Identity - a Fiction

Some training in Bangalore took me to the city I had left more than a year ago. And it was a bit nostalgic to be back and meet some old friends. I had also decided to go to Mysore on week end to meet friends there.
As I crashed on the bed of the guest house room after an exhausting Thursday, the TV told me that there was a Karnataka Bandh the next day. Some so called Patriotic Kannadigas wanted to protect their language and culture from being westernized and being lost so they had decided to help the state and the country incur loses of crores of rupees the next day.
Just then Ajit called from Mysore.
“Tomorrow has been declared a holiday. Why don’t you come to Mysore tomorrow only”
“Is it?? I didn’t get any mail for this?”
“Oh! May be because you are not in the Bangalore users List”
“Ya! May be. Ok then I will come tomorrow only.”
“But try not to come by Volvo. There may be some trouble”
“Ok. I will catch the train – 11:15 one!”
“Fine then. See you tomorrow. By the way your favourite Sholay is coming on Max”
“Oh.. is it?? Hhahaha… have to see it..”
I put on Sholay where a demanding Gabbar Singh was saying, “yeh Haath mujhko de de Thakur”.
It is a serious scene of the movie and how it is more fun for us now, I amused as Mr. Gabbar brought down the two swords with an evil shriek. Is it so easy to cut off the arms of a person, I thought and moved on to Star Sports where the prolix Navjot Sidhu was into his normal fight with words.
I started a bit early for station next morning with buffer for any bandh induced delay. But there was none. The usual Bustling Bangalore Station looked like a lonely desert, due to the bandh. It took me hardly 10 minutes to get the ticket and reach platform 6. I had come quite early and even the train had not yet docked at the platform. So I sat down on the bench, took out my CD player and got immersed in the mellifluous voice of Hariharan.
I was pulled out of the spell by a rough, bulky man. From his dark face and thick growth of hair on his face, it seemed like he had just come out of jail. He spoke something in Kannad.
“Kannad.. Illa”, I replied.
“Listening.. What??”, he tried his hand at English.
“Damn!! Does he want me to share headphones with him”, I thought uneasily.
“Songs”, I replied.
“Hindi???”, he again asked.
I nodded in affirmation.
Then suddenly he started speaking angrily and quickly in Kannad.
“No understand….”, I tried to explain.
“Only Kannada songs”, he said pointing to the CD player. “No Hindi”
“what the hell!!”, I was frustrated.
Then out of no where he snatched the CD player and threw it. I was trembling with anger. Finding nothing to hit him with, I pushed him hard.
In return, I saw his arm in full swing and a perfectly timed slap landing on my face with a elegant follow through. I felt my face heat up and go red like a cherry.
Then suddenly I woke up. Sun’s rays were falling on my face. The CD had played out and the loudspeakers on the platform were playing some Kannad Song.
“Oh Shit! That was a dream”. I was perspiring.
Some people had arrived at the platform now but the train was still not there.
Then what I saw resulted in my heart missing a beat.
I saw that same bulky, ugly man whom I had seen in my dream walking towards me in slow heavy steps.
“Oh!”, my mind suddenly realized “I must have seen the person when I came here. And the dreaded image stuck”
But the man seemed to be coming straight to me. He indeed was. As he came closer I could smell that he was drunk. He came and said something in Kannad. I was reliving my nightmare.
“No.. kannad”, I replied hesitatingly.
“why.. you here…”, he asked.
“Going to Mysore”
“You from delhi??”
“ya..ya.. delhi..”
Then suddenly he burst out.
“why you northies come here??”
“this is our state… you spoiling our state…”
Then some abuses in Kannad.
“Go back to your state….. you don’t know Kannad… why you here.. Run away.. get lost”, he went on and on.

My shock and fear was being converted to a rage.
“What get lost…. Haan….What state ”, I finally replied simmering.
“Is this not India?? We come here to work far from home… and what get lost…”
“Get Lostttttt!!!”, he shouted with spit falling all around.
“Just shut up.. piyaakad saala… you get lost”. I shouted along with some Punjabi abuses.
He went off walking quickly from where he had come.
“What idiot”, I thought sitting down. “It is due to these kind of foolish people that some demagogues are able to divide people into hindus and muslims… kannad and non kannad.. northies and southies… How can any one even think this way…Who fills this kind of crap in the minds of people… Why is that people are finding their identity as a member of a state rather than a nation.. infact in today’s flat world it is more of member of world rather than nation also.. On one hand we talk of globalization and boundaries between countries dissolving… and then you see such kind of people intent to building back the walls…I will surely write a blog on this.”
As I was going through the turmoil, I heard a loud cry. Some 5 – 6 people armed with chains, rods and swords were running in my direction. The bulky gunda was leading the pack.
“Is this really happening???”, I was dumbfounded and frozen.
By the time I realized, they were on me.
Shouting obscenities in Kannad, they hit me with a chain on the back. A rod landed on my chest leaving me gaping for air. Then the bulky man said something to his fellows. And 2 of them caught my hands, stretched them and held them tightly there.
The bulky moved in with 2 swords in his hands, looking more menacing than even Gabbar Singh. “Oh Shit.. I was thinking about this last night only. And now it is happening to me.”
Bulky was saying. “You work with these hands in my state.. I will cut them off”
Then all of a sudden, my mobile on the bedside rang and I woke up trembling.