No, that’s not a typo. It’s the name of a shop that I saw somewhere
between Roorkee and Muzaffarnagar during my recent bus ride from
Dehradun to Delhi. I have been doing bus rides on this sector since my
childhood. And the quaint signage made me realise how the Indian
countryside had changed and yet remained the same. Below is my
observation with a few photographs. I was sitting on the front seat so
had a good view but was not as lucky with the photographs.
The travellers:
Since I was travelling in a Volvo, whose fare was slightly higher than a 3 AC train berth, I was delighted by the mix of my co travellers. There was a young couple back from a honeymoon (the chooda bangles and the mehendi were a dead giveaway). A salesman for a fertiliser company (he was moaning about the poor rainfall on his mobile). Two college students animatedly discussing if Dhoni should retire or not. Two elderly couples who were in touch back at home and at the destination, on a regular basis. A middle aged lady with two ten year olds who were demanding chips or kurkure at every stop and of course the Roadways free loaders, who to my discomfort, were distracting the driver right throughout with not just banter but also sharing videos on their mobiles with him!
I engaged in small conversation with the youngsters and realised they were B. Tech students going to Delhi for some job interviews. Both were clear that job was a short term option. As they wanted to work for two years, save some money and do an MBA. But that’s a different story for some other day.
Thanks to the non existence of mobile etiquette, I had a decent pen picture of at least the first 4-5 rows of passengers!
What had not changed, of course, were the constant unscheduled stops to pick up and drop passengers along the route. Including waving off those who could not afford the Volvo with an unusual decency and warmth (mai, peeche wali bus lele, who tez pahunchaygee; yaar, aage se booking hain). No mention of affordability. I asked the conductor about this and he smiled and said, sahib unko thens nahin pahunchani chaihiye (sir, we should not hurt them). Maybe I am generalising, but the small town humane approach was gladdening.
Food
Bus journeys thirty years ago would mean carrying your own food or indulging in roadside dhabas with maa ki daal and tandoori rotis. Not to forget the “Mooli, Kheera, kakdi” sellers with their unique blacksalt, chilli masala concoction. Since this was winter time, the kakdi and kheera were not to be seen but the spicy dalmoth with onion, lime and chilli warmed one up, just like good old days! What amazed me was the the whole business contraption of the vendor. He had a wicker basket not more than 1foot in diameter with neat compartments for each ingredients, served on old newspapers with thicker GSM paper spoons!
The whole route was also dotted with the chat thelewalas. The only difference was the thelas were branded with bright colours. As were the multi-coloured dhabas. But the dhabas had interesting segmentation. Veg dhabas, vaishnovi dhabas, dhabas with Marwari food, Jain dhabas without onion and garlic…..Talk of choice by community!
And the highway was dotted with men waving colourful clothes outside the dhabas, trying to woo you inside. A uniquely Indian sight.
And then there were the ubiquitous food courts…here also the distinction at least between veg and non veg stood out. The Uttarakhand Transport buses stopped at Bikano food court which offered only veg fare. And the veg fare was not limited to just north Indian or south Indian specialities, but it had a corn stall offering 8 varieties, gelato icecream stall, stall selling different types of pure jaggery, jalebi made in pure ghee…..
The UP and Delhi buses stopped at food courts with McDonalds, Dominos, KFC, Chappan Bhog etc. Intrigued as to why did Uttarakhand buses stopped at a veg food court, I was explained the concept of positioning. Uttarakhand is Dev Bhoomi…the land of the char dhams, Haridwar….how could the buses stop at a food court with non veg food? As an aside do you know that Haridwar is a totally meat free city?
What has changed big times is the loos. The loos at the foodcourts are clean, hygienic and useable. A far cry from the days of doing it on the roadside.
Transport
What has never ceased to amaze me is the constant jugaad that is available in the countryside for transportation purposes. The way the ubiquitous tractor is converted into a truck or an overloaded van or a people’s carrier is not funny. And there are also the weather options. Poles are attached at the ends which in monsoon and summer take the load of a tarpaulin and in the winters it is removed to provide the warmth of the sun. Benches are fixed to allow sitting comfort.
Then comes the scooter. I mean just the engine. It becomes a motorised cart or even a taxi.
And if you think that the days of bullocks carts and horse carts is over, just travel on the Muzaffarnagar by pass road. The bulk of sugarcane which is transported to the sugar factories is carried by bullock carts and so are the molasses back from the factory. At Modinagar, outside the sugar mill, bullock lanes in a u shaped formation moved at a snail’s place for weighing, often contributing to the jam on the highway.
Of course the e-rickshaws have also made their presence felt on the highways! At top speed of 30 kmph!
These co exist with the truck by lays which are mostly full of the big car or motorcycle transporters. Yes, India has progressed.
I was also thrilled to see some Reliance petrol pumps, operational again. Am no fan of the company but they do give some serious competition to the HPs and BPs and IOCs. Specially in the toilet sector!
The great Indian outdoors
If one thing has changed, and changed drastically is the outdoors. Right throughout the trip the Indian outdoor reared its ugly head. I call it ugly as there seems to be no regulation or control on the outdoor sights. While earlier you had wall paintings galore, now the horizon is choc-a- bloc with outdoor signages.
But it was heartening to see proliferation of local brands. There was Ultratech cement jostling for space with Muzzamil cement. Tata Steel proving its strength next to Rana Steel. Padmapraksh Jewellers with a local beauty, face to face with Aishwarya Rai pitching for Kalyan Jewellers. Aksahy Kumar pitching for Eveready LED bulbs shining bright next to Anandi of Balika Vadhu fame for Summercool LED bulbs. Taaza tea vs Pataka tea. Kuber Pan masala vs Kuber incense vs Kuber spices. It was all happening at the great indian outdoors.
And while we have debated the success of Patanjali, it was one outdoor that captured the mood of the country “Sabko karenge suit, Patanjali ke do ghoont” (two sips of Patanjali will suit all)
Wall paintings had always fascinated me. Specially the mysterious “Rishte hi Rishte” or the “Gupt rog” types. And these too had evolved. “Shukranu ki kami” (low sperm count) shouted one to “rishton mein tazgi”(freshness in relationships) said the other. The land of Kamasutra had kept up with the times.
Education institutes
This is a totally new phenomena. But it’s a phenomena that has taken the countryside by storm. On the outskirt of every city we passed, Roorkee, Muzaffarnagar, Merrut, a plethora of educational institutes have sprung up. Engineering colleges, pharmacy, management, dental, hotel education and even schools. I reckon I saw at least 40 of the graduate and post graduate institutes. And around them ancilliaries have sprung up. Hostels, hotels, food joints, small shops….
But what fascinated me was the schools. So while I saw two Delhi Public School campus within 15 kms of each other, I saw names that I was not sure could be pronounced in the hinterland. Springdales, St. Benedict, Rushmore…..
Now beat this. St. Kabeer. How would you pronounce it? Saint Kabeer or Sant Kabeer?
Welcome to Incredibel India!
The travellers:
Since I was travelling in a Volvo, whose fare was slightly higher than a 3 AC train berth, I was delighted by the mix of my co travellers. There was a young couple back from a honeymoon (the chooda bangles and the mehendi were a dead giveaway). A salesman for a fertiliser company (he was moaning about the poor rainfall on his mobile). Two college students animatedly discussing if Dhoni should retire or not. Two elderly couples who were in touch back at home and at the destination, on a regular basis. A middle aged lady with two ten year olds who were demanding chips or kurkure at every stop and of course the Roadways free loaders, who to my discomfort, were distracting the driver right throughout with not just banter but also sharing videos on their mobiles with him!
I engaged in small conversation with the youngsters and realised they were B. Tech students going to Delhi for some job interviews. Both were clear that job was a short term option. As they wanted to work for two years, save some money and do an MBA. But that’s a different story for some other day.
Thanks to the non existence of mobile etiquette, I had a decent pen picture of at least the first 4-5 rows of passengers!
What had not changed, of course, were the constant unscheduled stops to pick up and drop passengers along the route. Including waving off those who could not afford the Volvo with an unusual decency and warmth (mai, peeche wali bus lele, who tez pahunchaygee; yaar, aage se booking hain). No mention of affordability. I asked the conductor about this and he smiled and said, sahib unko thens nahin pahunchani chaihiye (sir, we should not hurt them). Maybe I am generalising, but the small town humane approach was gladdening.
Food
Bus journeys thirty years ago would mean carrying your own food or indulging in roadside dhabas with maa ki daal and tandoori rotis. Not to forget the “Mooli, Kheera, kakdi” sellers with their unique blacksalt, chilli masala concoction. Since this was winter time, the kakdi and kheera were not to be seen but the spicy dalmoth with onion, lime and chilli warmed one up, just like good old days! What amazed me was the the whole business contraption of the vendor. He had a wicker basket not more than 1foot in diameter with neat compartments for each ingredients, served on old newspapers with thicker GSM paper spoons!
The whole route was also dotted with the chat thelewalas. The only difference was the thelas were branded with bright colours. As were the multi-coloured dhabas. But the dhabas had interesting segmentation. Veg dhabas, vaishnovi dhabas, dhabas with Marwari food, Jain dhabas without onion and garlic…..Talk of choice by community!
And the highway was dotted with men waving colourful clothes outside the dhabas, trying to woo you inside. A uniquely Indian sight.
And then there were the ubiquitous food courts…here also the distinction at least between veg and non veg stood out. The Uttarakhand Transport buses stopped at Bikano food court which offered only veg fare. And the veg fare was not limited to just north Indian or south Indian specialities, but it had a corn stall offering 8 varieties, gelato icecream stall, stall selling different types of pure jaggery, jalebi made in pure ghee…..
The UP and Delhi buses stopped at food courts with McDonalds, Dominos, KFC, Chappan Bhog etc. Intrigued as to why did Uttarakhand buses stopped at a veg food court, I was explained the concept of positioning. Uttarakhand is Dev Bhoomi…the land of the char dhams, Haridwar….how could the buses stop at a food court with non veg food? As an aside do you know that Haridwar is a totally meat free city?
What has changed big times is the loos. The loos at the foodcourts are clean, hygienic and useable. A far cry from the days of doing it on the roadside.
Transport
What has never ceased to amaze me is the constant jugaad that is available in the countryside for transportation purposes. The way the ubiquitous tractor is converted into a truck or an overloaded van or a people’s carrier is not funny. And there are also the weather options. Poles are attached at the ends which in monsoon and summer take the load of a tarpaulin and in the winters it is removed to provide the warmth of the sun. Benches are fixed to allow sitting comfort.
Then comes the scooter. I mean just the engine. It becomes a motorised cart or even a taxi.
And if you think that the days of bullocks carts and horse carts is over, just travel on the Muzaffarnagar by pass road. The bulk of sugarcane which is transported to the sugar factories is carried by bullock carts and so are the molasses back from the factory. At Modinagar, outside the sugar mill, bullock lanes in a u shaped formation moved at a snail’s place for weighing, often contributing to the jam on the highway.
Of course the e-rickshaws have also made their presence felt on the highways! At top speed of 30 kmph!
These co exist with the truck by lays which are mostly full of the big car or motorcycle transporters. Yes, India has progressed.
I was also thrilled to see some Reliance petrol pumps, operational again. Am no fan of the company but they do give some serious competition to the HPs and BPs and IOCs. Specially in the toilet sector!
The great Indian outdoors
If one thing has changed, and changed drastically is the outdoors. Right throughout the trip the Indian outdoor reared its ugly head. I call it ugly as there seems to be no regulation or control on the outdoor sights. While earlier you had wall paintings galore, now the horizon is choc-a- bloc with outdoor signages.
But it was heartening to see proliferation of local brands. There was Ultratech cement jostling for space with Muzzamil cement. Tata Steel proving its strength next to Rana Steel. Padmapraksh Jewellers with a local beauty, face to face with Aishwarya Rai pitching for Kalyan Jewellers. Aksahy Kumar pitching for Eveready LED bulbs shining bright next to Anandi of Balika Vadhu fame for Summercool LED bulbs. Taaza tea vs Pataka tea. Kuber Pan masala vs Kuber incense vs Kuber spices. It was all happening at the great indian outdoors.
And while we have debated the success of Patanjali, it was one outdoor that captured the mood of the country “Sabko karenge suit, Patanjali ke do ghoont” (two sips of Patanjali will suit all)
Wall paintings had always fascinated me. Specially the mysterious “Rishte hi Rishte” or the “Gupt rog” types. And these too had evolved. “Shukranu ki kami” (low sperm count) shouted one to “rishton mein tazgi”(freshness in relationships) said the other. The land of Kamasutra had kept up with the times.
Education institutes
This is a totally new phenomena. But it’s a phenomena that has taken the countryside by storm. On the outskirt of every city we passed, Roorkee, Muzaffarnagar, Merrut, a plethora of educational institutes have sprung up. Engineering colleges, pharmacy, management, dental, hotel education and even schools. I reckon I saw at least 40 of the graduate and post graduate institutes. And around them ancilliaries have sprung up. Hostels, hotels, food joints, small shops….
But what fascinated me was the schools. So while I saw two Delhi Public School campus within 15 kms of each other, I saw names that I was not sure could be pronounced in the hinterland. Springdales, St. Benedict, Rushmore…..
Now beat this. St. Kabeer. How would you pronounce it? Saint Kabeer or Sant Kabeer?
Welcome to Incredibel India!
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