Bangalore, mind your manners

NOT DONE
BANGALORE, MIND YOUR MANNERS
This was once a city of well-behaved people. Now, they are a breed of spitting, littering, queue-jumping, bribing boors
The Times of India

AT a recent event where actor Kamal Haasan was chief guest, invitees were at their discourteous best. While he was addressing the gathering, guests spoke on their mobiles, chatted noisily and chose to ignore the many requests for silence. Time was when the average Bangalorean was considered among the most civil and well-mannered of people. While one would give up his seat for a woman, another would wait patiently in a queue. On the road, traffic rules were sacrosanct and anyone asking for or offering a bribe was given a good telling off. Look around you now — the once well-behaved Bangalorean is nearly extinct. Over the years, he’s acquired a range of annoying habits which set him apart. BT lists the worst of them...

Road rage:

Bureaucrat BR M u t h u
Kumar remembers a time when all it took to man traffic on a crowded road was a single cop. “People took the law and their role as motorists seriously. There was no incessant honking, running red lights, cutting lanes at random, parking badly, and trying run over people just to get to one’s destination fast. What really annoys me is that on the road, all Bangaloreans seem to be in a hurry now. It doesn’t matter if the way they behave causes more traffic jams — they will disregard road sense and disobey the rules constantly.”

Vitamin C-ivic sense deficiency:

Spitting, littering, throwing garbage on the streets, breaking queues. The list could go on. Filmmaker Girish Kasaravalli says, “It upsets me when I see people having such disregard for civic manners. There is no thought of hygiene or cleanliness in public places. When I have come across someone not showing any regard for their surroundings, I have even gone up to them and told them to use a bin, or refrain from spitting.”

The bane of bribing:

Harish Bijoor, brand domain specialist, says the habit of bribing stems from the swalpa adjust maadi philosophy of the Bangalorean. “The bribe helps adjust just about anything, it seems. The Bangalorean believes there is a solution to anything, particularly if it is something hampered by a rule, a law and a piece of legislation. We have moved from permit raj to a permissive raj of its own. But the day will come when even the constable at the corner will stand up and say ‘no’! Things are changing and the bribe is old-fashioned today. It smacks of insecurity.”

Great to arrive late:

Reaching anywhere late is a Bangalore trademark. Even tabla maestro
Zakir Hussain told off Bangaloreans when they walked in late for a concert of his. Director Arjun Sajnani says latecomers to events irk him no end. “There is no regard for others at the show. If it is a free event, then people are more inconsiderate and arrive when they want to.”

Mobile mania:

Bangaloreans do it everywhere. In the middle of a play, a music concert, a film and, of course, while driving or riding. Theatre person Ruchika Chanana says that it’s a tough job getting people to get off their mobile phones at plays, for instance. “Despite requests, people never turn their mobiles off. We often have to come up with creative ideas on how to tell people not to talk during shows and hope it will work.”

Bawdy behaviour:

From pinching to passing lewd comments, women in Bangalore fall victim all the time. Showbiz person Kiran Rau says, “It is a Bangalore characteristic. It hardly happens in a place like Mumbai. Everyone has a right to walk down the road without comments being passed or being pinched. What’s worse is no one seems to bother about it. The authorities must do something about it fast.”

Personally, speaking:

Scratching (unmentionable parts), ‘making nuisance’ in public, spitting and other disgusting personal habits fall into this category. “Such people should be caught on camera and then they’ll never do it again. I’ve seen even the so-called genteel people do it,” says music expert Lloyd Simon.

You are liable to be penalised and fined by various authorities for:
Bribing, littering, spitting, traffic offences, eve-teasing, talking on your cell and driving