By Nidhi Kumari:
As citizens of India, there is no doubt that we are proud and privileged to be a part of its rich culture, diversity and versatility. This is the soil we grew up on and this is land that witnessed great freedom fighters and laureates. However, as we grow up, we witness certain characteristics about our people but never take time to think of them seriously.
As the year ends, it’s time to take it light and smile a little at ourselves. Let me take this opportunity to draw your attention to 5 characteristics of a typical Indian: 😉
1) Muft Ka Gyaan: There’s one thing in India which rains for free and yes you guessed it right, it is the ever growing flow of advice. God forbid, if somebody is sick in your family, any person who comes to see the ailing being will leave behind his share of advice .e.g.- I encountered an uncle of mine who had an attack of herpes, 100s of mouths and 100s of advises came pouring in for him. Some said that it was an effect of an evil eye on him, some said that it was a result of a spider’s bite… so on and so forth. But in such cases one should act smart and follow the saying, “Listen to everyone and do what your conscience says”. Therefore, he was taken to a skin doctor and he is fit and fine today. All in all, India is full of unwanted advises and people giving them away for free.
2) Criticizing the system: For anything that is wrong here, we open our wide mouths and start blaming the Government. Roads are dug up, traffic on road, lots of garbage around us, foul smell, standing for long hours in queues. We tend to blame our Government and its system. Why can’t we start taking initiatives and stop blaming the system for every small thing? e.g.- If there’s a lot of garbage,why can’t we use our Sundays to clean up the mess instead of watching movies which we have already seen over and over again? Why can’t we ourselves stop littering on the road? As far as queuing up is concerned, why are we reminded of of it only on the last date of submitting the bills? Why can’t we pay the bill before the last date and free ourselves?
If roads are dug up, instead of fretting and fuming, the matter should be taken to higher authorities, they surely will give you “taareekh par taareekh” but one day your turn will come. If you have no time to do that then keep shut and don’t crib. Simple!
3) Amreeka ko dekho kahan pohoch gaya hai:Â I don’t have words to explain such types of people. “Jo khaate yahan ka hain aur gaate kahin aur ka hain” (who eat here but praise other lands). The junk food culture which causes obesity is a matter of worry there in the west but we fools are following it like anything. We are adopting late night hanging over, partying with friends, living in a nuclear family,etc. And the western people are adopting our culture like ‘yoga’, our style of dressing like saree with open arms. It is because of this reason that they are flourishing day by day and they do not ape around without intense thought and deliberation. That’s why they are what they are and we are what we are – copycats!
4) Jugaad: Here in our country every problem has a solution.Your electricity supply is cut off, “no problem, bijli chori ka option hai na”. In a room of five, 10s of people can thrive happily only in India. To go somewhere in a car which can accommodate only five people at the max, we tend to thrust in 10s of people with some sitting on the laps of the back seaters and some sitting on the lap of the driver. Imagine!
Sometimes this Jugaad is good, but at other times, it is just plain unethical. More disturbingly, the unethical jugaad thrives in India. From getting undue favours from contacts to God knows what all.
5) Chai Paani ke liye kuch: From the peon of a Government office to the Government official himself, everyone will ask you for some extra money for having done your work. First they delay your work and instead of apologizing, they shamelessly grab your hard earned money with their dirty hands.
Yeh hai India, you can pee anywhere, puke wherever you want, tease anyone, rob anyone, fool anyone and still get away with it.
Why? Because Yeh india hai, yahan sab chalta hai.
Will this careless attitude take us far? Should we just read this column, laugh at it and ignore? Or should we act serious and work towards the real solutions of the problems persisting in our country? Think about it!