A young lady sent me this message on facebook, which I found interesting reading, and so I decided to post it ( without mentioning her name ) :
" Dec 5th, 11:36pm
Hi sir, I m one of your fans and would like to give you a lime light towards what is happening all around. I am an engineer working with a firm and travel on the metro daily. You would be shocked to know that people, more precisely girls, are so inhuman nowadays. In the ladies' coach, when the doors open, they sometimes forget that an old lady who is not able to walk properly is standing in front of them and refuse to give her their seat. They become even shameless at the sight of a pregnant woman as well.
When an old lady boards the train, and when her eyes are searching for a seat, the girls keep themselves busy with what's apparently candy crush, facebooking or movies. Worst is: when some pregnant woman/old lady actually stands in front of them, considering that the seated girl would realize their plight and request them to offer their seat, that is the exact tine the girls feel sleepy.
What is this? Where is my India going ? Is this what we were taught by our elders,in our sanskriti, in our schools and in our sanskars?
People says that we have adopted western culture.. but I guess they forget that even western culture does not accept such behaviour wth the old population and pregnant women.
I may mention an incident, and I always protest against such incidents in front of me and request girls to offer their seat to the needy. But to my amazement, just today morning, when an old aunty boarded the metro and there was no seat vacant, I requested a seated girl to give her seat to her ( I myself was standing ). Truly sir, I will never be able to explain to you in words her reaction, and the look she gave me. She shouted at me, asking who the hell am I to ask her to give up her seat. Why would not I let her stand. Usually I prefer not to get into this. But when she told me that If I want to do samaj seva I should ask for a reserved seat, I just asked her whether she needed the seat more than aunty did? On the reserved seat a pregnant woman was sitting and on another a lady wth her less than 1 year old baby. Do you need a seat more than them ?
You won't believe sir, on asking so, I heard hundreds of gaalis from that girl.
I would like to ask what wrong did I do? No. Nothing . I had done a really good work. But what hurts is; that no one spoke a word in my support. Because everyone needs masala to telecast, to talk about, to hear. But no one wants to change. "
I may contrast the above with my own experiences in Europe. When I was young I often travelled in buses there with my wife. On seeing my wife standing, even old men, who were seated, would invariably immediately get up and give her their seat, without my even asking for it.
Jinhe naaz hai Hind par woh kahaan hain ?
