Globally People find Indians to be extremely rude and arrogant. I
have had experiences where I have been at the receiving end of some extremely
rude behavior and on the contrary I've had experiences where people have been
extremely courteous to me. Such diversity in nature of people is often very
difficult for people from other countries to perceive. Infact in India, people
in different cities behave differently, for example dudes from Bombay are known
to be extremely friendly and co-operative whereas Delhites are known to be not so
co-operative.
I've talked to people from different countries and they all have
varied opinions on this subject.
Recently, two separate incidents confused me even more. One showed
an extremely courteous human, while the other showed me just the
opposite.
Let's begin with the good part!
This happened to a friend. It was a Tuesday morning, he hurriedly
hopped on his motorbike, to catch the 7.30 bus which would ferry him to the
factory which was about 27 kilometers from the bus stop. In the urgency of the
whole bus catching saga, the dude forgot to check the fuel gauge, resulting in
his bike breaking down mid-way. Disappointed with himself, he started pushing
the bike towards the nearest petrol bunk. After he pushed the bike for about a
hundred paces, all of a sudden there was a voice which came from behind, when
he turned around, he found a young lad on a moped, this dude was surprised, the
young lad said something that astonished my friend, “Sir, Banni nanna gaadi li
hogi petrol tarana, nimma gaadi ille nilsi”, this lad told my friend to park
his bike so that they could together fetch some fuel for the bike in his moped.
My friend was more than happy! In the short journey to the petrol bunk, the
young lad told my friend that he did this because such an incident happened to
him sometime ago and there was no one to help him and he had to push his
vehicle for a long distance which left him devastated. He took a vow that
if he ever came across anyone who was in such a state, he would always lend a
helping hand! After listening to this heartrending story, my friend was
speechless. Together they went back to my friend’s bike, refueled it and
thanked the lad big time and headed to catch the factory bus.
This was one of instances of exemplary behavior, I agree he didn’t
do anything larger than life but looking at the circumstances, it was a great
show of character. My friend would always be thankful to that guy.
After describing this incident, my friend told me one line for which I nodded my headed, the line was something like “ However cruel the world might have become, we still find gems like this who nullify the world’s evils and maintain an even balance in the society”.
In a separate incident that happened to me, I found myself at the
receiving end of some rude behavior.
It was a Friday evening, I’d missed the factory because of a
prolonged meeting. So I’d to catch the public bus. Luckily one of my colleagues
dropped me to the nearest bus stop. The
bus arrived in a few minutes, I hopped onto it, I’d to stand as all the seats
were taken. I wished I had got seat.
I was lost in my own world of thoughts. The bus I was in stopped
at its routine stop and a lady hopped onto the bus, probably in her early
thirties or late twenties. Looking at her mannerisms, she seemed pretty
restless and one could sense an uneasiness in her, I was wondering what could
be the reason for this bizarre behavior. She came and stood infront of me,
still looking restless and uneasy. The person sitting in the seat next to where
I was standing had to get down, so he stood up and was ready to walk away, just
when I thought I would sit down, this lady barges and pushes me off the side
and sits down.
This made me furious, but I didn’t react, I just told her, “ if
you wanted the seat, you could have just asked, I would have gladly obliged,
instead you chose to push me and occupy the seat. That’s very rude, learn to be
polite!! She just turned away and didn’t even feel sorry for what she did.
After a long journey, I went home and all through, I was wondering
why is that we Indians are so impolite and rude. What makes us so indifferent
and disrespectful to the people around us. We never seem to care being courteous
to people around us or greet people around us.
At the end of it all, it confuses me even more as to what is our
true nature, are we Indians polite or rude, are we courteous
I don't think its about which country d person is from. Its a question about the individual. U seriously cannot expect millions of people to have good behaviour. I guess even Japan has its share of rude people.
ReplyDeleteabout the petrol story, check out this article http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/bangalore/petrol-uncle-is-santa-for-motorists/article5466856.ece
n finally good one bro:)
thanks for the feedback adi :) I never expected them to behave well, but what I find hard to digest is our behavioural diversity.
DeleteThanks for the great link there :)
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DeleteNice post man. Its quite an ordinary thing I'd say. I wouldn't even remember such an act after 10 seconds. Anyway, in a place like Bangalore which is struggling with its identity like a teenager, such things are normal. People are in a race with the fast paced city, they do not have time for manners with strangers. The bigger a place gets, the weaker the interpersonal bonds become. But it depends on the growth rate too. As a direct comparison, people in Mumbai have grown with the city, they know the identity of the city and what the city stands for. Delhi-ites too have grown with the city, but carry the ego of being from the national capital. All in all, you cannot categorize the country as polite or rude. Who knows, you might have been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Maybe the lady had an exceptionally bad day and has had some condition with her leg, and has been a shy person all her life who does not easily communicate ? Theres a million things behind a persons actions, dont think so much about it.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree on that Rajesh!! You've pointed out very well the possibilities. But I am not concluding anything, I am just saying that our diverse behavioural patterns are confusing.
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ReplyDeleteKeen observation Supreeth! can't argue.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I have observed, most people in the city have lost, or are losing civility.It is sad that the well educated are the ones who are more rude.
Too drowned in their own whims, people have forgotten the most elementary courtesies one ought to extend to a fellow human.
If only people can start to think beyond themselves for a bit, can they become a lil civil.
Till then we have to just bear with these clowns like we have always done. Because despite the diversity, we have still stuck together and remained one nation.
Thanks Vinay, if we start thinking of reasons for this kind of behaviour, one wouldn't be able to get to a conclusion. I think as a society we're at an evolutionary stage! I just hope that we evolve into human beings who are more humane!
DeleteCorrect Supreeth. and I also hope the evolutionary stage moves a little faster too.
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