I me my country

Last week I had the pleasure to meet some of the participants of an international conference which was held in my college. These participants and guests came from across the globe, and I was assigned the role of accompanying some of them from Lucknow airport to Kanpur. Most of these people were visiting India for the first time.

So, as an Indian what was my duty? Should I not praise my country, and let them know about her glory? But how could I do that amidst all the conspicuous ails it suffers from, which are so very evident?

As soon as you step out of the airport, even before you could cross the road to get to the parking, you will see the sidewalks littered with wrappers, empty plastic bottles, cigarette butts and what have you and no later have you stepped into the parking lot you will be accosted by beggars, in their tattered clothes and disheveled hair, pleading for money. So here you are, with an Australian , who is already overwhelmed to see so many people around, being bugged by beggars. As if this wasn't enough, the pan masala chewing driver will spit right in front of you to send the message loud and clear - "Welcome to India".

All that, within ten minutes of stepping into India. With that introduction of my country, the success story of India in the last decade sounds no less than a fairy tale. And, you wonder if nuisance of spitting and growth rate of 10% can go hand in hand ?

The 100Km ride from Lucknow to Kanpur is a nightmare for an unaware person. The roller coaster ride lasts for 2-3 hrs and the sign boards reading "Keep Left" are a travesty of traffic rules. While the guest seemed to enjoy the ride, finding it exciting and adventurous, wasn't it embarrassing for me, an Indian? Furthermore, the driver who never used his seat belt, kept opening his door in the moving car to spit out the pan masala ,while everyone thought that chewing pan masala is our national time pass.

So, despite all that we have achieved and all that super power media hype, I tried to make out what opinion of India these people had before coming to India. While we may think that things are changing, I felt that the global image of India was no better. These people were not surprised to see the littered roads, nor did the beggars surprised them. They were more or less aware of Indian roads, traffic and driving behavior, they were not amazed to see the cows blocking the traffic, they only found it fantasy like. They were overwhelmed to see the incredible things, they had only heard before.

So, at last, what is my duty as an Indian? Am I supposed to tell people not to spit on roads and pavements and in that lonely corner? Should I tell them not to horn incessantly, to drive responsibly? What do I do about beggars? I don't know. The least I can do is not to do these things myself, apart from keeping my fingers and toes crossed, that the winds of change will start blowing soon.