Shall we ever improve?
B. LAKSHMINARAYANAN
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We may never reach the pinnacles of human behaviour found elsewhere, but we can at least think of taking small steps in that direction
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RECENTLY THERE have been some thought provoking articles in The Hindu — one on the `Muddled generation' and another on `The lack of role models in India.' As someone quipped, there are a lot of models here, but no `role models.' The character and general behaviour of Indians have a lot to do with both the above issues.
While the country is booming in all sectors of the economy, we are at a standstill in our basic behaviour. One sees a blatant lack of courtesy and discipline in all spheres of life. The other day, I kept open the heavy door of a shopping mall for my wife to pass through. Before she could do so, three hefty gents passed through, without even noticing us and I found that I had been transformed into a doorman! Crude behaviour at its worst!
Every day, there are endless squabbles on the road, mainly because the perpetrator of a wrong act never accepts that he is indeed in the wrong and that he needs to express an apology. You try to reverse your car on a busy road and you will immediately come to experience for yourself the total lack of concern or courtesy from the other road users. The vehicles come from left and right, but no vehicle stops or slows down for you.
It is not only inside India. I have lived in Dubai for a considerable time and I found that Indians were the only community there who used to whine excessively and complain about their experiences in India, whenever they went home, in the local newspapers there — and that too about the customs authorities, the airport, the streets, etc. Dubai is a city with the greatest mix of nationalities and I never found any other nationality writing negatively to the newspapers about their countries the way Indians do. This is a question for the mind-analysts to ponder.
We Indians revel in breaking laid down rules and get very caustic and frustrated when prevented from doing so. Bring in any rule and within a very short time, ways would have been found to circumvent it. The same attitude can be seen all around us, whether it is driving, one way streets, red signals, railway gates, hunting, paying taxes or appearing in courts.
The other day I was reading about a person who paid Rs. 3 lakh for getting a visa to an agent and when the agent failed, he made a complaint and the police arrested the agent. Why not arrest the complainant also? Why should he pay Rs. 3 lakhs for a visa and that too to one unknown, knowing that if one follows the normal procedure, the visa will be on its way, maybe it takes its time?
Another great trait is that of the inability of an Indian to ever stand in a queue and that too in a line perpendicular to the counter concerned. You will always find them spread along the counter like a multi-headed arrow, trying to have their jobs done in as little time as possible and at the same time prying into what the person at the counter is doing. If at all you are in a forced queue — as in private sector banks — the person behind you will be standing so close to you that you can feel his paunch on your back and his breath over your shoulders. An Indian does not believe in giving private space to any other.
Toddler's example
While I and my wife were on a visit to be with our son at Bergen, Norway, we saw a 3-year-old toddler dropping his paper napkin on the grass in a lawn, come back and pick up the napkin and drop it into the nearest waste bin. We were astounded at the child's behaviour.
My wife had lost her rather costly woollen cap while on a walk to a park nearby. Our son told us to retrace our path and look for the `lost cap' on the sides of the road we had gone by or the nearest windowsill. Yes, we found the cap neatly folded and kept on a windowsill, just as our son had predicted. This was civil behaviour at its best. We may never reach such pinnacles of human behaviour, but we can at least think of taking small steps in that direction.
When will we improve? Will we ever improve? Though I am an eternal optimist, this particular question has me stumped.
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