Today is a bandh here in Kolkata and is also the first time I have ever ventured to office on a bandh. Empty roads are unheard of during normal week days so it was a treat to have reduced levels of pollution. Got a bus without much waiting and it was not too crowded. As expected, it moved a bit faster than a rickshaw, trying to pick up the few people who had braved the roads.
The bus went without any major problems to its final destination, apart from a diversion by the cops at a major intersection in the city. The experience was very interesting as my office is in a majorly crowded area in the city, however today it seemed as if it was nightime while the sun was shining. The attendance at work was very sparce, the surprising thing was that more percentage of female staff turned up as compared to the percentage of male staff. One wonders whether this reflects on the levels of dedication of the female staff we have here or whether the male staff are more bhitu (scaredy-cat like nature) than the female staff.
Since there was hardly anybody else at work, I spent the day browsing the net, checking my various email accounts and news feeds and composing this particular blog-post in my head.
On the way back, I got into a mini-bus which was pretty empty and was lucky enough to get a seat almost straight away. After a while the bus started getting crowded. I was sitting in the front and noticed a young-ish above average looking girl straining against the crowd trying to get into a place which didnt have as much of male lateral body pressure than the others. As luck would have it, she stood right in front of me. I think of myself as a rather chivalrous guy (if I may say so), so I got up and offered her my seat even though I didnt need to (since this is a mini-bus, there are no designated male/female seats). No big deal to me, but I was a bit surprised that the girl didn't even acknowledge my gesture in any way. I guess that maybe I shouldnt have expected anything in return since my gesture was meant to be selfless in nature. But, I guess that I am human and I was pondering on what happened to manners in this day and age? I mean...just a simple thank you or any gesture of acknowledgement would have made me feel better.
Maybe I should have been like all the other blokes sitting in other nearby seats (even the person sitting next to me was a male) and ignored her evident discomfort? Maybe I should have just sat there for the rest of my journey and ogled her breasts like everybody else around me was doing.
Or maybe I really am an anachronism in todays day and age...an idiosyncratic man as somebody once called me ages ago.
High time I learnt to be selfish, hardly anybody in today's day bothers to be selfless, being selfless and a martyr has not got me anywhere. In fact it has caused me more trouble than it is worth.
What the heck...lets see whether I am able to change this aspect of my personality as well as the others I am trying hard to change
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2 comments:
It would be a loss if you decide to change for good. Acknowledged or not, an act of charity or decency never goes unnoticed, so I feel along with many others I am sure. Don't feel too crossed with yourself or the world for that little girl.
Hmm, you did the right thing. Always stick to that. What does it matter if it was appreciated or not. At least you sticked to your convictions.
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