The journey from manjeri (a small town in Kerala) to Baroda and the life here in Baroda is teaching me so many things. Last time when I attended an interview, the interviewer asked me a question. What is the difference between Kerala and Gujarat? I said there is a lot of difference. But he said it in simple words. In Kerala there is 80 percent greenery and in Gujarat there is only 40 percent.
Is that the only difference? I will say a big long no for that. I do disagree with his statement. The only thing that is similar between Kerala and Gujarat is that both are ‘Indian states’. The living style, the culture, the mentality of people, developments and there are tons of other differences. All the above said ‘qualities’ there in Kerala and here in Gujarat is like North Pole and South Pole. There is no similarity in any way. People here are much more open minded. Can you ever see a girl riding scooty at midnight on the way back her home? Can you see a 5th grade school kid riding activa to her school with his brother? Can you ever travel in share rickshaws? Can you reach a 100 km in just 75 minutes? Can you see the well paced growth of industries? It will be no if you are from Kerala. You can see a person eating with spoon and fork only in star rated hotels in Kerala, but here it is a usual scene even in roadside food houses. I can say the living standard in Gujarat is low, but the people are unlike keralites who are more, narrow minded and little bit selfish (I am a keralite and I can say I was selfish and I am selfish, in some way or other). Hindi is our national language. Keralites never use Hindi. Most of them use their mother tongue (Malayalam) for communication. You can see lot of people who speak English in Kerala, but not Hindi. The culture seems to be the most different among all these. In Kerala you cannot see devotees dancing for ‘bolbachan’ beats in front of big GANESH idols worshiped in temporary sheds in roadside. However, of course both states have their own uniqueness.
It’s not about Kerala and Gujarat; it’s just about north India and south India. One of the two Delhi girls in our class once told me once that one can walk through the streets of Delhi any time, no one cares or nothing matters. But you can’t do that in Kerala. If a girl is found walking in the streets of Kerala after seven, it’s too much to bear with the dirty, vulnerable and endangered look by the public. Now I know the meaning of her statement. Although people in south India have an upper hand in the field of education and living standard, its low in the field of relationships , trusts and human values. May be all because of this and tons or millions of other untold reasons India is called a “country with unity in diversity”.
