So, R and I went out for a cuppa coffee yesterday. The mater called and as usual, remembered a list of groceries we'd run out of which needed urgent replenishment. How we manage to find these black holes when thr is a bunch of groceries delivered to the house every other day is beyond me.
So ours not to question why, and R and I trooped dutifully to the Needs store downstairs. Picked up our stuff, and stood behind a couple of others in the queue for billing.
Just as I was about to step forward, this 20 something girl cuts through and dumps a bunch of doodh packets on the counter. Not by a flicker of the eye or a half smile of apology or the slightest tell tale color does she indicate any awareness of the fact that she's out of turn.
Of course R took it up, asked her what's her urgency- no response. I was feeling particularly mellow after a glass of iced tea and told her to let it go. We waited our turn, and the girl went on her way. Again, not a look or a nod or a blush.
Well, just another day in the life of a queue respecting Indian.
Its funny how we don't mind waiting for things (policy changes, better governance, delayed flights), its just that we prefer to do our waiting at the head of the line (let's face it, how many of us say 'queue' :)).
And nowhere is our line mentality more evident than at airport security checks. Since of course, boarding card in hand and 40 minutes to flight departure notwithstanding, the airline and its fathers r out to get us, and wuld love nothing more than to take off without us.
A recent sojourn at the airport was very early morning (6am flight) and consequently, the place was packed to the rafters. While standing in the queue to put our handbags for scanning, came across some interestingly inventive reasons for 'line jumping'.
Sample this- a young girl managed to smile pleadingly at the uncles in the line and dumped her bag, and then went and stood in the line for men! When someone pointed this out, she wrung her hands (very filmy!) And said, 'par ladies ki line kitni lambi hai!'. Er, yes my dear, clearly ur chosen superpower will be 'gender transformation'.
Another was a middle aged, balding guy who tried to go to the head of the class. And of course the well of kindness towards our own gender has never been dug, so the line summarily protested. At this point he turns arnd and says, 'Arre, iske baad main agle counter wali line se personal check karwa lunga, aapke aage nahi khada rahunga'. How very democratic of u- jump one queue to dump ur handbag and another to get urself through, we need more such impartial distributors of personal largesse in the country!
Not to mention the ruthlessness with which ppl try to get onto the airline coach. Since airlines are known to take off (just to show they can, of course) empty while busloads of passengers watch on.
But my personal 'take the cake' award goes to this mother daughter duo who ensured they were the first ones on the flight (boarded from the front for seats in the 23rd or so row) and then nudged all of us boarding from the rear out of their ways. Sigh. So what if seat numbers r printed on the boarding pass. Jiski gathri usiki seat!
So ours not to question why, and R and I trooped dutifully to the Needs store downstairs. Picked up our stuff, and stood behind a couple of others in the queue for billing.
Just as I was about to step forward, this 20 something girl cuts through and dumps a bunch of doodh packets on the counter. Not by a flicker of the eye or a half smile of apology or the slightest tell tale color does she indicate any awareness of the fact that she's out of turn.
Of course R took it up, asked her what's her urgency- no response. I was feeling particularly mellow after a glass of iced tea and told her to let it go. We waited our turn, and the girl went on her way. Again, not a look or a nod or a blush.
Well, just another day in the life of a queue respecting Indian.
Its funny how we don't mind waiting for things (policy changes, better governance, delayed flights), its just that we prefer to do our waiting at the head of the line (let's face it, how many of us say 'queue' :)).
And nowhere is our line mentality more evident than at airport security checks. Since of course, boarding card in hand and 40 minutes to flight departure notwithstanding, the airline and its fathers r out to get us, and wuld love nothing more than to take off without us.
A recent sojourn at the airport was very early morning (6am flight) and consequently, the place was packed to the rafters. While standing in the queue to put our handbags for scanning, came across some interestingly inventive reasons for 'line jumping'.
Sample this- a young girl managed to smile pleadingly at the uncles in the line and dumped her bag, and then went and stood in the line for men! When someone pointed this out, she wrung her hands (very filmy!) And said, 'par ladies ki line kitni lambi hai!'. Er, yes my dear, clearly ur chosen superpower will be 'gender transformation'.
Another was a middle aged, balding guy who tried to go to the head of the class. And of course the well of kindness towards our own gender has never been dug, so the line summarily protested. At this point he turns arnd and says, 'Arre, iske baad main agle counter wali line se personal check karwa lunga, aapke aage nahi khada rahunga'. How very democratic of u- jump one queue to dump ur handbag and another to get urself through, we need more such impartial distributors of personal largesse in the country!
Not to mention the ruthlessness with which ppl try to get onto the airline coach. Since airlines are known to take off (just to show they can, of course) empty while busloads of passengers watch on.
But my personal 'take the cake' award goes to this mother daughter duo who ensured they were the first ones on the flight (boarded from the front for seats in the 23rd or so row) and then nudged all of us boarding from the rear out of their ways. Sigh. So what if seat numbers r printed on the boarding pass. Jiski gathri usiki seat!
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