It is 10:30 pm last Monday.  We are at one of the busiest signals of Hyderabad, waiting for our turn at the signals.  A BMW 7 series pulls abreast, windows roll down and a stream of red beetle leaf juice flows out of the window.  Window is rolled up and in the next instant the car speeds away into the night.  I was stunned.  Here was this dude, displaying his father’s wealth, with absolutely no manners or values.  Forget that he did not even seem to value his own life, forget jeopardizing the lives of other s in the manner in which he was driving and breaking the signal at a busy junction!

Cut to today.  It’s 3:00 am and we are awoken rudely by the sounds of drums and shehnai.  Just as I am wondering if this is a dream, the neighborhood dog confirms otherwise by joining in the cacophony.  I realize it is a “griha pravesham” or house warming that’s taking place.  God give me a break!!  I understand that there is a ‘shubh ghadi’ for entering your house, but do you need to do it with such dis-regard for others?  The sound was enough to wake up the dead, forget the babies, children, aged and ailing across the 14 apartment blocks.

These instances made me wonder.  As someone once said, “Are we Indians like this only?” The answer that comes to my mind is NO.  The dude driving the BMW, would not dare to do something like this in Singapore, US or the many countries he would have blown up his money on vacations or obtaining a degree.  In my stay abroad, I have attended griha pravesham events but not one of them was noisy like today.  So what is it that makes us vacillate from one extreme to another?  What is it that prevents us from being normal at home too?  Looks like the adage that common sense is not common holds true.

We do not blink an eye to toss garbage out of our window, as long as it keeps our home clean.  Not flush the toilets after use, but yet expect them to be clean when we want to use them.  Jump a queue if there is one. Grab the last vacant seat on a bus or train even if there is someone more deserving of it, but yet expect someone else to be chivalrous enough to offer us their seat, should the shoe be on the other foot. Car reversing horns that can send shivers up your spine, but are not something we use when driving in the US, UK , Australia, the Gulf and other places where we reverse our vehicles there without any issue.  And yes how can I forget - ‘water’ the plants that grow along the road side!  The list is endless.

So why do we act like hypocrites and proclaim our undying love for our country when we are bleeding her to a slow and certain death?  I do not claim to have the answers, but let us not blame the law makers or law enforcers here alone.  Remember if we point one finger at others, three of them point back at us. It’s time we stopped passing the buck and do a little self introspection.  Like the legendary Michael Jackson number which said we’ve gonna make a change for once in our life”.  Else we will be part of the illiterate masses - only this will be full of educated illiterates!