JOIN USMy recent sojourn to the west had me thinking on aspects that are quite apparent like the differences in culture, climate and colour of skin. As I experienced and absorbed all of this, one aspect that really struck me was the way we as a ‘culture’ are so people-prone or shall I say people-dependant? Let me explain: When we had to find our way to some place we were supposed to read the map, but it was so much easier to ask someone, and when we did we were promptly shown the arrow just above our heads or a few yards away that distinctly gave the direction to our destination.
We’d feel awkward, but where, pray, do we find such precise and proactive communication in our land? Especially when you can find people telling you much beyond three bends and turns on how to reach your destination, doesn’t matter if the destination the person has in his mind is quite different from what you have figured out! Yet, we feel so comfortable to ask!
When we reached our destination, that is, to my son’s apartment the route was found by the GPS fixed in the taxi, it was bang on the right place. The only drawback was we reached the back side of the huge apartment complex. Frantic phone calls exchanged were about “where are you?,’ ‘which side of the apartment?’ etc. Later we realised that the taxi driver’s common sense offer of putting us down near the right entrance of the flat based on the flat number could have saved the raucous rounds we made at the apartment complex!
My people dependence showed up further when I went to a shop to get the scan of a document done. I was promptly shown the scan machine and was asked to do the scan on my own. At first I was dazed, but as I fumbled and managed to get it done, that left me with a great feeling of accomplishment, my thoughts traversed thousands of miles to my friendly Xerox scan shop; where the owner himself comes beaming to do the scan himself making sure that it is precise and perfected to the way I want it to be.
It was time to return to our homeland, and, on our way back home, a handful of us landed from different flights to catch our ongoing flight that was already delayed because of our late arrivals. A middle aged Indian couple entered wondering if this indeed was the right lounge to wait and get transported to the Bangalore flight. They then enquired a person in the room; ‘Going to Bangalore?’ ‘Yes’ came the reply. The nod pleased them, but five minutes later they were asking another passenger, ‘Is this the place to wait for catching the Bangalore flight?’ As a people observer, I sat amused, ‘Aren’t we as a culture too dependent on people around us?’ Well perhaps, because most often we are surrounded by so many anyway!