Smallville

I have been a small towner probably most of my life. I had my entire schooling in Port Blair, a town with a population of about 1.5 lakh. I recieved my undergrad education at REC Silchar. Silchar is a small, laid-back town in lower Assam. I sometimes start wondering about the influence my small town background has on my personality and how it has moulded me into the person I am today. Probably the single most important lesson a small town background teaches you is respect for what you have and that brings in you the drive to go for things you feel you have been deprived of all your life. During my school days in Port Blair, I had this irresistible urge to read books. I first started reading all the fiction that my school library could offer. Once I was done with my school library books, I moved on to probably the largest repository of books in Port Blair, the state library. After I had finished with all titles by my favorite authors there, all I could do was read them again and again. Port Blair was a place where one could not buy books even if he wanted to. There was no bookshop where one could go and buy books. This probably made me realise that books are a luxury in many parts of India and when one can lay hands on some, its prudent to make the best of them. In my opinion a small town background teaches you tolerance of other people and customs. I know this sounds contrary to logic. After all a cosmopolitan megacity would be an ideal place to learn tolerance, with people from all communities and cultures etching to make a living. But what I felt was that big cities teach you to neglect rather than tolerate. People are so hurried that they gloss over any anomaly that they encounter. In small towns the interaction with people from other backgrounds is more personal. It takes the form of family visits and marriage ceremonies. I attribute the tolerance in my persona to my small town background.