Respected Sir/Madam,
One famous person once said that to appreciate your own country you must go to another country. Or something like that. Who said this? Maybe Bertrand Russell? I am not aware of the exact details. What is this? IIT exam?
For a long time I used to think what nonsense quotation is this? As if Indians can just go to any country just like that. All these big ideas are good for people from Norway or Canada who don’t even need visa. Norway fellows just get up in the morning and think, “Ok today I am free, I will go to Vietnam.” When they reach Vietnam, airport local immigration fellow will say, “Oh sir, you are from Norway? Feel free, my country is your country, do whatever you want.”
But if you are Indian, then finished. First of all, embassy of foreign country will say: “Fill this 67-page form with full details. Please attach photocopy of every document in your house including electricity bill, Tata Sky bill, LPG cylinder bill, telephone directory, latest India Today, marriage certificate, degree certificate, 1956 Gandhi Memorial Boys Only Musical Chairs Thanjavur Zonal Champions participation certificate, and mixer grinder instruction manual.”
By the end of it, owner of nearby Balaji Xerox has gone for Paris trip.
Wait till you fly
When you finally reach the embassy with all the documents in a tempo lorry, then you have to pay ₹4,356 and 76 paise (cash only) to one person behind the counter who is so cheerful that in comparison Manmohan Singh is like magician P.C. Sorcar.
Finally, visa will come after two months and it is valid from three minutes before your ongoing flight and up to four minutes after your return flight. And when you reach, is the airport ready for tourism? Immigration fellow will look at you as if you asked for extra bun on Air India. So I used to think: “It is ok. I will appreciate India as much as I can from Anna Nagar itself. I can either afford flight ticket or photocopy bill. Not both.”
Then some years ago, I finally went on an international trip in order to experience the global lifestyle outside India. I spent two wonderful weeks of enjoyment in Colombo with one trip to Anuradhapura. During my journey, I made friends with some local Sri Lankan fellows. And one day, one fellow came and asked me, “Mr. Mathrubootham, how you Indians manage in your country? Definitely you will get frustrated with so many problems and also there are so many people also, many of them North Indians.”
The people have spoken
I said to him, let me think about this. And I thought for one day. And then I found my answer when I was watching some India news channel on the hotel TV. I went back to him next day and said, “We are managing very well because we will just lie to ourself about everything.”
Sir/ Madam, how many times you have seen on TV some politician will say I have asked for enquiry commission. Let the law take its own course. The moment somebody says that, I will laugh and laugh and laugh until I have to think of Mrs. Mathrubootham’s family to quickly reduce my happiness.
Or if some political party gets totally humiliated in some elections, the leader will say the people have spoken and we have listened and we are introspecting. After two weeks? He will finish introspection and join the other political party. And what about the public? We will act as if everything is ok. This is normal.
Bridges will fall. Floods will happen. Disease will come. Economy will go up. Economy will go down. But we will say, “It is ok. CBI is investigating. Law will take its own course.” And like that the people will deal with the problems and carry on in life. This is the secret of our country.
Sir/ Madam, if you want to understand India better, you should also go abroad for a visit. But it is easy for you people. You have Xerox machine in the office.
Yours in inspiration,
J. Mathrubootham
(Source: The Hindu)
One famous person once said that to appreciate your own country you must go to another country. Or something like that. Who said this? Maybe Bertrand Russell? I am not aware of the exact details. What is this? IIT exam?
For a long time I used to think what nonsense quotation is this? As if Indians can just go to any country just like that. All these big ideas are good for people from Norway or Canada who don’t even need visa. Norway fellows just get up in the morning and think, “Ok today I am free, I will go to Vietnam.” When they reach Vietnam, airport local immigration fellow will say, “Oh sir, you are from Norway? Feel free, my country is your country, do whatever you want.”
But if you are Indian, then finished. First of all, embassy of foreign country will say: “Fill this 67-page form with full details. Please attach photocopy of every document in your house including electricity bill, Tata Sky bill, LPG cylinder bill, telephone directory, latest India Today, marriage certificate, degree certificate, 1956 Gandhi Memorial Boys Only Musical Chairs Thanjavur Zonal Champions participation certificate, and mixer grinder instruction manual.”
By the end of it, owner of nearby Balaji Xerox has gone for Paris trip.
Wait till you fly
When you finally reach the embassy with all the documents in a tempo lorry, then you have to pay ₹4,356 and 76 paise (cash only) to one person behind the counter who is so cheerful that in comparison Manmohan Singh is like magician P.C. Sorcar.
Finally, visa will come after two months and it is valid from three minutes before your ongoing flight and up to four minutes after your return flight. And when you reach, is the airport ready for tourism? Immigration fellow will look at you as if you asked for extra bun on Air India. So I used to think: “It is ok. I will appreciate India as much as I can from Anna Nagar itself. I can either afford flight ticket or photocopy bill. Not both.”
Then some years ago, I finally went on an international trip in order to experience the global lifestyle outside India. I spent two wonderful weeks of enjoyment in Colombo with one trip to Anuradhapura. During my journey, I made friends with some local Sri Lankan fellows. And one day, one fellow came and asked me, “Mr. Mathrubootham, how you Indians manage in your country? Definitely you will get frustrated with so many problems and also there are so many people also, many of them North Indians.”
The people have spoken
I said to him, let me think about this. And I thought for one day. And then I found my answer when I was watching some India news channel on the hotel TV. I went back to him next day and said, “We are managing very well because we will just lie to ourself about everything.”
Sir/ Madam, how many times you have seen on TV some politician will say I have asked for enquiry commission. Let the law take its own course. The moment somebody says that, I will laugh and laugh and laugh until I have to think of Mrs. Mathrubootham’s family to quickly reduce my happiness.
Or if some political party gets totally humiliated in some elections, the leader will say the people have spoken and we have listened and we are introspecting. After two weeks? He will finish introspection and join the other political party. And what about the public? We will act as if everything is ok. This is normal.
Bridges will fall. Floods will happen. Disease will come. Economy will go up. Economy will go down. But we will say, “It is ok. CBI is investigating. Law will take its own course.” And like that the people will deal with the problems and carry on in life. This is the secret of our country.
Sir/ Madam, if you want to understand India better, you should also go abroad for a visit. But it is easy for you people. You have Xerox machine in the office.
Yours in inspiration,
J. Mathrubootham
(Source: The Hindu)
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