Its very unique and unusual how a person changes his perception when he changes his geography. My mamu (maternal uncle) had come to India from US for a leisure trip. That something he does once or two a year. Sometimes for some work and most of the times for paying visit to family and friends. He is a doctor by profession and a quite successful one. I think he moved to US back in late 70's. Thats almost four decades now. A time frame good enough to change you completely. Every time he comes, he has this complaining, cribbing and frustrating thoughts and views on how things happen in India. Whether its medical, government or any other aspect of working of India. Its true that India will need a paradigm shift to change into a more civilized place to live and with the current working system, it does get on your nerves how things happen here. But when I hear mamu complaining about the system and policies, I dont feel right. It gives me a guilt that I am responsible for all that.
For instance, I had to drop mamu and mami at the railway station as they had to travel through Shatabdi from Ludhiana to Amritsar. By default the train halts at platform number 2. And to reach platform number 2, you have to climb the stairs from platform no. 1 and then walk the bridge and come down the stairs to platform no. 2. As we reached the station and the time they realized that they have to climb the stairs, they asked me "We have to climb the stairs???" What I perceived of that was that "Where are the escalators or the lifts". I felt the guilt and I said "Well yes we have". But they are quite adaptive and instantly they picked up the luggage and started walking towards the platform. We were waiting at the platform no. 2 for the train to come. While we were waiting, I ensured that we are at the right platform and right in front of our coach. I did that by checking at information desk and by asking three colies that we were standing at the right place. Mamu took out the ticket print out and he started matching the train number from the ticket with the multiple small LED screens which display which coach number will be where. But he could not find the train number on those screens. So he asked me "Why the train number is not matching with the screens? Does it mean something else". I was not quite sure myself cause usually those screens show the train number and coach numbers by switching the view every 3-4 seconds. So we all started guessing and trying to decipher what could be that number on the screen. I had a feeling that it could probably a usual technical gliche in the screens or maybe nobody updated the information on those LED's. Could be anything but not the right information. So I tried to deviate the topic my telling them that "Do you know that you need not carry this ticket print out anymore. The railways encourage you to save the paper and just carry SMS and a photo ID of your's and that's it." While I was trying to safeguard my awkward position, a colie comes and askes me which train are we traveling by and I tell him that we are waiting for the shatabdi. He drops the bomb, "Arrey, shatabdi to platform no. 1 pe aa rahi hai. (The train is coming now on platform no. 1)" I was like, whyyyyyyyyyyyy. why today, why this time. I didnt have the courage to have and eye contact with mamu and mami and I asked the same colie to help us carry the luggage.
For instance, I had to drop mamu and mami at the railway station as they had to travel through Shatabdi from Ludhiana to Amritsar. By default the train halts at platform number 2. And to reach platform number 2, you have to climb the stairs from platform no. 1 and then walk the bridge and come down the stairs to platform no. 2. As we reached the station and the time they realized that they have to climb the stairs, they asked me "We have to climb the stairs???" What I perceived of that was that "Where are the escalators or the lifts". I felt the guilt and I said "Well yes we have". But they are quite adaptive and instantly they picked up the luggage and started walking towards the platform. We were waiting at the platform no. 2 for the train to come. While we were waiting, I ensured that we are at the right platform and right in front of our coach. I did that by checking at information desk and by asking three colies that we were standing at the right place. Mamu took out the ticket print out and he started matching the train number from the ticket with the multiple small LED screens which display which coach number will be where. But he could not find the train number on those screens. So he asked me "Why the train number is not matching with the screens? Does it mean something else". I was not quite sure myself cause usually those screens show the train number and coach numbers by switching the view every 3-4 seconds. So we all started guessing and trying to decipher what could be that number on the screen. I had a feeling that it could probably a usual technical gliche in the screens or maybe nobody updated the information on those LED's. Could be anything but not the right information. So I tried to deviate the topic my telling them that "Do you know that you need not carry this ticket print out anymore. The railways encourage you to save the paper and just carry SMS and a photo ID of your's and that's it." While I was trying to safeguard my awkward position, a colie comes and askes me which train are we traveling by and I tell him that we are waiting for the shatabdi. He drops the bomb, "Arrey, shatabdi to platform no. 1 pe aa rahi hai. (The train is coming now on platform no. 1)" I was like, whyyyyyyyyyyyy. why today, why this time. I didnt have the courage to have and eye contact with mamu and mami and I asked the same colie to help us carry the luggage.
