Sometimes i find the atmosphere here so tranquil.like now I am sitting here with total silence except a few birds chirping outside, its so soothing to the mind instead of hearing the noise of horns,shouts and specially the noise produced by maids working in the house. On the other side sometimes I find living in a carpeted house total pain, as one has to all the time worry about not spilling anything.....home should be a place where one can relax..even in attitude:)
And then Indian cooking...I always sound the smoke alarm,here I came to know an interesting thing that since here the walls are made of wood, they absorb the strong aromas of spices in Asian cuisine and so the homes get a different smell forever, and are down traded.
This time I travelled by Lufthansa and for the first time business class..I realised that in the long journey seat comfort is the only thing I look for,food part one can neglect, because nobody can provide Indian food better or even equal to air India and the same I can say for the service. I have seen many airlines..BA,AA, but nothing beats our maharaja.At Frankfurt they were doing some renovation and there were complete chaos with nobody to tell us where to go and no signs, still none was complaining......It pains me to see that we can take so much of everything abroad with such calm, but go overboard in criticising when in India.Here also sometimes they dont start AC in Delta till plane is taking off, here also flights are delayed a lot.But here they never assist you much in anything, even if you are getting delayed due to the crowd, none comes forward to hurry, they are least bothered about you missing the flight, but in India there is always a call for you, an executive looking for you.
But one thing I like here is that at every counter everywhere be it market or office one is greeted with a smile and a friendly person, never with a grouchy and irritating behaviour.,,this we need to learn..etiquette's. Secondly they know how to make money..they have marketed everything they have.be it natural beauty or industry, whereas we never bother to commercialise our spots..no souvenirs,nothing.Here every city has a top station tower, city tour, boat trips, sunday markets and a few theme parks and everywhere plenty of souvenirs.
Its quite surprising for me that here nobody goes to anybody's home without invitation, and suppose if I go to them , even to give them some invitation, they wouldnt call me in, will accept it from the door only..but then sometimes this happens in Chennai also, but I like our Indian hospitality and sensibilities, even if it may be at the cost of some inconvenience, but I like everyone to come inside my home and I like to offer something.If we always keep thinking of our own comfort, inconvenience all the time we stop being a social animal which a human should be..........
And then Indian cooking...I always sound the smoke alarm,here I came to know an interesting thing that since here the walls are made of wood, they absorb the strong aromas of spices in Asian cuisine and so the homes get a different smell forever, and are down traded.
This time I travelled by Lufthansa and for the first time business class..I realised that in the long journey seat comfort is the only thing I look for,food part one can neglect, because nobody can provide Indian food better or even equal to air India and the same I can say for the service. I have seen many airlines..BA,AA, but nothing beats our maharaja.At Frankfurt they were doing some renovation and there were complete chaos with nobody to tell us where to go and no signs, still none was complaining......It pains me to see that we can take so much of everything abroad with such calm, but go overboard in criticising when in India.Here also sometimes they dont start AC in Delta till plane is taking off, here also flights are delayed a lot.But here they never assist you much in anything, even if you are getting delayed due to the crowd, none comes forward to hurry, they are least bothered about you missing the flight, but in India there is always a call for you, an executive looking for you.
But one thing I like here is that at every counter everywhere be it market or office one is greeted with a smile and a friendly person, never with a grouchy and irritating behaviour.,,this we need to learn..etiquette's. Secondly they know how to make money..they have marketed everything they have.be it natural beauty or industry, whereas we never bother to commercialise our spots..no souvenirs,nothing.Here every city has a top station tower, city tour, boat trips, sunday markets and a few theme parks and everywhere plenty of souvenirs.
Its quite surprising for me that here nobody goes to anybody's home without invitation, and suppose if I go to them , even to give them some invitation, they wouldnt call me in, will accept it from the door only..but then sometimes this happens in Chennai also, but I like our Indian hospitality and sensibilities, even if it may be at the cost of some inconvenience, but I like everyone to come inside my home and I like to offer something.If we always keep thinking of our own comfort, inconvenience all the time we stop being a social animal which a human should be..........
17 comments:
Well written post. And, welcome to USA. Can you tell us which city you are staying? Just curious.
I have to differ on two items in your post. You have travelled by many airlines and Air India has the best service? I think you must a VIP in India and they take special care of you. Have you travelled by Singapore Airlines. In my opinion, they have the best service (exception: Singapore Chennai sector).
Going to somebody’s home unannounced without an invitation is just inconvenience? What if person A travels and goes all the way to person B’s home only to find B and his family are out of town. I remember our household when I was young. My mother usually wakes up at 4 am every day and she is in bed by 9 pm. Many times I have seen 6 to 8 guests coming from our village unannounced at 10 pm. They have some business in the city next day. My dad would ask if they had dinner. They will say: innum illa. Romba sramam padavendam. Konjam upma pannina porum. (Not yet. Don’t bother too much. Just make a little upma for us). My dad would wake up my mom from her sound sleep. She will make the upma and serve them at 11:15 pm and then go to bed again. She will wake up next morning at 4 am next day and now she has to make breakfast for extra 6 adults.
Whatever said and done, nothing can beat India. Even with all the noise, pollution everything. Life in India is so beautiful. And you can never feel at home elsewhere in the world! :)
Nowadays being a social animal is getting narrowed. I remember my father telling the same thing after his visit to my sis. Anyaways enjoy th emost anf fill us with new thoughts !!
I feel reluctant to visit my neighbour's place also, nowadays. I talk over the phone instead or chat when they are in their garden. Visiting each others' place is a rare thing now.
I like the silence over there too. But for how long, I don't know. My visit was a short one.
I agree about the smiling faces over there. Here, very rarely people smile at strangers.
Nice to see you after a long time, Renu!
SG;..I have travelled by Canadian air;ines,Delta,united American airlines,BA and now Lufthansa in International travel, and what I found lacking was....
food nevr good, sometimes they give dry sort of items and dont give even curd.
Frequency of servings is few and far in between.
Their first servings start very late.
and I am talking about all this in economy class.
Indian hostesses and other people are normally very good, yes aberrations are always there.
And I am not a VIP anywhere:)
Now the culture difference...one makes relations only at the cost of inconvenience..I can talk about me only..I would be delighted to see my family or friends.be it any time..what is a little sleep....secondly now whenevr your mother goes anywhere, she will also get the same warm welcome, and may be more..whatevr we give, we always get back multiplied. Whenevr I needed somebody for something I got plenty of offers and whenevr I am in trouble, I have many people at my side..thats Indian culture.
BTW I am in Seattle:)
Niveditatheperceptions:Thats true, to me India is my home and will remain so.
Tara:yeah, and I feel sad that we Indians are also going the same way.
Sandhya:But Sandhya i like meeting people in person..I met Jayshree and we really had a nice time, the same as you and me had.
At the max I have stayed here for 4 months and feel that every place has its own advantages and disadvantages.
Nice post, Renu. I don't agree with you on Air India providing good service, though.....whenever I have travelled by Air India, i have found the counter service terrible.....it is like going to a government office here in India.
I liked the way you drew out comparisons between our country and the US. Looking forward to reading more such updates from you :)
Have a wonderful stay there with your family :)
Nice post Renu. I hope you are enjoying your trip.
I think its all to do with the way we are "used to". I mean, I do not like unannounced arrivals for the simple reason that I would have planned something already for the evening. Its not like we don't have phone's emails right Renu. Of course if its best friends I wouldnt mind if they stop by just because.
Missed you.
Enjoyed reading your post ,yes there are some cultural differences and I think it is polite not to go to someones house uninvited.At the same time I like how it is in India where you are always invited in and nothing can come close to Indian hospitality.Have a good trip and looking forward to some pics of your trip.
Are you travelling again..?? Did I miss something on your blog.. ??
"...one is greeted with a smile and a friendly person, never with a grouchy and irritating behaviour.,,this we need to learn..etiquette's."
Agree....soooo agree!!!! And I especially want to tell this at the Big Bazaar HO;-S. The people employed there are so grouchy tht its shameful.
And I dont mind friends dropping in unannounced but do appreciate it when they call & tell coz for instance, with 2 lil girls in the house my house cd be in a mess and I'd be so embarrased if they came and saw it;-D. Or I wdnt have a thing in the house to serve them but if I had notice I'd be prepared;-D
Enjoy ur holidays Renu:-))!!!!!
U like AI... I would prefer Singapore, they have excellent service and good food :) Delta comes a close second for me..
I know, people are so formal these days, invitations and all that.. and people don't visit others often too... they prefer to stay at home, and spend time with their family! aftereffect of having jobs on weekdays and no time for family! the community life has just dried up, so is the helpful nature
Yes, I like their customer service, you feel wanted and even if the smile is fake, they make u feel at home :):)
But nothing beats India... with all its eccentricities, I love this country :)
good to read u Renu :)
Ashes
jayshree;..You are right about their counter service, they are not good, but inflght service, I have always found good and I can vouch for food also, this I am saying in comparison to other airlines I have travelled.
Deeps: Thanks!..I have a very overactive mind which keeps analysing everything.
Madhu:I agree that there is always a little inconvenience,but then thats the price one pays for having people around us...not all the time people turn up without informing, but if someone turns us he/she must be welcomed with open heart.thats my feeling, whatevr we have planned can be done on some other day and we cant shift it, then may be after 5 minutes we can tell them and go.
Starry:.yes its polite to inform, but sometimes it happens also:)...soon I will put some pictures also.
Chanz:.For last one month I am with my daughter in US...you missed nothing, as I didnt post much:)
Relfections: you got me exactly right:)...
I just wanted to say that donrt make guests feel unwelcome if they come without informing,,,secondly Nancy, most of the visitors like warmth more than spic n span house or goodies:)
Pinashpinash: now that you have reminded me, my children like singapore and emirates, but I havent travelled by them.
I love india and I dont want us to change our culture or traditions in the garb of modernity.
oh you are in states??? enjoy enjoy, nice post ( reading after long)...I need to be regular, else will miss out on thingsss
loved the way you have bought what u like in each part of the world...miss travelling :)
ahhhhhhhhhhhh enjoy your holidayssss...but india is home. the chaos, the horns, the shouts, the dirt, everything, thats home.
Hii..nice post and I completly agree wid u..I m in US fr past. 8 months nw..initially I also had some resistances about things which r nt like India.. Our country is definatly the place where humility and compassion still is predominent,more so in rural areas n small cities,thr people still care about relations nd not just fr monetory purposes
we have to learn a lot frm this country.,smhow I feel they r really proud of watever they have ,even if it's the rocks in Arizona..here people cherish these things and take care of them not to mention every thing is encashed too by tourism
on the other hand we take things fr granted,almost every district in India has a local heritage fort bt that's rarly taken care of leave aside the natural waterfalls n places..,If we start to be proud of the things we have then only we can show them to the world..India has potential in every field..and I also beleive that all of the Indians are becoming concious about the changes we should make together! :)
Shrutzz:..I havent posted much, so nothing to miss..how u doing?
Amrita:..yes, one can enjoy other countries, but India is home.
Sajal: welcome here !....you are so right, we can learn so much from other countries, but then we need the desire to improve ourselves...we are not lacking in resources, but only in the will.
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