It's a great country. Really.
Really?
Yeah.
You see, the environment here is great. No doubt about that. It might not be the type of 'great' that defines more successful and wealthy cities, like Copenhagen, Zurich, Geneva, New York, and the likes. What's great about cities in India is..
Okay, I'm not gonna lie.
Having spent almost two years now in one of the top ten richest, highest consuming and 'most aware' cities in India (whatever that means), and occasionally visited the other cities on that list, I have come to the conclusion that, well, things could be so much more better here. Common infrastructures could be improved, management of sewage could be enhanced, supply of resources could be much more decent, quality of life could be restored, amongst other things. I really am, saddened by the fact that there isn't much action done by the government to thwart the dreadful condition that India has been in.
Oh, am I one to talk.
I know, I am of no real importance to this country. To the locals, I'm just another investor, doing business in this country. I can't change the way their government works. I can't change the traits of their lives drastically. I can't even vote. All I can do is complain, or just keep quiet and pretend that nothing bad happens here.
"But what's so bad about India?", you may ask.
What's so bad about it? Let me see…
Chapter 1. The people.
Fantas-tic. The people here are fantaaas-tic. Really.
Yes, they really are, if they somehow learn about common moral values.
I'm not saying every citizen of India's a jackass, no. Some of the friends I have here are quite awesome. In fact, there are so many intelligent Indian engineers, inventors and such. But I'm addressing to how the general public behaves, either with one another or with foreigners. How they convey their ethical judgments.
I like to sit down, and observe people. Just look at the surroundings. Breathe in the chaos and calamities that occur to my right and left. I see a motorist stopping at the traffic lights, because the light has turned to yellow, indicating caution and decelerate. He slows down to a stop, and just before reaching the white lines, a loud horn blared. A white Maruti comes along the road, continuing to speed, even if the lights' about to change to red. Maybe a husband is driving his agonizing wife who's about to deliver, I think to myself. The lights change before the Maruti was able to proceed so the driver applied brakes immediately. The front bumper and the hind tire of the TVS XL connected for a moment, and the motorist is pushed forward.
Ah, this is bad.
The driver steps out of his car and without batting an eyelid yells at the surprised motorist. I'll leave the rest to your understanding and imagination. I'll just tell you that the motorist was poorer by a few hundred rupees that day.
Sigh… Oh, what? Why didn't I go to help?
You see, here, if you're driving a car, you will never be at fault for a collision with a motorcycle. Caste, they say. It's because my junk is larger than your junk. I've even witnessed a motorist slamming into a Mahindra Scorpio VLX because the driver suddenly brakes in the middle of the road. Might be due to an accidental early release of his clutch or something. The motorist was suffering from bruises, trauma, and lost a couple hundred rupees (might be thousands, I didn't go and ask, but I definitely saw pieces of blue paper denoting 100 being handed to the driver).
But I don't blame them. The people of India, I mean. I would definitely be pissed to know that my prized baby that cost me 10 lakhs was injured. The way I see it, things like this would never happen if they got a better quality of life.
"What? You rammed my car? Gee, it's okay man, it was my fault. Never mind the dent, I got some funds to repair that. You look awful though. Here, let me help you."
***
I was queuing up the other day to pay my electric bills at the fucked up BESCOM center. After waiting for 3-4 minutes, it was finally my turn. A burly man comes out of nowhere and cuts me. I was more surprised than angry, and it took me a while to build up my anger. By the time, he was already finished paying.
In Bangalore - well, I don't know about other cities, but, in Bangalore, most people don't understand the importance of queuing. To them, whoever can approach the counter first will have the rights to be served next. Not all of the people do that, mind you, but you can always count on one person to behave barbarically in a long line. The rule is, patience is worthless.
The quandaries don't stop there. But I will stop typing for now, for my belly is aching for some awesome Pepper Chicken Masala. I will continue later, when I have the time.
P/S: This post bug you much? Then fire away your flames at the comment box.
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