I STILL LOVE TO BE AN INDIAN

 I received an e-mail from one of my good friends recently listing 36 items which are typically Indian. Of these I thought I shall discuss ‘You never learnt how to stand in a queue’. This is something that I have always felt very typical.

Go to the post office. You find a line and you think that people wait for their turns. But what do you see? One person will be transacting with the counter clerk and four hands (or may be more) will be stretched towards him/her asking for her transaction to be put through! So you realise that it is futile to be orderly and start stretching your hand too. When will we learn?

 Same is the case on the road. On junctions not monitored by traffic signals or the constabulary, you find that there is no concern for others and their vehicles. Vehicles will be moving from east to west or vice versa without allowing north bound/southbound vehicles to move and if they try to, you have four, perhaps more than that, converging not allowing any vehicle to go past! that is our civic sense! 

Result - traffic jam in addition to the one created by our ‘development oriented’ public authorities’ construction, digging, road laying, railway line laying and what have you. These seem to be endless projects – probably because we believe in the eternity of the soul and have extended the concept to our projects too!

 (Or perhaps like the rich man not stopping construction in his estate because his astrologer had told him that he would ‘kick the bucket’ the moment he stops construction. The construction never stopped but his Creator decided his innings in this world was to end and he was ‘out’).
The contractors engaged for these projects, I am fairly certain have been paid as and when they raised bills for the works completed (or not completed - as the Press would have us believe!). 

I travel every day to my work place in a vehicle (courtesy - the company I work for) and there is a small stretch of about 200 metres of road (I am sorry I am insulting the word ‘road’ by using it for this stretch) that has not been asphalted/macadamised for the last two years – I find the building materials heaped on either side and some of the stones have been scattered by the occasional showers (we did not have a good monsoon last year and the perennial Cauvery dispute is on because of that). If only we had had heavy rains, I am certain all the stones would have been washed away. Why this indifference? One of my friends who is worldly-wise (yours truly is not) tells me that this stretch is no man’s land – neither belongs to the city corporation nor the Panchayat and hence the delay. How can this be - it beats me – particularly when the materials for laying the road have been stored at the spot.  Just plain indifference to the comforts and convenience of the tax paying public!

Another classic instance is the CNR Rao under-pass. This has been going on and on and there seems to be no particular time line to complete this project. Prof. Rao must be flinching that his name has been used for this. Poor Professor – he would have wished that some scientific theory had been named after him and not this. Dear professor, I am aware that this was not at your request. The authorities thought that they are honouring you by this! All good things have to come to an end and I am reasonable certain that this phase shall pass (or should I say under-pass!) and the project will be completed sooner or later (definitely later!)

With all this, I STILL LOVE TO BE AN INDIAN