My Space: That's the way we are: It's not about pride

Kajal Oja Vaidya A tranquil lake in Scotland is shadowed by tall trees. Catching the reflection of the brown sky, the lake water is a little more brown and clear enough to see the bottom. A person is sitting there quietly watching the vibrations, enjoying the moving shadows of the trees, the clouds in the sky and the colors of the setting evening just as a few people arrive in a carriage. Seven people get off and the 'hon-ha' begins. Starting with loud 'Katnu fine hai nahi!' in Gujarati, to comments like 'Ae loko salao… sava chokhkhu bahu rahe…', loudly gazing at the lake and surrounding areas to relatives in India over video calls, while snapping photos with each other. Unnecessary and unnecessary comments make the atmosphere sour. That peace, beauty and almost meditative nature is disturbed. A serious, sensitive scene of the film is going on. The theater is almost full. Just at the same time a mobile rings, 'Oh! Take it, take it… no no, this is the time to take…' A spectator from the front tries to silence him by saying 'shhhh…' but Bhai Ultana, talking loudly on his mobile phone, threatens him, ' Why? Have you bought a ticket alone? If that's the case, to book the theater, understand?' The other six-seven people sitting with him laugh out loud instead of being embarrassed at this. A kitty party is going on in a restaurant. 12-14 women are having a loud family talk. Starting from daughter-in-law's problem, neighbor's daughter, Derani-Jethani and everyone's gossip including film stars. When one of the clients sitting in the restaurant sends a slow-talking message to Stewart with a request, one of the sisters says, 'Hameri kitty party chal rahi hai. Bateen karne ke liye to millate hain, baat nahi karenge where? Unko problem ho to dusari jaga jane ko bolo…' This is us, Gujarati! There is no country in the world where a Gujarati has not gone and established his own little empire! Gujarat and Gujarati have reached everywhere. Starting from Dhokla, Khaman, Patra, Thepalan, Khakra, Garba and history, Bollywood stars like Gandhiji, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Sardar Chandulal Shah, Vijay Bhatt, Nanalal Bhatt, the founder of the first cotton mill, cricketers like Salim Durrani and Brijesh Patel.. The list becomes very long – there are two Gujaratis in the list of ten rich people, our Prime Minister is a Gujarati, it means that Gujarati people have conquered the world. Whether it is the hotel-motel industry of America or the economy of Britain and European countries, trading of pharmaceuticals and supplies in the Middle East or any other business, once a Gujarati puts his hand in it, making money is a Gujarati's skill and passion. According to the 2011 census, Gujarati is the sixth most spoken language in India in terms of number of speakers. 5.56 crore people speak Gujarati, which is about 4.5 percent of India's population. The number of Gujaratis among the tourists who donate the most in the world, perform the most expensive weddings and travel the world in business class is so eye-opening! But, the question is that even after all these successes, why do we not have the civility to behave in public? We have earned the money, but we may not have learned the class that should come with it. We have traveled the world, but we may have forgotten to learn the good things from the world – how to behave in public, how to use a public toilet, how to use government wealth and how to do and do one's work honestly without corruption. We are 'Deshi' and to remain so… is a mindset that shames everyone because of a handful of people. The sad thing is that not every rich man is noble, not every rich man has civility, money does not automatically bring sophistication or knowledge of public behavior…Gujaratis will understand this immediately. Talking loudly, breaking rules, making your presence known, engaging in attention-seeking behavior-obsessing or defiantly putting the other person down, humiliating them-in a foolish attempt to establish your own victory… and all this. At the very least, flaunting one's money with the arrogance that whatever one is doing is right… is this Gujaratiness? We were not like this, the change in Gujarati in the last 25 years is amazing. It is also heart-wrenching and painful if you ask the truth. There is peace in Gujarat, prosperity and happiness in everyday life – but, with changing generations, the reputation of Gujaratis is becoming a global laughing stock due to the changing mentality here. All may not be like that, nor are they… But, once in a while every Gujarati should check his behavior. If it seems that their public behavior is ostentatious, arrogant, display of money and unnecessary attention-seeking activity, then an attempt should be made to change and improve it. It is the responsibility of every Gujarati to preserve the pride of being a Gujarati.

Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).