A culture of hospitality, but missing common courtesy

Indian culture has traditionally been known for its hospitality. As you step into airports, train stations or inter-city bus stations, posters of Incredible India, pictures of the traditional folded hands – the “namaste” greet passengers. However, these symbols of hospitality seem to be relegated to hoardings and Indian tourism propaganda.

For a culture that prides itself on its hospitality, majority of the population seems to be lacking common courtesy. Anyone who has seen the traffic in India (in effect this means anyone who has set foot outside any port on Indian soil) will agree when I say that traffic here is congested and chaotic. Courteous driving seems to be an alien and unheard of concept. Traffic rules are merely considered as guidelines and not always followed.

With the advent of the tech boom, a young and educated workforce now has the means to enjoy the latest gadgets and gizmos while indulging their tastes for food, clothing and consumables from around the world. This has led to a spurt of malls carrying high-end luxury brands from around the world, all-in-one grocery stores aka Safeway, Marks & Spencer, Whole Foods mainly catering to the reasonably well to do, and based on their economic status, a literate and educated strata of society.

A recent visit to one of these stores was an eye-opener. This store was stocked with the latest electronic goods and gadgets, groceries, packaged foods, fresh fruit and vegetables and was spread well over 30,000 square ft. Some areas of the store expectedly were busier than others. However, the sheer lack of politeness and courtesy among the shoppers was appalling. People were pushing and shoving each other to select abundantly available onions and potatoes. When I held out a bag for the shopper next to me (yes, some of you may call me an idiot for this), she grabbed it without so much as an acknowledgement in my direction and went on to elbow me in her rush to bag her choice of vegetables.

In other parts of the store, I noticed younger presumably college going shoppers, bumping into or pushing the elderly to get ahead. I understand that people can be in a hurry and most of us have schedules to keep, but is it so difficult to excuse ourselves as we pass another?

Have we become a nation of that is merely literate but uncultured? Of people who have the money in their pockets to buy whatever catches their fancy but lacking the courtesy and politeness that form the core of being human?

Cricket fever ...

Being in the Indian sub-continent during cricket season is exciting, but being here during the ICC Cricket World Cup tournament, is an experience not to be missed. India is a cricket crazy nation, and having sent in a team that is winning matches has exponentially increased the interest and following for the "Men in Blue", the nickname for the Indian cricket team. The cricket matches have resulted in roads being rather empty and in some cases, offices declaring a half day holiday to enable people to enjoy the matches!

Back in India ... three years later ...

Bags packed, boarding pass in hand, I made my way to the aircraft that would take me from Chicago to New Delhi non-stop. The flight was smooth and uneventful except for me needing an extra copy of the Indian Disembarkation form since I interchanged the day and month of my birthdate. (Yes, I know – lame!) But I did find myself wondering – why can’t governments use a standard DD-Mon-YYYY format in all their documentation? Like we create common standards for internet access and telecommunications, why not have them for governments across the world? Wouldn’t it make life easier for everyone? But then I think – Was the concept of government created to make anything easier for anyone? Oh well…

All was smooth until it was time for me to retrieve my bags from the baggage claim. For those used to announcements indicating the baggage claim when they are disembarking from the plane, forget it. All that was announced was that the baggage would be available in the baggage claim area (as if you were expecting it outside the plane, or delivered to your seat). Locating the baggage claim was simple thanks to a map of the terminal posted in the arrival area. As I hauled my bags off the conveyor belt, one of the baggage “helpers” approached me and asked if they were my bags. Not quite understanding the context, I indicated that they were. The next set of actions was a reality check. He went on to tell me that the customs officers were inspecting each bag through the x-ray screener. Not having anything to hide, I shrugged it off. He then went onto to say that iPads, cameras and LED TVs were on the “hot” item list and if had any of these and wanted to clear the terminal without waiting for the next 2 hours and paying the customs duty amounting to thousands of rupees, I could pay him $50 and walk out. After 18+ hours of travel and being jet lagged – I opted for the easy way out. I negotiated the $50 demand to $20 – and walked out in the next 5 minutes. It was a harsh welcome to reality.

As I write this, I wonder – why did I opt to pay that money? Self-preservation? Did I value 2 hours of my time more than the $20 in my pocket? Or did it simply awaken the dormant but inherent trait to work around the system?

Reconnecting with my paintbrushes ...

A long hiatus from blogging ... it's been a hectic year. A few weeks ago - I took a week off from work. Yes - a full week!

I found that reconnecting with my paintbrushes helped me relax and get my head out of the 24*7 work/ run/ scramble-for-something mode. Here is the end result ....

The sky turned out decently well, but as you can see, the landscape leaves a lot to be desired.

A weekend in Boston ...

Thursday evening I found myself taking a flight to Boston for a relaxing weekend with some friends and attending a cousin’s graduation.

I should have known – “relaxing” weekend would be far out of the picture. After the usual delays that Boston’s Logan airport subjects its passengers to, I made it there in time for a late dinner.

My first view of Boston was that of a city with some tall buildings a rather lot of winding roads. Strange for a city – I thought. The ways of the city are seemingly apparent even before you set foot there. The landing strip at Boston airport is almost on the water – so aircrafts have to make a loop over the Boston harbor and the Atlantic ocean before being able to land. Once you are on terra firma and making your way to downtown Boston – a strange realization strikes you … none of the roads run straight. The usual grid structure that can be mapped to streets in other American cities – is completely absent. The traffic swerves in and out of lanes in random motion intervals, drivers honk and often – to go right you need to make a left turn on the street. I had heard stories of the roads in Boston were originally cow paths created by grazing cows that were later formed into roads. As we navigated through the roads, I whole heartedly agreed and confessed to my friend that I would be sure to get lost driving there. I now have a new found respect for all the drivers who drive around Boston.

The next morning was my venture into the city of Boston. I met my cousin at the station and we decided to offload our bags at our hotel before proceeding on our tour of the city. (The picture shows a view of the Boston harbor from my hotel room.) This was my first ride on the Boston T, and it brought back fond memories of the London Underground. The subway trains, the color coded section lines, the intersections and interchanges without having to step outside the station and the style and model of the stations would make a Londoner feel right at home.

We navigated a few of the lines and made our way to Harvard, home to arguably one of the world’s most famous schools. Harvard square has an eclectic collection of shops and cafes and is a charming place. As we walked through the wood paneled halls in some of the buildings of Harvard Business School – I could almost feel the years of tradition and knowledge around me.
Leaving Harvard we met up with my cousin – the graduate to be and a friend at Boston Commons. It was a warm and sunny day and the park was full of people enjoying the weather. After walking around, taking in the sights – the Capitol building with the golden dome, the malls, theater areas and shops, the many statues that pop up at streets and squares, it was time for dinner. We picked a recommended local chain of seafood restaurants – Legal Sea Foods. It was a rather long wait, but the food was well worth it. They claim to only serve fresh seafood, and after tasting their fare – I’m inclined to agree.

As we walked back to our hotel – I realized that Boston is definitely a city where you should leave your car behind and explore on foot.

Saturday morning found us en route to a town called Eliot on the Green Line of the T – making our way to the first of my cousin’s graduation ceremonies. Why first … ? Well – since he was getting his Master’s degee in Management, and his Bachelor’s in Computer Engineering, all in a span of 4 years! Weird ? Yes, I’m inclined to agree. He is like that. After meeting the rest of the family attending his commencement, we drove to Babson School of Management where he completed his Masters. The graduating class comprised several hundred graduates and was a rather long and tedious ceremony – with one exception. The commencement speaker was a man called Erik Wiehenmeyer – the only bind man to scale Mt.Everest. He is a rock climber, skier and mountaineer in addition to being blind. He spoke about motivating oneself to always climb higher, and not let anything come in the way of achieving your dreams. It was inspiring and humbling to listen to him narrate his experiences and share his thoughts.

We made it to a quaint family run steakhouse called Ken's Steakhouse. This place had the authentic old-time feel to it with wooden beamed ceilings and floors and the food lived up to our expectations. Given the huge portion sizes, I was more than happy to split my entree with one of my cousins.

The next day, we were up and off to attend the next graduation ceremony. This was far more relaxed and chilled out and I enjoyed meeting my cousin's classmates and watching them rejoice at having graduated. This ceremony was for a batch of 70 students and each one of them had picked out a sentence 15 words or less to be read as they walked on-stage. Most students had picked lines expressing their gratidude and inspirational thoughts .... but one of them was different. There on stage - he asked his girlfriend to marry him. Phew ... talk about pressure! After a 2 second pause where the girl probably picked herself off the chair she'd fallen from - there was a resounding "YES"! The entire audience cheered .... That incident made the event even more memorable!

After dinner at a Japanese restaurant, we headed back to our cousin's dorm room, helped him pack his things as we drove back to our hotel.

Monday morning, driving through Boston was nightmarish, but I made my flight on time thanks to some Bostonian driving by my uncle. All in all - an awesome weekend!

Basketball in Indy - Pacers v/s Bucks

Just back from a fun basketball game at the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, where we watched the Indianapolis Pacers play the Milwaukee Bucks.

It was my first visit to an NBA game, and the Club level seats that we had ensured that I could enjoy every bit of the action. The atmosphere in the crowd was electric and I couldn't help but join the cheering fans. All my cheering resulted in a hoarse voice by the end of the game. As you can see it was a fast paced game - here you can see split second shots of the ball in the basket!

When the action on the court took a break, the cheerleaders and mascots ensured that the timeouts were entertaining.

The Pacers have two mascots - Boomer (a cat) and Bowser (a dog). In the picture you see Boomer making a basket after jumping off a trampoline. That explains the height he has when shooting.

These guys kept us entertained throughout by cheering from the sidelines and getting the crowd pumped up to cheer. An action-packed, entertaining evening!

Christmas in Portland

Early December - just as I was wondering what I should do over the holidays - I had a call from my uncle inviting me over to spend the last week of the year with all of them in Portland.

I gladly accepted the invite and eagerly looked forward to my trip to the West coast. Having visited Portland in the past, I quite knew what to expect - but this would be my first trip there in the winter.

A few days before my journey, a major snowstorm blew through the Pacific Northwest and most of Washington and Oregon received about 12+ inches of snow. Since these are places that don't usually get any snow - the airports and towns are not equipped to handle it. For 48 hours, Portland airport (PDX) was closed to all traffic. Hundreds of flights were cancelled. Amidst all my holiday excitement - I could only hope that my flight made it to Portland as scheduled. On my day of travel, the airport was functional, but there were severe weather delays. Thanks to the delays, the gate agent's holiday mood and my numerous flights on United Airlines for work - I was upgraded for free! Sitting up in First class - eating a good meal, watching the clouds and stars, made the 5 hrs whizz by... Definitely a great way to start the holiday...

Getting around Portland was a challenge, since the public transport system was hampered by the snow. Met up with my cousins at the train station and got home in time for a late dinner. Dinner ... phew - here's the spread ... raspberry salad, veg pulao, some amazing grilled Pacific salmon (yes, this tastes much better than the commonly available Atlantic variety), carrots & cranberries and some soba noodles in ginger soy sauce. Despite my meal on the flight - I tucked into the sumptuous dinner. As expected, this was the trend throughout the holiday ... delicious meals and relaxation ...

The next morning - was Christmas Day! After an awesome breakfast - we exchanged gifts amidst a lot of excitement. A truly memorable Christmas for me!