I am feeling as frustrated as Professor Higgins did in My Fair Lady when he sang "Why can't the English teach their children how to speak". The frustration has been building up for quite some time now and it makes me angry when I see the people around me lack even the basic courtesies of life.
The immediate provocation of this blog, though is quite simple. I walk through the narrow path cutting through the jungle to go back and forth between my work place and my apartment complex. This is one of the delights of living in the University campus. It is peaceful and serene, I can observe the birds and if I am lucky, I will catch sight of the nilgais. However, very often I will also meet other travelers. If I do, I will stand aside to let them go. But never do they acknowledge the fact or say a simple thank you for the courtesy I am rendering. Once, in fact, the person actually pushed pass me and did not even bother to say sorry. And never will they stand aside to let the other person pass through. It is almost as if it is their right to have the right of passage.
Why can't we learn basic courtesies like Thank You, Sorry, and Please?
I am not alone in this frustration. My colleague expresses the same thing. She often takes the lift as her office room is on the fourth floor of our building. If the lift stops at a floor, and there are many people getting out, she will keep the door open by pushing the button on the lift. She will also often wait to allow others exit before exiting herself. As she ruefully noted, not one has ever bothered to say thank you to her.
It extends to other spheres too. The footpath is always unusable and if it is useable condition few enterprising motorbike riders will use it as a road. You can observe it when there is a traffic jam or at the red light. If a pedestrian dares to use the footpath it is that person's fault not the motorbike rider's.
Take the queue. Invariably it will be broken. And if you dare to point out that there is a queue, you are the person who is in the wrong. This has happened to me at the milk booth many times. Few of us will be standing in the queue waiting for our turn to be served when an interloper (really, I cannot call them anything else) will barge in and demand to be served before any one else. If you point out that there is a queue, they will either ignore you and continue their demand or will continue to stand there by saying okay, the vendor can serve me after you (just because I am protesting I suppose). There are few who will sheepishly join the queue but it always makes me wonder. When I see all this, I always think of those old Hindi movies where they show people standing in a queue at the bus stop in Bombay (watch the lovely song from Mr and Mrs. 55-Dil pe hua aisa jadoo or the wonderful song from Chitchor- Janeman Janeman and you will realize what I am saying).
There is also my other pet peeve- punctuality but that is another story.
So tell me why can't we teach our children how to behave? Why can't we learn the basic courtesies of life?
The immediate provocation of this blog, though is quite simple. I walk through the narrow path cutting through the jungle to go back and forth between my work place and my apartment complex. This is one of the delights of living in the University campus. It is peaceful and serene, I can observe the birds and if I am lucky, I will catch sight of the nilgais. However, very often I will also meet other travelers. If I do, I will stand aside to let them go. But never do they acknowledge the fact or say a simple thank you for the courtesy I am rendering. Once, in fact, the person actually pushed pass me and did not even bother to say sorry. And never will they stand aside to let the other person pass through. It is almost as if it is their right to have the right of passage.
Why can't we learn basic courtesies like Thank You, Sorry, and Please?
I am not alone in this frustration. My colleague expresses the same thing. She often takes the lift as her office room is on the fourth floor of our building. If the lift stops at a floor, and there are many people getting out, she will keep the door open by pushing the button on the lift. She will also often wait to allow others exit before exiting herself. As she ruefully noted, not one has ever bothered to say thank you to her.
It extends to other spheres too. The footpath is always unusable and if it is useable condition few enterprising motorbike riders will use it as a road. You can observe it when there is a traffic jam or at the red light. If a pedestrian dares to use the footpath it is that person's fault not the motorbike rider's.
Take the queue. Invariably it will be broken. And if you dare to point out that there is a queue, you are the person who is in the wrong. This has happened to me at the milk booth many times. Few of us will be standing in the queue waiting for our turn to be served when an interloper (really, I cannot call them anything else) will barge in and demand to be served before any one else. If you point out that there is a queue, they will either ignore you and continue their demand or will continue to stand there by saying okay, the vendor can serve me after you (just because I am protesting I suppose). There are few who will sheepishly join the queue but it always makes me wonder. When I see all this, I always think of those old Hindi movies where they show people standing in a queue at the bus stop in Bombay (watch the lovely song from Mr and Mrs. 55-Dil pe hua aisa jadoo or the wonderful song from Chitchor- Janeman Janeman and you will realize what I am saying).
There is also my other pet peeve- punctuality but that is another story.
So tell me why can't we teach our children how to behave? Why can't we learn the basic courtesies of life?
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