MyJottingz

A few days ago we read "Mumbai is the rudest city in the world!"says the Reader's Digest survey. Followed by New York named politest city
And as a Bombayite in NYC you go wooaah... excuse me.....what?????

Don't New Yorkers have the reputation for being the rudest on the planet with their in your face attitude. And did you not see how people helped strangers during the floods in Mumbai last year.
So what is the basis for this conclusion. Saying "thank you" & Picking up papers which were dropped on the street. Ahem gulp... are you kidding me????

Dude, trust me your not going to be polite if you are running to catch the Virar local. And Bhai, neither does a New Yorker greet you at the Star Bucks as pointed out by Kamla who says that it's the way the questions are structured that throws the whole thing off.

Because culturally what might be good manners in the East might be offensive in the West and vice versa. As Vimalanand Prabhu writes in his comments on India Uncut
"I think that in India, we do not say thank you to the cashier at the grocery who gives back our change. I guess, we do take the cashier for granted but the cashier also takes us for granted and doesn't say "Thank you for shopping with us". Sometimes, even they will just hurl the change back, especially if the customer is a kid. In fact, if I say thank you to my friends in India, they tell me to give them a break and tease me for being polite. In the US, you hold a door open for people, but in India, there are hardly any doors that automatically shut themselves off.

But at the same time, in the US, it is OK to drink coke when you are in the classroom in front of your teachers, or even to have a mild snack. You call professor by his first name. You can keep your feet on the chair or sometimes even on the desk. You do not refer to elders as uncle or aunty but just by the first name. If a survey included these questions, I am sure that the west will turn out to be rude." Well said.

Alyque Padamsee says that if Cab drivers and people on the street are helpful- that's the best indicator of what a city is like.

Like another Bombayite, The Great Ganesha says "When things really come to a head - that’s when Bombayites’ true nature comes out. What happened during the floods? Bombayites the world over banded together to help out." So that I think is the bottom line, the rest is all PC.


Tags : mumbai, India, Current Affairs