An article about the various cultures and populations that interact in the city
Mangalore is a place where people of all states and cities come together to educate themselves, to work and to settle with their families. When one stays in the city, he is fortunate enough to have interactions with people from everywhere around the country, be it a person from the north east of India, from Kerala, from Goa, from Bangalore, from north India or from one of the Arab Nations. One can have easy exposure to different cultures, languages and point of views.
North Eastern Crowd
When one talks to a person from one of the eight states of northeast India and asks them why they decided to move to a place as far from home as Mangalore, they say they came because of the education provided by the city. They make friends, many of whom are south indians and over time, some of them master south Indian languages with ease. They learn to live on their own and many have already mastered cooking from their hometown. So even if they do not enjoy the food served by the city, they are sure to make their friends try and love the cuisine of their hometown. Since the travel back home is too time consuming, (more than 3000 kms for many) they can only return home once or twice a year unlike the day scholars or those whose homes are in closer states.
The Malayalis
There is only a 22 kilometres distance between Kerala border and Mangalore, thus it is inevitable that the interaction between the two states is avoided. The district of Kasargod interacts with Mangalore for education, shopping and healthcare and Mangalore also depends on Kerala to enhance its economy. When a Malayalee joins college in Mangalore and interacts with those from their own state, they realise the cultural and linguistic differences that they never knew existed. Since there is a significant crowd from God’s own county, many people in Mangalore are fluent in Malayalam. Mangalore even has many restaurants that are run by malayalees and serve authentic Kerala food which are enjoyed by Keralites and outsiders alike.
The NRIs
Many have returned back to their homelands from Arab countries like Kuwait, Dubai and Saudi Arabia. They are welcomed with open arms and treated with utmost hospitality. They find many who belonged to that country they called home and easily find common grounds. Thus they mingle with their crowd before they mingle with others. Their new found freedom in a city like Mangalore after being away from their country for so long is cherished by them and soon enough, they start calling this city their home. They believe that Mangalore is a place with the right amount of familiar crowd of NRIs as well as the new crowd that they aren’t used to. Thereby, making them more than eager to be introduced to the latter. They can easily relate to the many people who have left behind their hometowns and in turn comfort and support each other, thus creating a sense of brotherhood
The natives
The natives of Mangalore are polyglots from a very young age. They speak in languages like Kannada, Tulu, Hindi, Konkani, Malayalam, Hindi and English with great ease. As they speak to more people, they learn to accept more people and ideologies. Many who were away from the city owing to work, education or other reasons, move back home yearning for the comfort it provides.
In conclusion
Mangalore being famous for the wide variety of cuisines it serves, creates a sense of balance to its populace. By providing a taste of traditional delicacies, continental dishes and those dishes that are state specific. Mangalore does its best at making the people feel comfortable wherever they are from.
Since quality education is a prominent reason why people move to Mangalore, colleges, schools and hostels are places of interaction for a wide variety of people. They all sit in the same bench and though there will be an initial struggle to mingle or start a conversation, over a time period of a few months, curiosity turns to friendship and years change this into love. Students see past their differences in preference of clothes, colour or food and learn that it’s a blessing to have settled in a place like Mangalore where they had the chance to meet these people. As months fly by, they even understand a few words their friends say in their mother tongue. In the end, all we need is people who can understand and love regardless of the differences.
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