The big city lessons!

When a Mumbai tabloid did a story on how only 12 per cent of the city’s total number water hydras are functional I finally had one long standing questions answers. I got to know what these red cylindrical objects, that looked like miniature post boxes but were not, actually were! Fire hydrants.

Makes you laugh? I am sure it does if you are from a metro. From a smaller city or town... chances would be much lesser. Nevertheless, I agree it did make a good Monday morning laugh for me. At 29, I finally discovered the purpose of something that has so often puzzled me...

At some level I assume it is also rather shameful for a journalist to have not known. But within the journalist also happens to be a guy from - which could be named as one of the most ill planned cities in the country – Guwahati. My first memories of a fire hydrants - how proud I am now of being able to put a name to it! – are probably from the movies. You see, most of my first memories, except my friends are family, seem to be from movies. So I saw Shah Rukh Khan kicking it off to dance in the water that splashed out in Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani, I also Priyanshu Chatterjee’s Jeep knocking it off after running over Rakesh Bapat in Tum Bin...  from my filmy observations what I was sure is that these cylinders have water pipes connected. Probably municipality properties related to water supply.  But what always baffled me was, why would they have such hoses in spaces such as footpaths; even worse in places where the notorious water thieves could vandalise them.  Answers were hard to come by there were no water hydras in Guwahati – none that I am aware of. So I could never ask anyone either.

And then sometimes you are too ashamed to be able to admit that you don’t know about something. Especially once you are surrounded by people who have all means of showing you how poor your IQ is... even if the knowledge of fire hydrants does not add up much on your IQ!

So I suppose I have much to thank to the media, a part of which I am today. Though I crib about standing outside the hospital to report on updates on Rajesh Khanna’s health... probably for many that update would matter. Just like the update on fire hydrants. Many who love and adore the star, and want to know how he is...

Also at the same time I really cannot be saying that being brought up in a small city with terrible infrastructure is a bane. The small city upbringing made growing older in a bigger city so much more fun... at least on this occasion it made for a Monday morning laugh!