When I was in Uni, we were referred to as the Southerners. There was even an acronym for it. MTK – people from Madurai, Thirunelveli and Kanyakumari districts of Tamil Nadu. Although M-ians, T-ians and K-ians had distinctively very different and very strong accents, MTK-ians had something in common – naivety, simplicity, and respect for others. We referred everyone in singular-forms, any stranger would be a brother, sister, aunt, uncle, grandma, and grandpa. It was the bus conductor that will give the first glimpse of these characteristics, as that was the vehicle that transported one back to the world we left and missed. Literally and metaphorically. Whenever I went back home on holidays, the first question on the bus to Kombai would be whose granddaughter are you – only this time it would be about the actual relatives, not the strangers. If it was not by the bus conductor, it would be a passenger on the bus.
It took some time to learn that the city Coimbatore and the district of Coimbatore had the same things in different wrapping. The bus conductor would address everyone in plural form, the respect was overwhelmingly in your face and even intimidating and informing a southerner how inferiorly we referred to people in singular forms. All strangers were referred in some form of a relative too, but slightly differently. They too carried simplicity and naivety once we got to know them. It was the bus conductor that carried the characteristics that first let us into their world.
Chennai bus conductors used very disrespectful language but the trust in the passengers and how they paid by passing the money through the crowded buses was quite a spectacle to watch.
When I first came to the UK, I was looking for the conductor of the bus. The teleporter into the world of this world. It took me some time to understand it was the driver himself. I watched the public thanking him and it gave me relief. When I went back home on holiday, it was difficult to speak to the Chennai bus conductors/drivers - it was the crowd or no-time. Madurai ones gave plenty of time, but when looked at them, I could only muster up a smile which was acknowledged to my contentment.
Here is a blog-post I wrote some time ago that captures some of the above and there is a bus conductor in 👇 story
