Is it difficult to say: You can have this seat......

Some days ago i was watching a Korean movie, My Sassy Girl. I can clearly remember one scene where the drunk lead actress asks a teenage boy to give up the seat in Metro to an elder. But when he does not do it, the girl hit him in the head so hard that the boy to fnally give up the the seat. Well many a tims i have seen in movie how the British men give up their seats to women in bus, train or whatever. But when it comes to India, this simple act of kindness is absent in all of us (only a few do it). I will give a personal example. Just two days ago, i was travelling by bus to meet one of my friend...it was too much crowded.....and Kolkata buses are the most terrible one in the entire world, even more dangerous than the Paralakhemundi buses. Suddenly one old woman is appearing and as i was sitting in the second row, i offered my sit to her. At these moments i just have this awkward feeling that if i am giving my seat to another person may be someone else will give seats to my parents, some day, some where. Now back in the bus,I was standing and people were pushing me backwards. After some moments another woman appeared and she straight went to the second from last row in order tp get a ladies reserved seat which was occupied by a man. When she asked for the seat, another woman sitting just ahead of that guy told her that its not a ladies seat. But that seat was a ladies seat. In kolkata almost 40% seats are ladies seats. That time i was angry that how arrogant and stupid Indians are. An old woman is standing and a young guy is sitting and the mother of the young guy is supporting her son seat in the ladies seat. It was an unusual feeling that originated with in me at that particular moment. I read somewhere that a person who enjoys doing acts of kindness will find that giving up a seat to a needy person is satisfying. Even when the bus is packed and it will mean being crushed, jostled and even having a pocket picked, the idea of giving someone a bit of relief from their struggles helps to show a good example and to have good feelings. My heart was telling me that Indians dont understand these kind of acts of kindness. While on my way back to college, i did not got a seat and there was another guy in his forties standing next to me. When a seat vacated, that Mr Forty something offered me the seat and I said that i am allright, please have the seat and in the mean time another old man just gave me a dhakka(pushing someone) and took that seat. For the entire journey i was standing and thinking that, he is a oldman and he desreve the seat more than me, but i cant forget that dhakka. 

Welcome to the future..........

The following are excerpts from a conversation between two friends in a bus. Lets just make the two friends A and B. 

A: Hey do you know how the world will be like in 2050?

B: Hey, did you watch some futuristic movie? The aliens are coming to take over the earth. ha.

A: No yaar, i am not talking about some Hollywood movie where the school kids are flying in their skate boards or a dystopia future where robots are ruling the Earth. I am talking about the economy.

B: Not getting a single thing what you are talking about?

A: Are yaar, as per the recently released estimates of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) India will become the 3rd largest economy of the world by 2050.Is not it cool?

B: Wow great. but so what?

A: Are kya bol raha hey. Its a matter of pride for our entire nation. We will be a developed nation. are not you feeling proud about this?

B: Yeah, its a great time for our country which builds on the principles of democracy, secularism and justice, liberty equality for all. I can clearly remember what the preamble of this great country talks about, WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC. Hahaha. what a joke.....

A: Are you nuts? you are laughing on the Indian constitution.

B: yeah, these things look good for a fiction novel, not for a country like India. Lets just face the facts. We are the 11th largest economy in the world and still 40% of our population is living below the poverty line. We are talking about equal opportunities for all but cant even provide primary education for most children.

A: But i am sure that all these things will change with the passage of the time.

B: But i am of the view that, it will be worse in the future.Inequality will rise, urban rural divide will broaden and the future will not be a Utopian one but a dark future awaits for us.

A: Dont be so negative yaar?

B: Cant you see the reality? a quarter of all Indians are living below $1 a day, but there are people who are living in a billion dollar home. Some kids are studying in schools which resembles luxury hotels and at the same time we got millions of children who dont know what a school is? Lets just face it, even if we as a country become the largest economy in the world, there will be millions who will be unaffected by it. May be we will be one of the powerful country in the international sphere, but what the use of that power, when majority of your citizens are powerless.

This is what some of the people in this country feels about their future. For them India is not like a candy floss Bollywood romance but its like the story of Bandit queen, Slumdog millionaires. What you feel about your country. Please feel free to post. Thank you