When P told me sometime back that Hyderabad had one of the largest Marwari population, I did not believe him. Call it ignorance, but I thought, Hyderabad? Heck no! What would a Marwari do in a Muslim dominant city?
I was curious, for the Marwari community always fascinated me. You can say I have grown up with Marwaris. From kindergarten to 8th grade,
all my friends were Marwaris. Boys and girls alike. My childhood best friend ofcourse was a Marwari. I really learned how to cook under Priyanka's mom's guidance. Aunty was not only beautiful, resourceful but a great cook. Out of 7, I ate at Priyanka's house on atleast 5 days.You can say I literally lived at Priyanka's house. I think I have always admired the Marwari community, cause everyone was always learning something, doing something. I don't remember a single time when I was at Priyanka's house or R's house or any of my Marwari friend's house and the women were sitting idle, gossiping. They would gossip no doubt, which women don't? but they would all the time be doing something simultaneously. Their terraces will always have papads drying, or bottles of pickles. Their kitchens always bustling with activity and their drawing rooms always full of women making something or men discussing business.
I was always eager to learn and Aunty was happy to have one more student. From learning how to make Guava
sabji (very yummy trust me!), to learning how to make deity clothes and jewelry(
link), to how to use betel nuts to make Rangoli, to the
art of cutting fruits, gardening, painting, needle work, to even the art of storing clothes(trust me it is an art!)...I could go on and on and on. Marwari women are like a box of wonderful learning. Learning under Aunty was literally like pursuing a mini homescience course. And these women pass all this wonderful skills from one generation to another by sharing it within the community. If one aunty knows something different, all other women will send their daughters to her to learn. While the boys are sent to work under other successful men from the community, to learn how to do run a business, women are sent to learn how to run a house. It's like an apprenticeship. They have such strong communities, no one is one single family. And everyone shares knowledge freely within the community.
Coming back to the point, I actually should not have been surprised. Marwaris, I found out have a strong presence in Hyderabad and Kolkata, two cities I never thought possible. You have to go back to understand why. Back to pre-independence days when Bombay and Calcutta were two famous trading ports. When Hyderabad had rich Nizams who needed these money-lending Marwari bankers. You have to understand one thing about Marwari's, where there is trade and an opportunity to make money, you'll find a Marwari there.
This always reminds me of this story of my local baniya. Prakash and I went to the same tuitions in class 9th and 10th, which was right next door to his father's grocery shop. While I never spoke to him, I always felt bad for Prakash. The rich boys and mini-skirt wearing girls always made fun of him. Soon after 10th he started working at his father's store. And for the first few months, every time I went to buy a pen or notebook, he would feel shy. But by the time I joined engineering, he was already married.By the time I graduated they had already opened another store in the nearby area. They never hired anyone local. If more people were needed, cousins were called from back home to help. Present day, two sons and one cousin now run three shops, each independently. The funny thing, and something I totally admire, is that while this Marwari family came here and flourished in this small residential area, there was another foodmarket store, the likes of Spencer's which opened at the same time right next to their shop. By the time this family was opening their second grocery store, the big foodmarket had to shut down. They were going in loss. What a funny thing isn't it? The big chain store run by the local family couldn't stand competition with a small almost poor baniya family who had migrated to this city from a village somewhere in Rajasthan. That defines the spirit of this community to me. These people will flourish anywhere they go.
And having grown up with these resourceful industrious people, I totally recommend having atleast one marwari friend. Trust me, you'll come out learning so much, so much, you'll be amazed.