The Chaibasa Diaries!

I was born and brought up in this town and it is here that I am spending my time now. It has been a while since I last spent so much of my time here and things are really different. I have spent last 8 years of my life away from this town, and I get more respect than love these days when I come back. I am seen as ‘worldly wise’ but the affection that this town has for my peers is not there for me. As if I lost my innocence by studying and working outside.
On the bright side we have this branch of ICICI bank coming up. Now that will put this small, almost forgotten town on the banking map atleast! So instead of people queuing up in front of tellers, they would line up in front of the ATM. Too bad for the small talks that happened in the long queues - the cribbing on the inefficiency of the teller, on the fact that female tellers never come on time, on the hot and humid bank interior, on the political system, will pave way to impatience with another customer. The system will no longer will be the focal point of verbal brickbats but another peer would have to tolerate the verbal assault for his inability to use the technology! And I must add, people here have mastered the art of assaulting verbally. No, it is not Delhi-type verbal rape nor Calcutta-type verbal indecency, but a light hearted banter that is embarrassing and tickling at the same time! One doesn't really know whether to laugh or blush!
Sample this post lunch conversation between a teller and a customer at the bank:
Customer: “Lagta hai bhabhi ne aaj khana bahut achcha banaya tha tiffin mein”.
Teller: “Aap ko kaise pata?”
Customer: “Daba ke khaane ke baad aapke haath dheere chal rahe hain isiliye poochha.”

So the social fabric will be distorted. Someday, sociologists will study the impact of ATM machines on society.

We have municipal elections coming up! And the verbiage has achieved new heights! I was told that I belong to “Chaibasa ki yuva, shikshit, pragatisheel aur vikashsheel peedhi jiska Chaibasa ke prati kartavya hai ke who usse ek achcha ummedvaar chun kar de.” (That I represent the young, educated, progressive generation whose duty it is to elect a suitable candidate for Chaibasa municipality). You won’t believe that it was my barber who said that to me. Nopes, he was not in the preaching mode but he is one of the 155 candidates contesting the elections for 10 wards.
I just wondered where would I go if I need a hair cut next time!

Visiting the barber has some added fun as well. It is not a sophisticated saloon, but a Malgudi Days type place where you sit on a wooden chair, people of my height have the misfortune of having their knees pressed against the front wall, no AC, no magazines to read. You have this one newspaper, of which you might be lucky to get one page if you are waiting. Eight people each will have one page and it would be your bad day if you are stuck with the business news page. There is not much joy in reading about the bullions! The Hindi dailies that we get in this part of the world, make sure that they publish some or the other hot photograph on the gossip page. It sells! If you are really lucky, you will get that page. If you are not, try to find out who has it, and make sure you make the eye contact the moment he is done with that. If you have the front page, you will get to read half the news, because inadvertently, all the news articles on the front page conclude on some other page.
In the time that my barber is busy with my hair, he tells me all that has happened in the town since my last visit. It is almost like doing a system restore. He asks me when I was last in the town and gives me an update after that ‘cut-off’ date. I learn about all the affairs going on, how many and which of the girls ran away from their homes with their boy friends, how many of them are planning to run away, all the family feuds and dowry cases. It is a boring place as there are no page 3 parties happening. Out here, a cow died of electric shock is a page 3 news. When the best selling newspaper in the region is called “Chamakta Aaena” (Shining Mirror) you don’t really have much choice.

There is more to come! The broadband has not yet arrived here and the dial up connection isn’t very exciting here! I am off to have a cup of tea. The time of the day doesn’t really matter! You can have a cup of tea any time here! After all, it is Chai-basa!