It was a pleasant Friday morning.
We were driving towards Wyanad for a holiday. Mood in the car was jovial. It
has been some time we have gone for a vacation and here we are going for a
vacation. We were nearing Mysore and there you go, everything turned upside
down. There was a speed breaker on the road. I decelerated the car and then I
had to helplessly watch the rear view mirror to see the car behind me
forcefully colliding my car. Impact was so high that my car collided the rear
of the car which was in front of my car. Cheer turned to rage!!! Then I see a
middle aged man jumping out of the car and I shouted at him “Andha hai kya, Are
you blind. This is ridiculous”. As I told this, I glanced on the rear of my car
and figured the damage was pretty high. Mr.X who caused the damage walked
towards me and apologized. He had worn a T-shirt and half pants and felt as if
he woke up and directly walked into the car. Something had badly spilled over his
T-shirt and later on I figured out that his wife was feeding Gulab Jamun and in
that romantic moment he lost sight of the road and the rest is history. Oh,
God!!!! Then driver of the car in front of mine came and started literally shouting
at Mr.X in top of his voice. Mr.X started sweating and for a small dent on the
bumper Mr.X was asked to pay Rs.8000, which he paid and settled. Mr.X’s car
broke down, but my car fortunately was in a working condition. As if a favour
done to humanity Mr.X told “Good there is no human casualty”. I kept my cool,
even though inside I was boiling with rage. Here is the reckless guy who has
turned my holiday into a horrible day. Then he calls up his friends in Mysore.
We go together to police station. I see Mr.X’s friends chatting with police in
Kannada. We explain to police the incident. Police register a case and gives
case note which is written in Kannada to me for insurance claim. Since I did
not know Kannada and I asked Mr.X’s friends to read the case note. They told
everything is fine. Later on when the events unfolded, I figured out being a
cultured human always works as a disadvantage. After I am back in Bangalore, I
go to the insurance company and submit my claim and attached the police case
note with the claim form. I explain to the insurance officer about the
incident. After I reach back my office, I get a call from insurance company
officer. He tells that police case note says that I had taken my family to a
temple and when I reversed the car it collided a tree causing the damage. This
is what is called being rude!!!! I called up Mr.X and he acted as if he had no
clue about anything. That is worse than being rude…… Anyways, I somehow fixed
the issue and got the claim approved. If I had been rude to Mr.X like the car
driver who shouted and took Rs.8000 for the damage, probably Mr.X would not
have taken me for a ride. Yes my friend, being rude is the way to do. Tell “Hey
Dude, I am rude!!!!”, that is what the world wants……
Rudeness is an attribute which I
see these days people are possessing with a sense of pride as part of their
persona. You can see it in their body language, the way they converse, the way
they express themselves, etc. In fact, we do not possess this attribute
inherently, but people train themselves to be rude. Logically, progress in
collective intellect of our species should lead to refinement in our behaviour.
Whereas, what I see is the opposite. It seems to be an oxymoron. So what is wrong?
Erosion of values. It is high time we realize this and take corrective action.
I see rudeness in all walks of
life. Look at the advertisements these days. Whether it is required or not we
will see a woman with fine contours giving you a rude look. Oh Sorry!! Which world
am I in, rudeness is beauty these days. Yes, some time I feel like an alien in
my own planet. Have you observed chat language
of youngsters. Oh boy, it is rude!!!
It was a weekend and after my
afternoon nap, I was lazing on the sofa with a cup of tea. Calling bell rang
and I opened the door. My son’s friend who stays in the campus was at the door.
“Hello, Manoj. How are you?” I asked. He acted as if he did not hear that and
with a sense of urgency he asked “Uncle, can I get Sidu’s football?”. I replied
“Why not?”. I called up my son “Sidu, Manoj has come. Go and play with him”. My
son came running and then Manoj says, “Sidu, I did not say I want to play with
you. I just want your football”. I wondered, what is that? Yet again a small
child is saying “Hey, Dude. I am rude”…..
We complain about today’s
youngsters being rude, but mistake is committed by us. In the rat race of
amassing material possessions we fail to spend valuable time with our young
ones to inculcate a good value system.
This incident happened in one of
the organizations that I used to work. It was hectic time at work; meanwhile a
worldwide contest was announced in the organization, for employees to develop a
software solution using a suite of products. Myself and two of my colleagues
signed up as a team for the contest. Two colleagues did some lip service around
that, but all the work was done by me. I had to stretch myself over the
weekends and after office hours. We won the contest and without any doubt other
two proposed that we should split the prize money equally. I know all of you
will have a similar story to say. But story is not over yet. After a week
myself, one of the colleagues who was there in the contest team and three
others were having lunch and topic of discussion was the contest. Then I made a
statement that all work was done by me and I found the other colleague was
offended. He called me aside and started aggressing. Hey Dude, I am rude!!!
Often rudeness originates from
aggression. Today’s so called corporate philosophy has elements of aggression
in it either explicitly or implicitly. This has repercussions on society. But
corporates are part of the same society and hence corporate philosophy has
origins from the same society.
We had just moved to our new
house which I had bought in Whitefield (Bangalore). I was discussing about the
house and neighbouring locality to some of my friends in a get-together, and,
here walks in one of my friends. He is very particular he has to pass a
comment. He makes a remark “Vinod, what a place yaar? Why did you buy there? So
far from city and not a place good to settle down”. Why should somebody speak that way? Anybody
knows what it means to buy a house and how much effort goes into it. It is nothing
but rudeness. Hey Dude, I am rude……
Rudeness does not go hand in hand
with humility and empathy, two important characteristics of a healthy society. I
see people walking around with a ton of ego and it manifests as rudeness. People
are immersed in oneself and are insensitive to others and hence devoid of
empathy.
Indian ethos has taught us to be
humble. Why were we taught to prostrate in front of Guru. It is an expression
of respect and humility. These days I see several youngsters hesitating because
they feel it affects their self-esteem. People try to differentiate from others
by enacted sophistication. It looks ridiculous!! Simplicity reduces desire, and
that leads to contentment. One who is self-aware and contented cannot be rude.
