"But Sir, this is not what I meant. I knew about this a long time ago", said my one female friend to the other in a state of animated banter. Now, this "Sir" reference caused me to go in a state of shock. How on earth could she refer to the other maiden as "Sir" ? I quickly ran a mental check and a dictionary one as well. Yep, a female in any form should be a 'Madam'. I was relieved.
However, the incident left its mark.It left me introspecting whether all the gold old days of the "Madam" are dead or Indian women's new found feminism finally evolved imitating a man's world in practice and speech.Rubbish! Ah, but such is the nature of the human mind. It removes the specifics and deals with the obsoletes. There was no escaping this chain of thoughts.
Much like many things in India, English is a gift of the British Raj and its salutations have often been used (most of the time abused) by ordinary Indians in their haste to identify themselves different from the crowd. Now, not only is the "Sir" an honorary reference to a man but also an honor to be prefixed before your name when the British Govt. knighted you. You see there is so much pride attached when someone calls you Sir Alec or Sir Ian. One of my favorite British TV series "Yes Minister", made delicate use to this reference often in a very hilarious way.
However, coming back to the Indian scene, we are calling every Tom, Dick and Harry a "Sir". My colleague often ends up getting called a Sir and so do I and so does the bus conductor in a local bus."Sir, a ticket to Shanthi Nagar" I chime every time to get my ticket. My conductor bursts into that ego satisfying smile which I cannot explain in words! However, I get my ticket and merry I go. But then Mumbai is a city where you see a certain salutation change. The "Sir" gets replaced by a "Boss". So, everybody is a "Boss" and well a lady saying to another lady as "Boss" isn't much to write about either. Smart Mumbaites !
Pune is a city where I found there was no salutation needed. As a matter of fact, it will be an affront to a Puneite to be referred as a "Sir". He would wash it off with the same disgust you flush your toilet. No need of any salutations, we understand your game is the nature. Talk straight.Sigh! Down south are the jovial guys whose dictionary of English term probably deserves another blog ! I will do justice to that some day. Until then, thank you for reading my mumblings "Sir"! Wait..did I go wrong somewhere ;)
However, the incident left its mark.It left me introspecting whether all the gold old days of the "Madam" are dead or Indian women's new found feminism finally evolved imitating a man's world in practice and speech.Rubbish! Ah, but such is the nature of the human mind. It removes the specifics and deals with the obsoletes. There was no escaping this chain of thoughts.
Much like many things in India, English is a gift of the British Raj and its salutations have often been used (most of the time abused) by ordinary Indians in their haste to identify themselves different from the crowd. Now, not only is the "Sir" an honorary reference to a man but also an honor to be prefixed before your name when the British Govt. knighted you. You see there is so much pride attached when someone calls you Sir Alec or Sir Ian. One of my favorite British TV series "Yes Minister", made delicate use to this reference often in a very hilarious way.
However, coming back to the Indian scene, we are calling every Tom, Dick and Harry a "Sir". My colleague often ends up getting called a Sir and so do I and so does the bus conductor in a local bus."Sir, a ticket to Shanthi Nagar" I chime every time to get my ticket. My conductor bursts into that ego satisfying smile which I cannot explain in words! However, I get my ticket and merry I go. But then Mumbai is a city where you see a certain salutation change. The "Sir" gets replaced by a "Boss". So, everybody is a "Boss" and well a lady saying to another lady as "Boss" isn't much to write about either. Smart Mumbaites !
Pune is a city where I found there was no salutation needed. As a matter of fact, it will be an affront to a Puneite to be referred as a "Sir". He would wash it off with the same disgust you flush your toilet. No need of any salutations, we understand your game is the nature. Talk straight.Sigh! Down south are the jovial guys whose dictionary of English term probably deserves another blog ! I will do justice to that some day. Until then, thank you for reading my mumblings "Sir"! Wait..did I go wrong somewhere ;)
