Indians and Fairness: Looks like we are obsessed with color WHITE! As such most of the Indians don a shade of brown (ask any non-Indian). But Indians themselves seem to conjure up with ‘white’ to ‘black’ within the color brown. Families wait upon the new born and decide whether he is ‘fair’ or ‘dark’ and the parents are congratulated if the kid is 'fair' while they will be comforted if the kid is 'dark' as if it is a physical handicap.
IIMs and Salaries: Parents in India are extremely conscious of how their kids perform at school- not qualitatively but mostly in quantitative terms. ‘How many marks did your kid score in Science?’ ‘What is your kid’s rank in class?’ ‘Which prize did your kid win in the painting competition?’ And then they go home to compare this with their own kid.
Alone in Bangalore: Trampling on others to get your things seem to be in fashion – it’s like some distorted version of ‘survival of the fittest’ in place. Bribing to get things done, cutting the line to get ahead, stopping the whole traffic because your wife wanted to buy milk from the kirana store, etc - all seem to be justified in some weird Indian interpretation of ‘survival instincts’ which is considered a value and a great strength.
Indian Man vs. Indian State: I tend to take a stand that it is the Indian man who is corrupt, keeps his street unclean, and does not follow the law, and that the Indian System (or the Indian Government) is a mere personification of these ills of this common man. To rectify the system, he has to rectify himself. The change starts with him. It starts with the ‘man in the mirror’.
Temples and Women: I am not sure what is sacred about feminine. A woman and man are two different sexes which mate, reproduce and make babies to continue our species. And while they are not doing this activity, they indulge in other activities too, like inventing, composing music, and creating civilizations. I am not sure if any one of them (man or woman) is sacred (unless of course you bring in the argument that many women and men pray to ‘lingam’, the sexual organ of Lord Shiva, a man).
Adolf Hitler and Indians: I believe that there is a great correlation between the groups who admire Adolf Hitler, the groups who hate or think low of Muslims, and those who are against reservations.
Adolf Hitler and Indians II: In a democracy, (such) prejudices and hatred cannot be curbed with force. Instead, it is the responsibility of the people itself to learn from history, teach kids of history and install mature institutions to ensure continuity of its people/nation/culture/religion/etc. Onus of learning and accommodating to set a precedent, unfortunately, always resides on the majority.
Why do we criticize our nations?: Most of us who criticize our nations are ensconced in democratic and free institutions in which we take pride. The reason why we take pride in our nations is because it allows and accepts that criticism, our voice and expression, however bizarre it may sound. We believe these nations are great because of this very reason- that it allows people to speak their opinion and criticize their nations- each of its actions and symbols.
Condoning, Accepting, Legitimizing and Institutionalizing: I guess we are all contributing towards creating a bad society by first condoning certain illegal and unethical actions that we see in our daily life, and then by accepting them and practicing them to get out of personal tough situations, and then by legitimizing it as a success-stories, and then institutionalizing it to make it a part of our culture, tradition, government and our way of life.
Honking in ‘No Honking Zone’: I was wondering- can’t we even follow one single rule in this country? At least those that are so easy and simple to implement?
End of Rickshaws in Kolkata: Should we miss them?: Antara Das seems doesn’t seem to think it is inhuman. She goes nostalgic about it. She thinks ‘sturdy’ men run these rickshaws. This is how Indians rationalize all inhuman acts in India. Soon, another author will write the glory days of cleaners of night soil. She will miss those days when those lower caste kids would plunge themselves into sanitary tubes to clean the mess.
Are Indians creative and original?: While we are ready to accept a new idea only if it has already been proven to work and is firmly established in some western nation, we never allow any revolutionary idea from our own people; we do not take risks, we sanctify everything, and we say ‘chalta hain’ to everything.
Indians and plastics: We have been given the fruits of modern science and technology without having to go through the pains of attaining it. It was first imposed on us, then we just inherited it, and now we borrow it. Technology is not a solace or answer to all our problems. It has its own byproducts which could be distasteful. It all depends on how we use it.
Peevish Indians: So, please don’t tell us anything negative about us. We get really pissed off when someone does that. We will call you a traitor, an enemy, a fool, and abuse you, and threaten you to shut up. If need be, we will come to your home, raid your works, burn up your paintings, shut down the theatres, and run around the streets with a sense of accomplishment. Yes, we are peevish, and we are proud of it. After all, we are Indians!
Indian Actors: To be an actor in India, you should either be related to someone who is already in acting business or a politician, or be a beauty queen. It looks like Arts is completely hereditary or is related to being a beauty queen. Are we dynastic in nature?
Narayana Murthy and National Anthem: If you understand the culture that is imbibed in most software-services business in India, you will realize that there is this amazing habit of bending over backwards to accommodate the customers (who happen to be foreign companies). The respect for customers is somehow mixed with respect for foreigners and soon one doesn't know why we are being obsequious to these foreign companies- is it because they are the customers or is it because they are foreigners?
