Most of my anger happens inside trains. It's a vile place, as it happened today, where people would do anything for a seat – push, hammer, kick, physically assault. Today I had some work in my bank at Nerul, and took a place near the entrance so that I could get down easily at Nerul, being two stations away from Belapur. When Seawoods station came a vile mob literally assaulted me as they climbed in. I had to literally push each one away from me, as they barreled in, cornering me between in the narrow space forming the corner of the door and the seat-divider.
Then when Nerul station arrived, I tried to jump out before the assault of well-fed bodies full of aloo-paratha began. And idli-sambhar, I might add. Too late! The aloo-parathas and idli-sambhars mobbed me, assaulting me, tearing at my clothes, pushing and shoving – for a place to stand, imagine! – something so selfishly narcissistic, I couldn't imagine what they would be like in their workplaces. Okay, okay, this is the age of the "I" and "me" generation, but where's the era when two Nawabs missed their train saying "Pehle aap", "Pehle aap" to each other? (To the uninitiated this is an apocryphal story where two Lucknowi Nawabs missed their train saying "After you" "After you" to each other.) I was left feeling upset, angry and disoriented.
Guess this is the age of say "Pehle aap ko mar doonga" rather than "Pehle aap." Hm.
"pehle aap" is now used as a shield for personal protection. e.g you are walking towards an open manhole and the person ahead of you says "pehle aap". or there is "restructuring" going on and your ageing boss says "pehle aap". and then we have selfish cowards on our frontiers who tell our soldiers "pehle aap" when the enemy is firing. so, my friend, "pehle aap" is all around us.
ReplyDeleteyes, we have stopped showing consideration for others....as long as we are getting what we want,we couldn't be bothered how it effects others.
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