8. GIVE AND TAKE

Nobody does Give and Take better than the Indians. It's the most beautiful thing about them. It's possible to write a book on what is negative and downright rotten about them but I must dedicate one posting to this very Indian trait which I like the most about them. India is another planet.

On train travel, quite often, I'm unable to get a low berth and am given an upper berth in which I have to climb, very often in full view of everybody as I'm foreign, so they watch me. I've done that only once and hated it although there's more privacy on the upper berths. What I've learned to do is, ask a fellow passenger, usually male, in the same cabin to switch and it's always 'no problem' - cinta matkaro.

On a plane, a family of 3 is seated separately, on their own initiative, some fellow Indian passengers will switch so that the family may sit together in one row.

On the auto pickup taxis, which are overloaded with a total of 5 passengers and the driver makes 6, whenever female passengers are picked up, the men sitting behind will jump out for the ladies, and they will sit on each side of the driver in the small, narrow front seat, holding on to each other for support and balance. If you've been in an auto you'll know how tiny they are. The driver's seat is made a little longer (it's actually a plank) to hold 2 passengers at each side but they actually occupy the seat with just half a buttock - but heck! nobody's complaining. It's cheap, it gets them to where they want to go, the ride is short......life goes on......cinta matkaro.
 
Apparently, it's illegal to pick up 5 passengers, but the guy's got to make a living, live and let live - give and take! After all, he does provide a service which is in great demand. 

An auto driver will pick up a policeman or any uniformed personnel who stops him and gives the guy a ride where he gets off without paying. As long as he dose'nt have to pay a bribe, he obliges. An auto driver will also give a free ride to his friend whom he meets along the route....mind you, these chaps don't earn much. 

Back to the trains - the Indians carry their entire house with them, some are moving home and the trains are the only mode of transport that allows them so much bag space. The cabin can be so full of one or 2 person's stuff that one can barely walk, fellow passengers help to rearrange everybody's bags to make room for each other's belongings and to allow some movement. When that's done to everybody's satisfaction, everybody sits back and starts to get to know one another.

When someone has a newspaper or magazine, other passengers in the train will ask to borrow, even if all they get is one sheet. The papers and magazine go around, circulating even to other compartments but eventually finds its way back to the owner, intact. Even if they don't read English, they will flip through to view the pictures.
 
An auto may turn into a one way street and a huge truck comes along in the opposite direction, but lo! the trucker pulls to one side to allow the auto to pass - without a curse. There are many more instances of this wonderful give and take and I'm humbled by each episode I witness.