A strange habit that I observed in almost everyone I have met. I call it the “Doesn’t look like India” syndrome.
I once went to this swanky mall in South Delhi. It had a huge open air café where people of all age groups were sitting and enjoying their coffee, snacks and beer. There was a manicured lawn and uniformed guards were everywhere. There was a beautiful fountain in the centre where multicolour lights went on and off at regular intervals. I was silently enjoying the scene and one of my friends said:
“Wow! What a place man, doesn’t look like India”
I had this privilege of driving on the majestic Yamuna Expressway from Delhi to Agra and while I was driving an excited female friend said:
“What a road, no traffic, no pollution, doesn’t look like India”
Or when Sebastian Vettel won the Indian Grand Prix, an excited bunch of friends told me over me a round of beer:
“Man you should have been there, what racing circuit? Amazing. Doesn’t look like India.
So what exactly looks like India?
Filth, pollution, people shitting in open, stray cattle, rodent infested platforms, cacophonous loudspeakers, rallies, riots. The situation in India is far from great but we are improving aren’t we? And like all aforementioned badness, the goodness is all ours too. And that looks very much like India
Picture Courtesy:- www.tripadvisor.com
