Saturday, May 28, 2011

The Indian Curry

There are somethings very typical about the Indian people - the passion for cricket, the spicy food, civic sense, road ethics, the way we say yes and no by nodding our heads and how others don't understand if it is yes or no, the communal sensitivity, spirituality, reservation system, the caste system, bureaucracy games and what not. 

Only an Indian can understand another Indian.  The proof of that is how we are able to function not super efficiently but we are not doing too bad either.  Only Indians can drive on all the Indian roads because we understand our fellow Indian driver's psyche.  It is very rare that we see foreign drivers on our streets.  It is also true that if you can drive on the Indian roads you drive anywhere in the world.  We have a gift of understanding any system and adapt to it beautifully. You will always find Indians no matter which part of the world you travel to. The nodding of the head for a yes and no - we all do it and only we really understand whether the other fellow Indian is saying yes or no. We 'Realise' we do this only when we meet those don't understand it. Once when I travelled to Geneva a waiter asked me if I was Indian.  How did he know I asked, pat came the reply "Madam when I asked you if you wanted water you noded the 'Indian' way"!

We complain and crib about the government, the dirty politics and the scams, the education system, the traffic jams, unruly drivers etc. We have our own style of doing things and continue living through it all.  Lets take for example the inflation problem, if such an issue crops up in other countries (only referring to the developed nations) they would take some measures that would if not fully at least partially resolve the issue.  But as we are so accommodating we learn to adjust and work our way around it.  The reason India is the preferred option to be the country where most jobs are outsourced other than that it being cost effective is because we Indians blend so well.  Talk about the Indian English accent - there isn't one but many, as many as the languages. Just as the dialect of language changes every few miles so does the accent :)

We have a 'Jugaad' (the temp solution) for most problems ;). We complain about the system but we also know exactly how it functions (read under the table fixes). There is something about us - we blend in anything / everything easily and are open and receptive may it be culture, religion or way of life.  We are like the Indian spices  - it might taste different on its own or some are even tasteless but when they are tossed in to make a curry create a unique blend of different flavours.

Friday, May 27, 2011

Feeling Lucky :)

How often do we feel lucky to be just who we are?  Bet its very rare and in situations when we just escaped an accident and see things could be much worse and we are doing fine.  There also those who are never happy with what they have, no matter what they achieve in life. Pessimists who always crib at how life could be soo much better.  They are not entirely wrong though.  There is always scope for improvement and we can work towards it but that does not mean we should be any less happy about the present.

You should feel lucky if you are reading this because it means you can see and are literate enough to make sense of written words.  If you are thinking that is just normal and nothing out of the ordinary you are probably right too.  However, if we go back in time about 500 years education was a luxury only the elite could afford. This was the situation almost in every country. As per Wiki: In Europe, before the Enlightenment of the eighteenth and nineteenth century, education was the responsibility of parents and the Church. With the French and American Revolution education was established also as a public function. Today education is a basic need and we should feel lucky that we have the freedom and right to education.  

That was a lot on education!... Coming to my point of feeling lucky... How often do we really thank God for what we are instead of constantly pestering the almighty for little bit of this and some extra bits of that? Being normal is a blessing! Parents of new born babies will tell you that.  Being able to walk, see, hear, feel its a blessing and I feel lucky to be normal.  I do wish that some things in life can be better but where I am now is not bad either.  I'm not suggesting that we stop wishing and dreaming of better things.  But once in a while (especially when you are having those not-so-good days) its nice to be happy about the way things are and be thankful for it. Look outside its a beautiful day, even if its cloudy or raining remember its a GOOD THING :)

Friday, May 20, 2011

Mumbai Local - The Ladies Compartment

The lifeline of Mumbai...I just had to post something on this! 
9.57, 10.03, 11.28... These are some of the train timings which are critical for Mumbaikars commuting via the local trains. This is the fastest means of travel in this city. The train halts at each station for not more than 30 seconds and during these 30 seconds hoards of people alight and board the train. I tried to put a few pictures in this post so while reading you know what I'm talking about :)
Here it is...
The rush to get in...
and 30 seconds are up...

Hanging by the door is dangerous but is fun when the train is empty.

During peak hours it can be hell to get on and off the train if you were boarding from / getting off the stations in between.  For beginners it is a skill to able to get in and then navigate further inside the compartment.  The rush is mostly at the door and they are people who would be getting off.  Here's a glimpse of inside the ladies compartment. Its not so bad once you get on.

Only packed near the door
Such situations provide a good working conditions for the pick pockets and one should be really careful with their belongings.  It does not matter what class you are travelling in, it is the same rush everywhere during peak hours.  The rush hours can brings out the worst in some people and during this time you get to observe human behaviour and its effects on others. After so many years of commuting on the local I have concluded this:

There are 6 kinds of travellers:
1- Rooster - These are looking to pick on people and can't pass up any opportunity of creating a scene, raising their voice and if nothing then they would at least grunt irritably. If people were peeking in to read the paper they had bought they will immediately fold it and start listening to music or just stare out the window.

2- Dove - The goody two shoes.  These are the peace makers when people fight or try to be the big sistas (sic) by giving free advice that nobody wants. Very few of this kind in the ladies compartment. 

3 - Panda - These are the poor people who sometimes get pushed around. They listen and believe when people tell them they are getting off the next station (when they actually are not) and give way.  They don't bother themselves with arguments - live and let live is their way of life. They are sometimes also the ones who peer into the newspaper the next guy is reading.

4- Turtles - These are people with an I don't care attitude.  In a crowded train they stamp your foot (wearing a pointed heel) and pass by without a sorry and best they would just turn around to see who pushed them and then still do nothing about it.  They won't budge and give way, they just don't care - theirs is a every woman for herself world. These specimen are sometime seen yapping away into their phone and oblivious to the rest of the world.

5- Lambs - These are the people travelling for the first time.  They have no idea how long till the station they have to get off or which side they have to exit from.  They get on with great difficulty and it is with greater difficulty that they manage to alight through the crowd.

6-  The Flockers - They are buzy in gossips, in a game of cards or just singing away to glory.

The situations created when these characters clash is different each time.  The time spent travelling on a local can vary from 5 minutes to 2 hours or more. Similar to life which is a journey, people don't always think of the destination but just the journey at that moment.  They sometimes fight for that little extra place to hold on or to stretch their necks out the door.  A little bit more - this desire can push people quiet a lot.

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