Do Indians need Shock Therapy ??

-
I came back home from work sometime back and found an Indian friend (From Delhi) having a cup of coffee with 'A'. I joined the conversation and we started talking about 'How the Thullas (Policeman) make life miserable for Businessmen in Delhi". How at every junction a person needs to grease the hands right from Policemen Clerks and Bureaucrats to get his work done. Be it a simple a telephone connection or to paying his sales tax.

'Corruption', It has become such a part and parcel of life that we just turn a blind eye towards it. When things come to such a stage when you need to pay money to open the doors of your own shop, then where and when is it going to end???

I had an interesting experience at work today. Our company won a lawsuit with another company and I had called up to enquire about when our payment was to get released.

Imagine this happening in India. I am calling up xyz co and speaking to a babu (Clerk) who works in the accounts Department.

Me: Hello I am calling from ABC Co's accounts department. Just wanted to know whether you have received the court order...

Babu: Kaunsa court case.....??

Me: Case number .......

Babu: Tum logon koi kaam dhande hai ki nahi....nahi dete paisa kya kar loge

Me: Sir I just wanted to know when you will be releasing our payment...?

Babu: Kaunsa paisa kahanka Paisa....Hume koi court order nahi mili hai.....case ka result abhi aaya hi kahan hai

me: Arre court ka order aa gaya hai...

Babau: Madam aap kaunsi duniya mein hai....India mein itni jaldi koi case ka result aata hai kya...abhi 5-6 saal baad phone karna...

My actual experience went like this

Me: Hello there I am calling from ABC co. Just wanted to know whether you have received the court order.

Accountant : Hello Yes we have received the court order and I have already handed it over to our Finance director.

Me: When can I expect a payment??

Accountant: Our director has already written to the court and the matter is in his hands now.

Me: Please could I get his email address so I can write to him and get a feedback.

Accountant: Sure why not...his email id is.....

Today I did not have to argue or call up numerous times. I got my answers in that one phone call. The accountant never tried to dodge me.

This experience gave a jolt to my thinking and really made me feel aware of how different things could be. We blame it on our culture. We are waiting for someone else to change the way things function. Educated people like us also grease a policeman's hand (When caught without a valid drivers Licence)by paying 50 Rupees to make our life easier. We also have that 'Chalta hai' complacent attitude which needs to be abandoned.

Have we become so immune and apathetic to injustice that we have forgotten how better and easier life can be without corruption. When things will get done not because you had to pay additional money, but since it was your right.

Oh!!!what a wonderful day that will be. To live in such a India!!!

Comments

  1. AmitL3 March 2009 at 22:38

    Haha-Aquarius,we still have some way to go before the situation in India becomes so smooth and corruption-free...not to say that other countries don't have corruption..for eg,even here in Dubai,I see it on and off,in public and private sectors..but,the thing is,after paying that money, your work gets done. In India,even after the 'payment', work sometimes doesn't get more than a step forward..right?That's what bugs me.Although,touchwood,Mr. Modi's brought about a lot of positive change in Gujarat's public sector,and it's far more efficient,as well.So,there's always hope,na?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Vinita Apte3 March 2009 at 23:43

    Yeah I guess so!! but after coming here I can feel such a stark difference I get jolted so many times and get pissed of at the corruption in India.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

85 thoughts of a Fat girl when out for a run

-
Image
Fat girl and running seems to be an oxymoron and there is a possibility that people might read the title of the post again, thinking that I made a typing mistake A fat person and running seems a combination which is difficult for most people to comprehend.  Many look at me with disbelief when I tell them that I have started to run. Some have even passed snide remarks asking me if I even knew what running was and whether new potholes have appeared on the roads where I run. Well, I being me.. left the haters gaping, when I started participating in marathons and running 5K distances. That was the best retort I could give them. I started training late last year and have written about it in this post. Now, every time I lace up those shoes, a thrill goes through me and I am waiting for my shoes to eat up the kilometers. I don't run to lose weight, I run for fun and what fun I am having.  Every runner will know that a myriad of thoughts go through their minds while runni
Read more

Humari Adhuri Kahani

-
Image
As she clicked one selfie after another, to get the right picture, Sudha realized that the smile that she had bravely plastered in front of the camera was not reaching her eyes. Her eyes still looked sad and forlorn. The lipstick and the jewelry added a bit of color, but her eyes betrayed her sadness. Last week, she had stood stoically in the courtroom, with her soon to be ex- husband standing next her. As the clerk shuffled the divorce papers, there was a pit in her stomach and her heart was beating erratically. Sudha's hands were numb and the conversation between them was stilted.  Sudha's gaze moved to the bindi on her forehead as she looked in the cellphone and it took her back to her wedding day. Arun and Sudha had met in Bangalore through common friends. Though they did not know each other earlier, the chance introduction turned into friendship and both were drawn to each other. Their friendship turned to attraction and both soon realized that they were in love. 
Read more

It is not yet goodbye

-
Image
There have been many times in the past few months, when I had thought of quitting blogging altogether. My last post was nearly 6 months back. Life has been on a tumultuous ride since the past few years and I have been trying to hold on to my sanity, with all my strength. Many times, I did get an itch to write, but it slowly got drowned in the cacophony of stress, anger and disappointments. Shilpa Garg from "A Rose is a Rose is a Rose"  recently showcased my blog on her super successful blog. She wrote sweet and kind words, and I am very thankful to her for sending love and readers my way. Her blog post and the lovely readers were a motivation enough to scratch that WRITING itch. Thanks Shilpa, for prodding me to wake up my blog from its slumber. My old blog readers have already read about my struggle with infertility and I have openly talked about it in my posts  "My experiments with infertility"  and "Dealing with infertility"  . I wrote of my heartac
Read more