Dear Mausam,
I think I hav'nt lived in US long enough to stop comparing things here as to how things are in India. As things stand now, I study,analyse every activity that goes on and then think of how it works in India.I wonder if I will ever stop doing this, maybe a part of me is still in india.Itz not that "I love my india", I think itz just that I have lived there long enough to develop a sense of belonging for that place.
Observation 1: In US,trains do get delayed or leave from a different platform than the one they were supposed to, just like in india,but only rarely.Incase they do, the railway authorities will apologise and refund your ticket, they will also arrange for a free taxi ride in case you insist.
Observation 2: The trains are not jampacked,very rarely they are.In case there is some vacant seat then people do'nt rush to grab it! They just quitely offer it to the other person.
Observation 3: Indians have a natural tendency to stare, to observe. I never used to realise it in india but here whenever I am travelling some place, I am the only one staring, all the other people will be busy pursuing their own thing, most of the people listen to the ipods while travelling, those who don't, have a novel in their hand. Rarely will you find a dud like me, staring at people for no reason at all.
Observation 4: If you cross an american on a street, he/she will always greet you with a smile, some may even say "How you doin","whazzup" or something, but if you ever encounter a desi while travelling, there is no way that they gonna smile and will avoid any kind of eye contact. But they will still stare at you when they think you are not looking at them!
Observation 5: No matter how hard I try to pick up or pretend to speak in an american accent, the americans will immediately figure out that i am an indian, even on the phone. So I have decided to speak english as I used to speak in india.
Observation 6: Following directions is so difficult, coz the roads are not named as we have them in india, there is no Karnal Bypass or Kasturba Gandhi marg (Delhi), Vidya path or Lake wali road (as in chandigarh) Every thing here has a number with a direction. So you will say, take the 101 south, and then take the 47 east, go 4 miles, take the next exit to 65 west etc. I am still getting used to it, coz right now I am unable to figure out where north-east-west-south are!
Observation 7: Many things in US work the opposite way to how we have them in india. people drive cars in opposite directions, switches switch-on the 'wrong' way, people use the last name before their first name
Observation 8: Hair oil is a concept which is alien to americans! If I don't use hair oil my hair look so unkempt, why are my hair so addicted to the hair oil?anybody got a clue?
Observation 9:People in US love Motorola Razr, Ipods, Israel, the american flag,discussing the weather, Baseball. Most of the people I have met hate George Bush but I just can't figure out how did that ass got elected President the 2nd time (perhaps I will write a detailed post sometime later about Mr Bush)
Observation 10:Ahh I still hav'nt figured out how people manage the "daily chores" without water! You know what I mean, I mean there are a few things which you cannot manage with paper! right?
Regards,
Ajj Kaim
P.S.: It has turned out to be such a terrible post. But I guess this is the best I could write.
8 comments:
sachhee ... kee logic aa .. shuru ch tanh theek cgaa ... baadch bahut hee bakwaas ... jivein tainu ekk dum feeling aa gayee hoye ... mein ghatiyaa likh rehaan teh ghatiyaa likhan lag peyaa .... anyways for getting used to things here give urself 6-7 mnths ... u'll surely stop comparing things in India .... coz things in India change a lot quickly than here .... US is more or less same always ... u'll get used to it
waise Paru Singh ji, I agree with the above comment and considering India ch paani di shortage ... so we never know... if wonder if you have forgotten the bhaeeye with their water bottle.. by the railway lines, but that is early mornings ritual.. :P
hahaha..funny post..really liked d "starin" n "accent" wale observations...jus so true :)
paru paru paru...you are so right!!hum itne ek jaise kaise ho sakte hai??you are as new as i am here!and i do all the same things!!staring people,trying to figure out where is North-south-east west is....aur pata nahi kya kya...
another observation of mine is "people dont honk when they are driving here...and in india they cannot drive without honking"!!
and myself too is trying to figure out how they manage their "daily chores" without water!! so true!!
and this is one of my fav posts of yours!!
take care bro,
woooooosh.. ur best post so far!!!
cheers dude... u write so out of ur heart... luv d way u do it!
:)Suroor...
very true, it is an awesome post.. I cant really figure out why you said it turned out to be terrible.. Fishing for compliments is it, well you dont really need to wish, it is really good one. :-)
That's sure way of spotting someone freshly off the boat...they STARE and COMPARE!! Standing by the White house they'll be comparing that Taj mahal shines better! Even though when at home, might go to extreme lenghts to express their hatered for Bush but if on a tour of White House, will be secretly wishing to get a snap with him!
Ammendments to your observations:
Ammendment 1: In US, trains rarely get delayed because engineer actually built the railtrack and not just documented it on the paper like in India.So, How do you expect trains on time with 10 trains waiting in line for one track to free.besides, trains are run everyday in India..its not their fault that you turned up 24 hours early!In US, you get refund, because people actually pay for their tickets so railway authorities have money to refund.Firstly, people go to extreme lengths in order to avoid having to pay for the ticket, especially young generation.if there is any money..hey, think of the staff members. after a long day's hard work of sleeping on their desks they need the money to buy something stronger than a cup of tea.How dare you doubt your own people.tut tut
Ammendment 2:It seems you have not been through the college life in India.Packed trains are a god's gift.Otherwise there's no way that a guy like yourself will get to stand next to a beautiful girl!Finding a seat in Indian train is a rarity so when people see something rare or amazing they all rush to it.Besides, you must know how much Indians love seats (especially parliamentary seats).Accept it, its in our blood!You cannot fight your genes!
Ammendment 3:Like I said: freshies - stare and compare! if other people were busy doing their own things...didnt you get the hint! Stop staring go find yourself a hobby.Buy a Cd player or something and listen to that.Oh in your case, dont forget to buy some religious CDs or some holy book on a CD to enlighten you!
Ammendment 4: Americans always smile at stangers as well.yes, that is regarded as good manners.Unlike indians, who'll complain that why did that person smile??Indians, especially desi ppl dont smile!wow.well done.you definitely know yourself so well!im impressed.
Ammendment 5:finally! at least someone has decided to give up.there is nothing worse than an indian trying to copy american accent and half way therough the conversation dropping back to indian accent with "oh yaar!" if you are so hell bent on having american accent, learn it well.for some reason, people think that talking with mouth as wide open as possible gives you american accent.NO! IT DOES NOT!in fact it grosses the other person out to see your full gob.
Ammendment 6:oh my god! You are complaining because things are organised!jeez..firstly the good manners and now this.sigh! ru trying to tell me that you cannot find your way when places have huge signs which can be read from a mile away and with information desks around the places.you prefer some roundabout with a statue of some freedom fighter covered in pigeon dropping as a navigation point.then people complain why india hasnt progressed.they just dont like good things.
ammendments 7:who decides which country is right and which is wrong??look love you are in their country.it is no good sitting their, working in their offices and complainig how they do things "opposite to india." it wont be long before someone asks you that "why ru here then?"Do yourself..STOP COMPARING...
Ammendment 8:You use hair oil!! LMAO.oh there is nothing like recognising a true desi in the crowd just from the pungent smell of mustard oil! aawww...those neatly pasted down hair shining from a mile off.aawww..u feel unkempt...if only you had the hair to moan about!dont worry love, you are not going for an ad for amla oil here...we have learnt to love you anyway..
Ammendment 9: i can understand americans discussing all that and their flag.how do u explain wanna be indians discussing american "soccer" with put on "american accent" but each sentence ending with "ha yaar!" half the people in india have something with american flag on it in their house.Bush..how did he get elected again?I'm so ashamed that you even asked this ques.didn't you learn anything from indian politicians??
Ammendment 10: eeewww!!! Disgusting! you have proven yourself to be a true desi by asking this question!!
your posts are evergreen!
Serenity,
Pls calmn down - ur comments are so unserene :P
Post a Comment