Here & There

I just returned from a relatively long trip to U.S. Not as if I went for the first or second time, but I realized again that there are certain issues- "aamra vs ora" issues, which never cease to be different. It is purely cultural- it is impossible and unfair to comment whether any one side is better than the other. A neutral observer standpoint is the best position to have. So, here is my treatise on some fundamental cultural differences between India and U.S. I am sure you guys will have some more to add from your personal experience.

1) Left vs right: fundamental confusion- while getting in cars, driving on roads and walking on sidewalk. We keep to left, in U.S. the motto is keep right. Number of times I went to the wrong side trying to get in to the front seat in the car, and came close to colliding with pedestrians while walking on the sidewalk. And so far i did not have to drive, that would have been another terrible confusion because of the left hand driving. Someone told me- "if you think you are doing it wrong, that's the right thing to do!"

2) Greeting strangers: Everyone greets everyone, when face to face. Thats the polite thing to do- acknowledge the fellow human being. In India, we never or rarely greet strangers, even when traveling alone together in an elevator. And if it is oppposite sex, niobo noibo choh! However, there is a flip side. The greetings are generally routine and if any non-standard reply is given, thats recipe for disaster. Example- a standard greeting would be "hello- how are u doing today?". Now, if you take that to your heart and start saying "glad you asked. how well u think I can be in a recession hit economy? You know, my brother is in Detriot and today he just finished his 67th application without an interview call", that will traumatize and confuse the greeter for weeks and will make him miss the metro for which he was running top speed. Possibly to avoid such eventuality, some people pre-empt the situation by auto-completing the reply. So the greeting goes as "hello. how are u doing today morning? good!!" and he walks off :-)

3) Keep it "short": In a touristy place like Washington DC, half the people on the road might be in off-white shorts in summer. That includes men and women of all ages, and of course children and young adults. Looks good, looks smart, looks comfy, but also looks "different" to Indian eyes.

4) Museums- telling the America story: What a tectonic difference in the attitude towards museums as an institution. The administrators (example Smithsonian Institution, which runs 19 different museums in Washington DC area) consider museums as a vehicle of telling the America story, and organize them with tremendous passion and imagination. The museums are almost interactive, compared to the bureaucratic, cut-and-dry approach of most government controled museums in India. Smithsonian (www.si.edu) also runs 9 research centers and the national zoo, takes hundreds of citizen volunteers, conducts hundreds of workshops and festivals every year in an effort to integrate the common population to to its activities and share the knowledge it continues to acquire about art, culture, history and science. It is not about how much money is spent- it is about how to think differently and creatively. I have nothing but complete admiration for museums in America.

5) Civic sense, discipline, respect for others: No one spits on the road, people and cars wait for the other person or car to move ahead, nio one honks on the road. Quite unthinkable in most situations in India. I have my theory for this. Competition and scramble here results from scarcity of resource. If you are polite and do not rush to be ahead in a queue, you might not get a seat in a train. If you do not elbow out the driver beside you to squeeze in to the small space, you will not move ahead for a long time. If, like in U.S., there was an assurance that the last person in the queue will get a fair share of the "bread", here it would have been exactly as things are in U.S. Does this make sense?

6) Naked man, cool cyclists, independant handicaps: In summer, you will find men, good looking and decent otherwise, running all over town in nothing but shorts, dripping in sweat. I was told, "we really strip down in summer". Way to be, there; unusual, in our eyes. Cycling is fun, and people take it as a serious weekend activity or even as a major sport. Traveling along Beartooth Highway (www.beartoothhighway.com) in Montana, I saw group of cyclists riding up from an elevation of 5000 ft at the base of Red Lodge to 10000 feet at the summit, for a distance of about 50 miles. I was told that they are doing this, so that they can then zip down the mountain curves at exhilarating speed. And these were common men, sometimes quite senior in age. Lasdtly, the people with disability are far more independant, moving around the city in wheelchair without expecting any assistance. The infrastructure on the road is such that they would not need any. The sidewalks slope down gently on the road, so that the wheelchairs can move without any difficulty. Wonderful sensitivity of the system, to make sure no one is left behind.

7) Water from the tap: When was the last you checked in to a good hotel, and drank water from the bathroom tap? You would do it all the time in U.S. Public water sources are considered very safe, and hotels would laugh if you ask for drinking water bottle/pitcher in your room. I still pause at this, even after many years of travel there.

8) Light switch work in opposite direction: Here- down- on; up- off. there- just the opposite. how about that?

9) Food portions: Huge is an understatement. A plate is usually too much for a single individual. Doesn't happen often in India, whatever be the price of the plate.

10) Do it yourself: Almost everywhere, you would miss the "support" that you are used to in India. In gas station, you fill your own gas- not a soul to help. In hotel, you haul your own bags to the room and push a cart on your own. At home, you do all work, mow your lawns if possible, wash your car, shove your snow.

11) Not exactly a dog's life: dogs are very important part of society. Pet grooming is multi-billion dollar business. Owners happily carry dog poop from the road back in to house for disposal. To be fair, the dogs also seem much more well-behaved than their Indian counterparts (this may evoke strong reaction)!

12) "Smooch" nahi tio kuch nahin: Propensity for PDA (public display of affection)- very high. :-)

Those, my friends, are my top "here vs there" issues! Neutral observations, no value judgments. Let me know what you think.