Swades

We are a proud people…Proud of our culture and values…Admittedly our values are the best on paper...though questionable how much we practice it…Quite often the pride sometimes lean towards arrogance and disdain for other cultures. I used to smirk at western culture and habits without actually thinking about it and rather more based on a stigma. But over the past year I understand that there are many things which we should appreciate and learn from them…Would love to share a few things where we are lacking and would do wonders if we pulled our socks...

One of the striking things that I found here is that they follow discipline…for example you don’t see cars jumping lanes or anyone horning superfluously. When the traffic light turns red , all the cars line up in the respective lanes in a military harmony...Our system would do a lot good if people are trained not just how to drive…but also how to drive within the framework of RULES. Probably there is not one among us who haven’t jumped the lane one time or the other. And we all have a plausible explanation that everyone does it neways…The license should be issued only after sufficient training , the police must be given rights for harsher punishment on law breakers and more importantly the public should understand how we could infact move much faster and comfortably if all followed the rules..

Talking about traffic I couldn’t help but mention our system of having a police convey for every dumb wit… why do our ministers/MLA’s have to break all the rules, blast sirens , create unnecessary hullabaloo. .and drive in screeching hurry...As if a minute delay might bring all the developments in the state to a standstill… Do we need such special privileges for special people..

Cleanliness…Our attitude says we keep our home clean…Everywhere outside our home is our garbage bin…Why can’t we bother to keep our surroundings clean as well... We teach our kids to keep our country clean without ourselves doing a bit about it…Littering is probably a national pastime for many of us...Is there any penalty for littering in our place…forget it.. Is there anyone who can bother to impose it…Such basic civic sense would help a lot and make life easier for the garbage disposers…


Perfection in work...Although we are fast working industrious people…quite often the quality of our products are questionable. I mean here, people make sure that starting from a safety pin to an aircraft the products they make are of the best quality in the world. I heard from a German colleague that the simple motto behind how a German worker creates a product is “To find a mistake in the product”. This work philosophy has ensured that they don’t make any junk products…We have our limitations of a developing economy but still we can make sure that we don’t go the China way…
(P.S. Two Wal-Mart’s at my place had to be closed down recently. Probably coz the predominantly Chinese products wouldn’t sustain the law which states that any product sold in Germany has to provide a minimum warranty of two years.)
Although we have few companies which create world class products, they are sold to the west rather than for the domestic market. I don’t get a clue why the companies serving domestic market do the same.. Deep dent on the profits...eh??


I personally appreciate the noble intention behind Tata’s attempt to bring out the 1 lakh car…but I would have loved if he would have invested that money in some mass transport metro network in a few cities…Our environment is not healthy enough to suffice the surge in pollution nor our roads which already cannot bear the mad race .I wonder when the 1 lakh car is out in the market will we fall into a point of no return.. The cheap car will sure be a big hit in the market where the real price will be paid our next generations..


The obscene big political thamasha. I might face lot of brickbats for this...But the whole idea of state/national governments giving monetary soaps to cricketers’ sucks!!... Are our government coffers overflowing money that they are clueless about how to spend em...If these political pawars (err...powers) suffered from momentary loss of sight please do look at our roads..our slums...and our rivers…The days of fighting for independence was over long time back...please stop all the bull shit rhetoric you say in those speeches...biggest democracy…peaceful co-existence of religions..blah..blah…get down to some serious work dudes…Unfortunately unlike us they have a appraisal only once is five years and they always get a role change by then!!

Why don’t we just dispose of with the whole caste system...Let us pass a decree one fine day
that there aint any castes among us...Well they cant do it coz that leaves 60% of our parties without a cause!!…Just how much effort and blood is spilt just for the silly name tag called “caste”...And don’t assume that making people literate and educated shuns these prejudices…Coz I have seen a friend of mine in trouble marrying his love coz the so called “castes” are different (both families are well educated folks)…

I can list out a 100 places where we can improve...so easy to write it and yet difficult to follow enmass..Probably I crib like this coz I love as much to see my country in a better shape…India is rising and shinning ...we are a huge growing economy…but remember all these sweet talk is about getting a share of the pie...It takes a lot more from than a “chak de” from each one of us to make us a prosperous and developed nation..