The Indian mindset often seems hard to shift. Mind set. Mindstuck. We’ve escaped for the weekend to a cantonment in the Himalayas of Himachal Pradesh. Whereas Delhi is over 100 degrees right now, and Mumbai is 90 with 74% humidity, the little village of Kasauli requires a light shawl in the morning, and is sunny and a beautiful 85 in the afternoon.
When we checked into our hotel, it was just after lunch. We asked the receptionist where we could go for a hike. “Oh, you can’t trek now,” he said with certainty. “It is too sunny.” This was the second time we’d been told this. The driver that brought us to the hotel also said, “It is too bright now. You can walk this evening.”
The weather was perfect. Not a cloud in the sky. Bright and clear. All that was needed was a slick of sunblock. But, someone once told these guys that they shouldn’t go out during the day. It will make you dark. You should take rest. And they listened, and now, they pass it on.
There are so many things like this here: you shouldn’t drink hot drinks then cold; if you’re sick, it’s usually the weather; if you have a cold, you should not work; it’s Western food (not oily Indian food) that’s causing Indians to have health problems, etc.
I admit, you hear these things often enough and you start to believe it. Even if it holds no water. Which is why some parts of India are really stuck. You hear something and pass it on, like a folktale, without considering an alternative. “The poor are ignorant.” “Orissa is a backwards state.” “Delhi is not safe for women.”
The typical response to India's challenges goes thus: “Adjust, adjust. It is like that only.” It indicates an acceptance of the ways things are, because that easy attitude makes it easier to go on, and get past the country's rough edges. But, a people desirous of change and advancement cannot afford to believe that it is like that only.
Hmmm... you seem to be overwhelmed at the moment.
ReplyDeletebtw, there is a large element of truth in each of the above mind-sets :)
Try taking a bus ride during peak rush hours in Delhi or a solitary walk after 9 and see how you feel v/s how you'd feel in Mumbai
Try switching quickly between hot and cold environments repeatedly(e.g. in and out of an airconditioned room) and see if it gives you a headache.
Just see it as stereotyping instead of relating it to a country.
Incidentally, there's also a stereotype for "dont go out trekking, its too bright" - its called the "small town mindset" ;)