Every morning I meet people who are ‘civilized’ people. They speak in eloquent English (After being a British colony for 200 years, Indians specially South Indians still judge one person’s status in that person’s ability to speak in this British language), they dress in European formals (trousers, shirts, formal sweaters, etc) and they talk about their experience of studying in big city schools and colleges.
But there is something, which I find that’s gravely missing. Even though they always try to project themselves as some NY girls in their way of speaking and dressing, but they don’t really have the basic attribute that people from the Western countries posses – “courtesy”. They just don’t know what courtesy is even when they try to follow Westerners like blind lambs.
They don’t possess the most basic courtesies like greeting people when they meet in the morning. In my office cab, I am the first one to board it. Then the cab goes from one place to another to pick others. So, these so called ‘city’ people when get into the cab, they don’t bother to greet others. After reaching the office, we have to take lift from the basement as my office is in the 5th floor of the building. People just walk up to the lift, catch the lift and goes ahead! They don’t bother that their colleagues who were sharing the same cab as them just 2 minutes back are also following and the basic courtesy says to hold the lift for them. But you can’t really expect any courtesy from them. My friend Chandrima says something funny. She says that she also encounters such people and she believes that these people cant be taught courtesy anymore as they are adults now and these things are to be taught in childhood. I think in childhood what these people were only concerned to learn was how to dress and talk like Americans, how to imitate their gestures and be ‘cool’ and how to judge other people of the country based on what they wear, how they speak English and in which locality of the city they live.
I find it very disturbing fact that some of my cab-mates used to ill treat a friend of mine just because she used to stay in a narrow lane. They were so arrogant in their behavior against her they never used to sit next to her....they used cuddle on one side of the cab so that they are away from her. What was my friend’s fault? That she stays in less posh area than theirs. But at least she is staying in a house for which she is paying the rent and which is solely maintained by her....not like those ‘civilized’ people who are staying in a better locality just because their father or father-in-law had built that house.
But today what I experienced was more than anything. Today the transport department sent one Toyota Innova car for the morning pick-up. Me being the first to get into the car was sitting at the rear seat. After reaching the office, the two girls sitting in the mid-row just got down and slammed the car door and went ahead. They didn’t have the courtesy to keep the door open (I am not asking them to hold the door for me) since I was coming out from the rear seat. It was pathetic of them.
I don’t understand who they are showing these attitudes. If they think they are better than me just because they grew up in a metro city or studied in big schools and colleges unlike me, then why are they doing the same job in the same company as the same role? Why couldn’t they do something better than this in spite of growing up in a metro city or studying in big schools and colleges unlike me?
I grew up in a small town of Assam studying in Bengali medium school and a normal college. I have struggled a lot by staying out from home for study and job for last five years. I always used to think that how fortunate these city girls and boys are to have everything in their own city. But now I feel grateful for my small-town background that at least made me a human and not a mannequin who has nothing to give back to the society except for snobbery.
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