary 22: Ningal veettilethiyo?

“Where have you reached?” And “I have reached...” these are the most common sentences you get to hear in myriad languages and emotions in the metro.

The one in ruffled t-shirt calls anxiously, “KahaN se phone karbu?” And upon hearing the person on the other side, quickly looks around and fixes his gaze on the route map on the door. His concentration is unflinching. This is the same concentration of one who is mugging up details of an otherwise illegible formula to pass the maths exam.

“KahaN pahuNchi tum” asks the one with a whole load of copies in one hand and a very nice handbag in the shoulder. And then laments that she would take at least another 10 minutes to reach the station where the other one already reached!

“Kuthe ahes tu!!” was more like an accusation than a question from the man standing at Rajiv Chowk! He looked visibly upset as I walked past him. Poor chap! Must had been waiting for some time.

The man who boarded from the New Delhi station with a big bundle tried to understand where he was, by looking outside and said, “Naikhe samajh me awat” (I can’t understand). Of course nothing is visible when the train is underground and hence its difficult to say where has one reached unless it reached some station.
And then .. “Ningal veettilethiyo?” Have you reached home? Well! Only some does.

You can hear Punjabi, Telugu (“ma vuru Kalahasti”)English, Odiya, Bengali, Orao, Santhali, Mizo (I saw she was from Mizoram, therefore guessed) among other languages, if you strain your ears. I have often counted as many as 10 languages, including Malayalam and Kashmiri, in one such journey. That was my lucky day I guess! No! I don’t understand Malayalam. I wait for them to say Basics or Physics to confirm. That “sics “ is special to Keralites like aaaaa to Bengalis.. it’s our kaaalchaaar you see!

So here is the deal! If you give her some time, The ladybug 🐞 running in a green sari with a big back pack will be able to ask your whereabouts in all those languages.... but then do you even want the one who endlessly bugs as it is, to do that?