One of my friends posted on FB today about an incident on the streets of Delhi. An old man with an LPG cylinder on his back who was riding a bicycle, fell down. As a group of people stopped to stare, two little kids ran up to help the man and put him back on his cycle.
The first question that I asked was whether the kids looked like they were rich or middle class. My friend responded saying that the kids definitely looked poor. Odd question for me to ask but her post had made me think of something that Ma always says. That in my country, it is much more likely that the common man (read poor) will help you if you are in an accident or some sort of trouble in public. The well-heeled will most probably look away.
Living in a different country makes me wonder if that phenomenon might not be India-specific. Walking in downtown Chicago, I often see a couple of poorer old men shouting out cheery hellos to passersby. They smile and talk to strangers, mainly to get their attention, no doubt. That aside (and yes, I am being romantic), they try to make a strange connection with people they do not know. On the other hand, the rest of us mostly walk with our heads down, earphones firmly plugged in, rushing for our buses and trains. We aren't rude to passersby but I doubt if many of us notice them either. We definitely don't have the time or the inclination to say hello to our fellow pedestrians.
Things would be different in an accident in Chicago because this is a country where the value of each life is very high. I have seen a busload of people help a stranger who has collapsed in the bus. That changes when the value of life drops, which is what happens in India. But that's another post.
Going back to the incident in Delhi and the many that occur across India every day. The rich (and the wannabe rich) in our country often couldn't
care less about most non-rich beings. And we--the middle class--are
always so worried about getting into trouble. It's as if the poor are
the only ones that can afford to be spontaneous and human.
