Mumbaichi Porgi in Surati Ishtyle!!!

Till date there have been in-numerous stories of people from smaller cities migrating to bigger metros and the way they have to adjust to the sudden culture clash. But has anyone ever thought that there is a similar culture clash/ shock in a vice-versa scenario... Well, actually it aint similar , it's hilariously worse!!!

Im sure I must have mentioned this before too, but here I go again " Im a hard-core mumbai-ite" The humid air, the sweaty local train's crowd, the traffic jams (even at 2am at night) all are a quintessential part of my life... Atleast, they were till I got transferred to Surat.

I was happy about being able to see a new place, sad about leaving mumbai behind, Anxious because i knew no one in this new city. So, with such mixed emotions, i reached Surat.

Stepping out from Surat station, well, this was the first thing that welcomed me!!!



'RIXA' Stand!!!

You must be wondering " hey, isnt this supposed to be an official government sign board??"... well, of course it is!! do you doubt that??? So if u really doubt that, let me tell you this is just the beginning ;) ;)

A few kilometers from the station, u hit the first flyover and here lay a new learning for me!!!



NO BULLOCK-CARTS ON THE FLYOVER!!!!

I racked my brains for all the road symbols I had learned before my driving test (okay, the truth is I had given just one glance to that sheet on road symbols that my instructor had given me), I am pretty sure this wasnt on that sheet.

My excitement: Wow, this symbol actually exists!!! And even if it does, do bullock-carts actually follow road symbols???or for that matter traffic rules??? Where do they get this training from??? Just wondering!!! :D :D :D

A lot of things changed as I started living in this city.

Hollywood movies suddenly became desi!!
‘The Storm Warriors’ suddenly became ‘ Toofani Mahasangram’
‘Inception’ became ‘Chakravyuh’
And here is the latest addition to the list!!!



'Glocalisation'!! Isnt that wat we marketeers call it?? :D :D :D

It was not only movies. Fashion also got a new name!!!



AND...



WHOEVER S HEARD OF 'Allen Solly' and 'Lee Cooper' ;) ;)

Suratis, as they so lovingly call themselves, have their own way of being trendy!!!



Oops... sorry, TRANDY!!! :D :D :D
No wonder, some Punjus feel very much at home in Surat!!! ;) ;)

Some shopkeepers make themselves very clear in the name of their shop itself!!!



SHOP & GO!!! : U better not crowd here!!! :P :P :P



Brand extensions!!! anyone??!!! :D :D :D

This city sure has it's own sense of Style and Fashion!!! ;) ;) ;)

So long for Fashion... i spotted this food joint with an interesting name too!!!



RAM Bharose!!! So, everytime u eat here, u know whom to blame for any stomach condition!!! " Eat at your Own risk!!!" ;) ;) ;)

With such beautiful (yeah right!!) , awesome (Oh, Really??!!) places for entertaiment, Suratis have their own personal favorite hang-out place. Every Sunday evening you'll see half the city park their bikes/cars here and sit down with their family and friends for a good round of 'Snakes' (the true Gujju style!!)

So what place is this??? Scroll down to see!!!



THE FOOTPATH!!!!
And fyi, this footpath is right outside a garden named 'Lake View Garden'
Amazingly, suratis just love to sit here and eat, with vehicles zooming past them on the road!!! The service lane and the adjoining footpath is the best picnic spot for a sunday evening!!! Call it "Making full use of Public Infrastructure" :D :D :D

Been almost six months here, and i have tried quite a few gujarati delicacies. Everytime i treated myself to tea, coffee, gujarati dal, dhokla etc etc etc... I would ponder over just one doubt...

Do people here get Sugar for FREE???

Adjustment aint easy when the transition is from Mumbai metro to a city like Surat. There are times when I am amazed by the business acumen and times when I cant digest their ignorance to the outside world.

But there was this one time around Diwali when the city said "LIGHTS" and I said " CAMERA!! CLICK!!"