{"id":1968,"date":"2016-07-08T10:13:12","date_gmt":"2016-07-08T04:43:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/ughich-kashala-maharashtrian-dreams\/"},"modified":"2016-07-08T10:13:12","modified_gmt":"2016-07-08T04:43:12","slug":"ughich-kashala-maharashtrian-dreams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=1968","title":{"rendered":"\u201cUghich Kashala?\u201d The Two Words That Kill All Maharashtrian Dreams"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A<\/span><\/p>s a seven-year-old on a family vacation in Rohtang, I proposed to build a small snowman. \u201cUghich kashala,\u201d my mother asked me. I didn\u2019t realise it then but it was a profound question that has stayed, not just with me, but with my entire Marathi community.<\/span>\n\nIn the eternal Battle of My Community is Better than Yours, everyone has enough arsenal to use against the other. <\/span>Punjabis<\/span><\/a> grow up with weddings that don\u2019t end. <\/span>Marwaris<\/span><\/a> grow up with families that don\u2019t end. Maharashtrians grow up with a measured cynicism that doesn\u2019t end. It\u2019s expressed in two simple words: Ughich kashala?<\/span>\n\n\u201cUghich kashala?\u201d is a response that every Maharashtrian grows up receiving; every Maharashtrian grows old giving it. There is no Maharashtrian alive who hasn\u2019t heard this at some point in his\/her life. Literally translated, it means \u201cneedlessly why\u201d? But at a broader level, it exemplifies the attitude of my community in general. \u00a0<\/span>\n\nMaharashtrians are famous for being diabolically lazy and spectacularly unambitious, and it may all boil down to the existence of this phrase. My people use \u201cughich kashala?\u201d like a casual tugging of the leash, as if to gently remind you that you are not <\/span>that<\/span><\/i> free, you don\u2019t have that much time to spare, or that there is no need in the first place. And Maharashtrians tug the leash very liberally. <\/span>\n\nYou don\u2019t have to announce your candidature for the Mars Mission to hear it. It is thrown as a response to questions as simple as: Can I climb a tree? Ughich kashala? It is used to quell ambition: I was thinking I should start a business. Ughich kashala? It is used to put you in place. I was thinking I\u2019ll go to Japan for a vacation. Ughich kashala? It is used to give you a reality check. I was planning to make ice cream at home. Ughich kashala?<\/span>\n\nUghich kashala is the reason there aren\u2019t enough great Maharashtrian businessmen out there. It is the reason we aren\u2019t known for our entrepreneurial streak. It is the reason we don\u2019t try different things. You\u2019ll never hear of a Kesari tour to Siberia. Or a Marathi couple honeymooning in Mongolia. You\u2019ll not meet too many Marathi artists at Kochi Biennale. Because, you know, ughich kashala?<\/span>\n

There is nothing better than the dry, disinterested, borderline judgmental \u201cughich kashala?\u201d to apply as an acid test to endeavours not worthy of effort.<\/blockquote>\nBefore I get attacked by the Sena, let me quickly add that Maharashtrians make for the best employees. We are the best people to hire: We are punctual, sincere, and god-fearing. We don\u2019t have it in us to quit. If Mahatma Phule had said ughich kashala to Savitribai, women probably wouldn\u2019t be studying today. <\/span>\n\nMaharashtrians have their set of <\/span>Tendulkars<\/span><\/a>, Gaitondes, <\/span>Shivajis<\/span><\/a>, and Kirloskars. But herein comes another gem that the community takes pride in. We have a famous saying, \u201cShivaji janamla pahije, pan shejari (Shivaji should be born, but to the neighbours).\u201d Because Maharashtrians understand the singular fact that it is difficult to be parents to pioneers and risk-takers. The risks of success are palpable. Success comes with sacrifice. It is fraught with danger. Our community loves an achiever, applauds one, even names things after one, but it\u2019s just more comfortable if pioneers are born to the neighbour. Borrowed glory is always safer and easier than having to suffer to get there. Being born to a neighbour gives you the licence to boast without the trouble of hosting the hero.<\/span>\n\nSuccess depends on what you\u2019re willing to give up and my community has figured it out very early on that no matter what one does, there can only be one Einstein or Zuckerberg or Tendulkar or Gaitonde or whoever else. So, instead of finding out after all the years of back-breaking work that you aren\u2019t the one, why bother starting. Ughich kashala?<\/span>\n\nWith time, I\u2019ve come to realise that there is infinite wisdom in this way of thinking. If everyone burned with ambition, who would work to sell insurance? This theory that everyone is extraordinary is paradoxical and Maharashtrians have recognised it early on. If everyone is extraordinary, by implication, nobody is. And if you need to be ordinary, why bother trying? Why end up ordinary when you can start there? Why work hard toward being something you naturally are?<\/span>\n\nMaharashtrians, in that sense, are almost Zen. This way of thinking is very cosmic, in one sense. It helps you realise that you are an insignificant someone, an insignificant blue dot in this colossal universe. It helps you admit the fact that no matter what you do, in the larger sense, it is futile.<\/span>\n\nI didn\u2019t make that snowman. Just as I didn\u2019t do many things in life thereafter. There is nothing better than the dry, disinterested, borderline judgmental \u201cughich kashala?\u201d to apply as an acid test to endeavours not worthy of effort. And now as the time comes to attach this essay to be sent, I ask myself the same question. Ughich kashala? <\/span>\n\nThe answer is: Because I have now written it, what do I do with it? Not sending it would be a waste of effort. Creating for the sake of creating is a rich man\u2019s game. First they ask, \u201cWhy create?\u201d If you do, they say, \u201cWhy didn\u2019t you use it? Ughich kashala?\u201d <\/span>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The attitude of most Maharashtrians can be summed up in two words: Ughich kashala? Literally translated, it means \u201cneedlessly why\u201d? It is the reason why we Maharashtrians are diabolically lazy and spectacularly unambitious.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":187,"featured_media":1969,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[19,79,3934,3935,3936,3937,3938,3939,80,100,3649],"class_list":["post-1968","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-people","tag-india","tag-maharashtra","tag-maharashtra-maazha","tag-maharashtrian","tag-marathas","tag-marathi","tag-marathi-manoos","tag-mns","tag-mumbai","tag-pune","tag-shiv-sena"],"yoast_head":"\n\u201cUghich Kashala?\u201d The Two Words That Kill All Maharashtrian Dreams<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The attitude of most Maharashtrians can be summed up in two words: Ughich kashala? Literally translated, it means \u201cneedlessly why\u201d? It is the reason why we Maharashtrians are diabolically lazy and spectacularly unambitious.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=1968\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u201cUghich Kashala?\u201d The Two Words That Kill All Maharashtrian Dreams\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The attitude of most Maharashtrians can be summed up in two words: Ughich kashala? Literally translated, it means \u201cneedlessly why\u201d? It is the reason why we Maharashtrians are diabolically lazy and spectacularly unambitious.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=1968\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Arr\u00e9\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-07-08T04:43:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1516590304.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1520\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"850\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ramjaane\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"\u201cUghich Kashala?\u201d The Two Words That Kill All Maharashtrian Dreams\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"The attitude of most Maharashtrians can be summed up in two words: Ughich kashala? Literally translated, it means \u201cneedlessly why\u201d? It is the reason why we Maharashtrians are diabolically lazy and spectacularly unambitious.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ramjaane\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arre.co.in\\\/?p=1968#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arre.co.in\\\/?p=1968\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Ramjaane\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/afd5495aebe8913dae5da555613a2392\"},\"headline\":\"\u201cUghich Kashala?\u201d The Two Words That Kill All Maharashtrian Dreams\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-07-08T04:43:12+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arre.co.in\\\/?p=1968\"},\"wordCount\":922,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arre.co.in\\\/?p=1968#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1516590304.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"India\",\"maharashtra\",\"Maharashtra maazha\",\"Maharashtrian\",\"Marathas\",\"Marathi\",\"Marathi manoos\",\"MNS\",\"mumbai\",\"Pune\",\"Shiv Sena\"],\"articleSection\":[\"People\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arre.co.in\\\/?p=1968\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arre.co.in\\\/?p=1968\",\"name\":\"\u201cUghich Kashala?\u201d The Two Words That Kill All Maharashtrian Dreams\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arre.co.in\\\/?p=1968#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arre.co.in\\\/?p=1968#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1516590304.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-07-08T04:43:12+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/afd5495aebe8913dae5da555613a2392\"},\"description\":\"The attitude of most Maharashtrians can be summed up in two words: Ughich kashala? Literally translated, it means \u201cneedlessly why\u201d? It is the reason why we Maharashtrians are diabolically lazy and spectacularly unambitious.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arre.co.in\\\/?p=1968#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arre.co.in\\\/?p=1968\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arre.co.in\\\/?p=1968#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1516590304.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1516590304.jpg\",\"width\":1520,\"height\":850},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arre.co.in\\\/?p=1968#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"\u201cUghich Kashala?\u201d The Two Words That Kill All Maharashtrian Dreams\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/\",\"name\":\"Arr\u00e9\",\"description\":\"In every person lies a creator and in every creator, an enterprise.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/afd5495aebe8913dae5da555613a2392\",\"name\":\"Ramjaane\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/85965ed087c481a1110100ce11c872516b3319bb438b7a0040d536b899d2e04c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/85965ed087c481a1110100ce11c872516b3319bb438b7a0040d536b899d2e04c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/85965ed087c481a1110100ce11c872516b3319bb438b7a0040d536b899d2e04c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Ramjaane\"},\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/?author=187\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\u201cUghich Kashala?\u201d The Two Words That Kill All Maharashtrian Dreams","description":"The attitude of most Maharashtrians can be summed up in two words: Ughich kashala? Literally translated, it means \u201cneedlessly why\u201d? It is the reason why we Maharashtrians are diabolically lazy and spectacularly unambitious.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=1968","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\u201cUghich Kashala?\u201d The Two Words That Kill All Maharashtrian Dreams","og_description":"The attitude of most Maharashtrians can be summed up in two words: Ughich kashala? Literally translated, it means \u201cneedlessly why\u201d? It is the reason why we Maharashtrians are diabolically lazy and spectacularly unambitious.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=1968","og_site_name":"Arr\u00e9","article_published_time":"2016-07-08T04:43:12+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1520,"height":850,"url":"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1516590304.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Ramjaane","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"\u201cUghich Kashala?\u201d The Two Words That Kill All Maharashtrian Dreams","twitter_description":"The attitude of most Maharashtrians can be summed up in two words: Ughich kashala? Literally translated, it means \u201cneedlessly why\u201d? It is the reason why we Maharashtrians are diabolically lazy and spectacularly unambitious.","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Ramjaane","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=1968#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=1968"},"author":{"name":"Ramjaane","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#\/schema\/person\/afd5495aebe8913dae5da555613a2392"},"headline":"\u201cUghich Kashala?\u201d The Two Words That Kill All Maharashtrian Dreams","datePublished":"2016-07-08T04:43:12+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=1968"},"wordCount":922,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=1968#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1516590304.jpg","keywords":["India","maharashtra","Maharashtra maazha","Maharashtrian","Marathas","Marathi","Marathi manoos","MNS","mumbai","Pune","Shiv Sena"],"articleSection":["People"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=1968","url":"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=1968","name":"\u201cUghich Kashala?\u201d The Two Words That Kill All Maharashtrian Dreams","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=1968#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=1968#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1516590304.jpg","datePublished":"2016-07-08T04:43:12+00:00","author":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#\/schema\/person\/afd5495aebe8913dae5da555613a2392"},"description":"The attitude of most Maharashtrians can be summed up in two words: Ughich kashala? Literally translated, it means \u201cneedlessly why\u201d? It is the reason why we Maharashtrians are diabolically lazy and spectacularly unambitious.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=1968#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=1968"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=1968#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1516590304.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1516590304.jpg","width":1520,"height":850},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=1968#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"\u201cUghich Kashala?\u201d The Two Words That Kill All Maharashtrian Dreams"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#website","url":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/","name":"Arr\u00e9","description":"In every person lies a creator and in every creator, an enterprise.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#\/schema\/person\/afd5495aebe8913dae5da555613a2392","name":"Ramjaane","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/85965ed087c481a1110100ce11c872516b3319bb438b7a0040d536b899d2e04c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/85965ed087c481a1110100ce11c872516b3319bb438b7a0040d536b899d2e04c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/85965ed087c481a1110100ce11c872516b3319bb438b7a0040d536b899d2e04c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Ramjaane"},"url":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?author=187"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1516590304.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1968","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/187"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1968"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1968\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1969"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1968"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1968"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1968"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}