Common ties…that still bind

Have you ever experienced how much you are at ease when you meet a new person with a common tie? All of us are constantly on the lookout for common ties – whether we are in a new city, a new job, with a new group, even on social networking sites. We search for ‘that’ something common with the new person. At times it is merely to strike a conversation, at others to establish a comfort level, and at most times to get over our own apprehensions.

So we go all out to find the common link. ‘Hey, I stayed in Pune as well’, ‘I studied in the same school’, ‘I worked for that company (that of course is accompanied by some common grudges)’…are some of the most common ties I came across. Not to mention the countless instances when people speak in their mother tongues as soon as they hear a surname, common to their community. I recall an episode when one of my colleagues called up some customer and after the first 2 courtesy exchanges in English, asked if he was a Malayalam. Looks like the person at the opposite end answered in the affirmative, and after that those were the only 2 sentences I overheard in the common business language in India.

But here’s one common tie that is rather unusual. I was driving home from office last evening and stopped at a signal where a flyover is under construction. Just as the signal turned green, and like most fellow-drivers, I was about to zoom across, a guy about my age, waved, smiled and exclaimed, ‘Pimpri-Chinchwad!’ It took me some time to understand why he did that since I had never seen him before and from his expression, I read the same about me. But he seemed ecstatic on seeing me.

It was then that I realized, he read my car’s number plate. It is MH 14, that’s a Pimpri-Chinchwad RTO passing. For whatever reason, the guy was glad to have found someone from (possibly) his home town. In the din of honking cars behind me and my own rush to overtake another one, all I could manage was to just wave back at him. I guess that made him happy, for I did notice him speaking to another person and gesturing towards my car, from my rearview mirror.

I bet there are a lot of Maharashtra RTO passed cars in Bangalore (considering that half of this city comprises of tech immigrants) and to the best of my knowledge, the MH series runs from 01 to 43. I myself came across a lot of cars from that series in Bangalore, but never gave them any attention. Drivers with MH 12 series (that’s Pune for the inquisitive) are notorious for their skills. In hindsight, the probability of finding an MH 14 numbered vehicle from amongst all Maharashtra cars is 1 in 43, so mine is indeed a rarity in Bangalore. Maybe that’s why I actually did feel a common tie when the guy waved out; even though I am not from Pimpri-Chinchwad. Nevertheless, it’s good to know someone who associates so closely with MH 14!

Now that’s one creative tie! If you can think of others, feel free to post your comments here. I would love to hear your thoughts on what’s the tie that binds us.