Read the Mad Momma’s post on others’ take on the changing face of India. Made me feel something indescribable. Cos I have been guilty of some of the things listed there, especially the ones about the treatment meted out to people in a lower station of life. Whilst most people I know label the house help as “servant”, my family always made sure none of us used it. They were always “the helpers”. They were never treated like dirt, as they were elsewhere. I have always heard them speak to the older maid we had at our place using the respectful “neega” rather than “nee”, in deference to the old ayah’s age. 

But I have also seen that few of the maids appreciate the difference. I have often seen the guy who has his mobile ironing station outside our house treat my folks with contempt, though he comes to them palms outstretched for handouts, loans etc while being deferential to those who barely even glance at him and boss him around. Go figure! 

Anyways, the point of this post is something the mater said to me on the phone today. She was telling me about the new dog walker they’ve got, one who arrives in a gleaming Yamaha motorbike, with the ubiquitous cell phone clipped to the waistband of his bermuda shorts. He parks it outside the walls, calls out a cheery “hello aunty” to my mum, takes Robin for his walk and on his return, hops onto his bike and disappears in a trail of dust. He hardly looks any different to my brother, save for the sunnier disposition! 

Likewise, the two men from the Blue Cross clinic that come to bathe the dogs every fortnight. Smartly dressed, they finish their jobs professionally, are courteous, polite and well-mannered, provide value-added services like checking the dogs’ coat for any signs of fleas etc and holding off an outbreak at the start by coming armed with a ready supply of basic creams and lotions. And yes, they are of the motorbike-cell phones group too. 

That might not seem too much to you but it gladdened my heart to hear these. Especially after reading about the gated communities in Gurgaon and the shantytown outside and the disparity of the situation, these little things like the dog walker looking no different to any other person gives me hope that him and others like him will not be left out in these boom times. 

Small steps? Maybe. Too little too late? Possibly. But a positive, nonetheless. 

Edited to add: A chance comment by Mallika of Eve’s Lungs reminded me of two ‘cases’ similar to the ones she listed. One is that of an auto wallah near my parents’, who sends his kiddies to a regular CBSE school - not the corporation school but a proper English medium one, so they can have a shot at the good things in life. The Indians among us know what a massive deal that is! And how did I forget the leather / shoe repair guy up the road who put both his boys through Engineering college! I was gobsmacked when I took my leather jacket to the guy to repair the faulty zipper and learnt the chap who fixed it has a BTech and was due to start a job with Infy a fortnight later!! 

Image courtesy: FoxNews.com

What would be your reaction on coming across a headline like this:

Woman gives birth to twins at 70

Mine was the usual “WTF?” I clicked on the link and was amazed, astounded and finally, resigned when I read the full article. Why, you ask. Well, this has happened in apna India.

Now you can guess the rest of the story. No male heir. Couple desperate for someone to carry on their name. So keeps trying. Dad 77, mum 70.

But the prize for the best quote ever has to go to the proud dad: “t is a matter of great joy, that in my old age God has blessed me with two kids to support me in my old age.”

Need one say more?

Image courtesy: BBC

At the prospect of skimpily-clad cheerleaders bouncing along the boundary lines at the Twenty20 IPL tournament, the junior interior minister of Maharashtra, Siddharam Mehetre, had this to say:

“”We live in India where womanhood is worshipped. How can anything
obscene like this be allowed?”

Once I finish creasing myself, I will come up with a suitable response for that. Meanwhile, please leave your pithy replies in the Comment section.

..is a totally alien concept to most Indians, I know. How the hell can one just stay away when there’s a tempting morsel of gossip just out of reach? Normally one just takes this to be a regular feature of life and moves on. But when some pious individuals go out of their way to spew their venom about someone recently dead, someone who has no way of defending herself, I cannot help but be incensed.

When I first read about the Rinku Sachdeva case, I was shocked. How this was such a regular couple, him in IT, living in Bangalore etc that made it all seem too close to one’s own life and as a result, tremendously shocking at the way it ended. But other than feeling sad about the lives lost and hoping the grieving Sachdevas can somehow find a way to carry on, I didn’t think I could do anything, not having known any of the main characters. But then, on reading some of the articles on some websites, where some holier-than-thou sickos had praised Amit Budhiraj for his actions, I feel thoroughly sickened.

Here’s a sample, from Deccan Herald:

by Rajani Rao on 3/24/2008 6:44:48 AM India is abandoning the cultural values of generations by following blindly in the foot steps of rotten west.

Rinku is representation of venmous trends that are taking place in India that are failing in America.

This is a wake up call.

Amit you have done an excellent thing. Some one has to make sacrifices to bring matters to the fore.

Peace be with your soul. You did not just killed the bitch but also highlighted the alarming developments that are eroding the essence of India.

by Ram on 3/23/2008 5:03:56 PM I feel sorry for Amit. He had no choice. Had he gone for divorce, life would have been a hell for him. These days laws are heavily tilted in favour of women. All kinds of false cases would have been filed against amit had he gone for divorce. I do not know why Amit did not think of finishing off his wife’s paramour too. As women get liberated, these kinds of incidents are likely to happen often.

Who are these mahanubhavs? ‘Eroding the essence of India’? ‘…representation of venomous trend’? ANd of course, women’s lib is to blame for all this, right? Whilst repeating that I do not know anything about the people involved to make personal comments, I still feel that no person has the right to take another person’s life - which was what Amit did, when he smothered his wife with a pillow. Whether she was cheating on him or not was another story (that the police could find no evidence of this allegation is telling) - but does that give him the right to take her life? Furthermore, does it give anyone the right to cast aspersions on her character and commend him for his ’sacrifice’?

What kind of sickos are these? Proud Indians, am sure they call themselves. These are the idiots that give humanity a bad name. They should be shot and made examples of, I say.

 

A few weeks back, a top television presenter was caught on camera doing 70 mph on a busy motorway - chatting on his mobile phone. Jeremy Clarkson is well known to Britons and to see him chatting away whilst driving his Merc was too much for the public to bear. A vigilant passerby took a picture of him gabbing away and passed it on to the Daily Mirror. The papers took him to task royally and furious members of the public wrote on public forums everywhere, asking for a serious reprimand.

When I read the article the following day, a few words stuck in my mind.

And a police insider warned that if guilty, the popular Top Gear presenter could expect the same treatment as the thousands of other road users nabbed for the same offence.

The source said: “At a time when the Government and police are clamping down on motorists putting safety at risk by using mobiles at the wheel, it’s vital that police are seen to be taking action against all alleged offenders, no matter who they are.”

Fast forward to this morning, when I came across this article on Chennai Metblogs. I mean, what do you say to this respectable member of the press, who uses his press credentials to get away scot-free and then say, ‘Some police!’! There is no point blaming the traffic cops for their ineptitude if every Johnny carries some form of a ‘Get out of jail FREE!’ card or the other. Granted, I am no major fan of the said police, after the shabby way they treated my scared brother after a drunken bastard crashed his car into my hapless brother’s but this time, I am forced to question what choice do we leave them with, if we tie their hands so, for every pitiable reason?

We constantly say ‘we are like this wonly’ when quizzed about the lax Indian attitude to most things under the sun. Are we like this wonly or are we making sure we are like this wonly?