Indians -wherever we are and what ever we do we seem to be in some kind of hurry .Be it getting out of the aircraft as soon as it lands,in the traffic especially when it slows down,to buy a ticket for a cricket match or a movie and i wonder do we really know whats the hurry!!!!If it comes to work or speeding up the process of a complaint settlement the same lot of people will suddenly behave as it they have tonnes of weight on their feet and too sluggish to move or respond.If its lunch time----bingo 10 minutes before we are at the counter as if we never ate before or that the food would get over.Why do we behave like this?what kind of an impression we set for the people around us and especially when we are in a different country.If we are are in a queue we are almost falling over each other --in crude terms an orgy of sorts on the cards.Why don't we give space and enjoy that wait which would make life a lot better.Educated as we call ourselves we are brash and talk loudly on a cellphone that would beat the decibel barriers of the latest Sony home theatre system.If we move around a crowded place we knock someone out of his socks without the slightest hesitation or even consideration for an apology towards that poor soul, who wouldn't know what hit him or her. Walk into a lift or an elevator , see someone and least you can do is smile---it doesn't cost anything or say hello or good morning .But NO!
We will win a stiff lips competition hands down.Use a public utility and we are in a hurry there too unmindful of the tap on the basin that still isn't shut or the tissues provided strewn on the floor instead of the basket .Driving of course we can qualify to be hit and knocked off inspite of holding a valid license as most of them on the road do not possess a properly acquired one.Driving on the wrong side is an ego trip to show the world "RULES ARE MEANT TO BE BROKEN".The cops ---a bunch of idiots who can be bought off like buying T-SHIRTS on fashion street.They slog the most at the worst of salaries and unhealthy /demanding circumstances and yet we have no respect for them.Responsibility yes every body claims to be when asked but accountability......hey whats that???This is not my job, why should I?Being a lady in this world does have its shares of eyeballs but in India its x-ray vision.The same people back home will talk about tradition and culture when it comes to the ladies in their house but once outside they are on a different trip.Talk about discipline and we have none.Be it parking a vehicle, honking in a no horn zone,playing music at odd hours and disturbing the surrounding locality,chucking garbage every where else except their own house.Why is this so?are we a different breed?
do we have " ma ka dood" that is impure?or is it just that we want to be different?The same Indians however under the watchful electronic surveillance or when fined heavily and that too in euro or dollars fall in line like meek sheep.Only if we are fined, penalized, watched and pulled up do we follow rules and are in order,is it?And of course haven't we all since kindergarten days taught to do the same........remember the teachers telling us" stand in a line, keep quiet, sit down, no noise etc etc.......what happened thereafter?The great Indian education system that puts people in NASA,be heads of huge corporations, rich business men are these made of different blood?Wouldn't it be nice if we all portray the same image and culture and inspite of diversity back home project a disciplined cultured Indian globally!
What about the famous phrase' chalta hai' in anything we do.We suffer in quality and ethics and that's what pulls us back.We crib about everything but never exert to change .Point fingers and others when 3 fingers point at us.The Chinese lack English but are making serious efforts to overcome that and they have made a great headway.Watch out!!Every other product on display in the malls in the USA are carrying the :MADE IN CHINA" labels.I feel so sad ?Do we lack the the intent? are they so different?We work hard or hardly should I say and they work smart.They have a plan and work towards it whereas we have individual agendas and a crab mentality.Rich heritage, beautiful country side, excellent landscapes and we can't capitalize on that whereas watch Mexico they develop an area where all hotels are built back to back along one long beach and only ensure they promote themselves showing cultures that are just 2000 years old and we sit carving love signs and spitting pan on the archeological sites and sculptures.Advertisements and hoardings are plastered all over towns and squares and ruins the look and feel of the places.Who cares?Only when the future generations start excavation that they will find that in the 21st century advertisements ruined the cities and will be preserved as specimens. 1.2 billion people,struggling to find medals in international tournaments but when it comes to black money we have the toppers in India.Why because we don't want to pay tax!Taxpayers money is anyway wasted.We lack the will , we don't have the spine to call a spade, a spade.We will remain paper tigers and try to face off with the real dragons who breathe real fire and ignite the power of the people.Its sad and it hurts to state this but we all know this only are we aware of it and does it matter to us.If yes then INDIA will be a better place one day.
We will win a stiff lips competition hands down.Use a public utility and we are in a hurry there too unmindful of the tap on the basin that still isn't shut or the tissues provided strewn on the floor instead of the basket .Driving of course we can qualify to be hit and knocked off inspite of holding a valid license as most of them on the road do not possess a properly acquired one.Driving on the wrong side is an ego trip to show the world "RULES ARE MEANT TO BE BROKEN".The cops ---a bunch of idiots who can be bought off like buying T-SHIRTS on fashion street.They slog the most at the worst of salaries and unhealthy /demanding circumstances and yet we have no respect for them.Responsibility yes every body claims to be when asked but accountability......hey whats that???This is not my job, why should I?Being a lady in this world does have its shares of eyeballs but in India its x-ray vision.The same people back home will talk about tradition and culture when it comes to the ladies in their house but once outside they are on a different trip.Talk about discipline and we have none.Be it parking a vehicle, honking in a no horn zone,playing music at odd hours and disturbing the surrounding locality,chucking garbage every where else except their own house.Why is this so?are we a different breed?
do we have " ma ka dood" that is impure?or is it just that we want to be different?The same Indians however under the watchful electronic surveillance or when fined heavily and that too in euro or dollars fall in line like meek sheep.Only if we are fined, penalized, watched and pulled up do we follow rules and are in order,is it?And of course haven't we all since kindergarten days taught to do the same........remember the teachers telling us" stand in a line, keep quiet, sit down, no noise etc etc.......what happened thereafter?The great Indian education system that puts people in NASA,be heads of huge corporations, rich business men are these made of different blood?Wouldn't it be nice if we all portray the same image and culture and inspite of diversity back home project a disciplined cultured Indian globally!
What about the famous phrase' chalta hai' in anything we do.We suffer in quality and ethics and that's what pulls us back.We crib about everything but never exert to change .Point fingers and others when 3 fingers point at us.The Chinese lack English but are making serious efforts to overcome that and they have made a great headway.Watch out!!Every other product on display in the malls in the USA are carrying the :MADE IN CHINA" labels.I feel so sad ?Do we lack the the intent? are they so different?We work hard or hardly should I say and they work smart.They have a plan and work towards it whereas we have individual agendas and a crab mentality.Rich heritage, beautiful country side, excellent landscapes and we can't capitalize on that whereas watch Mexico they develop an area where all hotels are built back to back along one long beach and only ensure they promote themselves showing cultures that are just 2000 years old and we sit carving love signs and spitting pan on the archeological sites and sculptures.Advertisements and hoardings are plastered all over towns and squares and ruins the look and feel of the places.Who cares?Only when the future generations start excavation that they will find that in the 21st century advertisements ruined the cities and will be preserved as specimens. 1.2 billion people,struggling to find medals in international tournaments but when it comes to black money we have the toppers in India.Why because we don't want to pay tax!Taxpayers money is anyway wasted.We lack the will , we don't have the spine to call a spade, a spade.We will remain paper tigers and try to face off with the real dragons who breathe real fire and ignite the power of the people.Its sad and it hurts to state this but we all know this only are we aware of it and does it matter to us.If yes then INDIA will be a better place one day.
Lots and lots of questions you have presented about general behaviour of Indians. And yes, very real relevant questions. Let me match it with just one more question : Why do Indians generally hold themselves or their country in low esteem despite all the advances we have made in recent years? They may put up a bold face abroad but in reality, they are ill-at-ease with respect to their nationality.
ReplyDeleteThis brings us to a point which, I think, is an explanation to general Indian behaviour. The point is POOR GOVERNANCE. For ages, we have been very badly governed, ironically except when the British were in command. Poor governance has very profound fall-outs like : a judiciary system in which nobody believes (innocents languishing in jails for years, influential getting away), antiquated views over right & wrong, preference to quantity over quality (two ruffians have more voting power than one Narayan Murthy), lack of answerability (visit any typical government office), daylight robbery of national wealth going on for decades (glance over front page of any newspaper anytime) … You can go on & on with this list. The INSECURITY is so deeply rooted in the Indian psyche that they aren’t even aware of it. But it’s manifested in general behaviour of Indians. When I had been on a vacation to the U.S. with my very young children, I let them loose and yet I was very less worried about their security even when they weren’t in sight – because I knew we were in a country with good systems. Lamentably, there’s some time before I will have the same confidence about my country.