Of Food

It doesn't matter whether you are studying in one of the top colleges in the country, if you cannot you cannot eat from a mess just because it doesn't serve the food from your region, you are just another narrow-minded and conservative person just like any other person in India.

Its no surprise that the country has not reached even 10% of its actual potential. When Indians cannot take risks with the food they eat even for one day, how are we supposed to take the big decisions that will take the country forward?

In IISc. you can see the entire story unfolding. People complain about the mess but still wont change to another one even though you can change back if you didn't like it. And the students from each regions have their own dishes which they cannot live without. If it is rice and sambhar for Keralites, then it is the Hilsa fish for the Bengalis and so on.

I used to think that only malayalees were so rigid when it comes to food, not trying anything different. But now I have realized that every Indian is as bad. The ones from the big cities are a little better. But they come with their own set of problems

The Handshake

What do you do if a friende shows you his hand for a handshake before parting? Obviously you would take it. But what if that friend was of the opposite sex? And would a person of the opposite sex even offer to do that?

The following is a real experience that I had not some long time ago. There were five of us there, talking about somethings. Then one of us a boy had to leave. He offered his hand to each of us boys in turn and each of us returned a hearty handshake. But when he turned to the girl, instead of offering his hand, he just gave her a wave. He then said goodbye and left. 

Why the double standards? Why the handshake for the boys and nothing to the girl? Personally if i were in the girls place, I would have been offended. Here is one guy who I consider to be a friend who shook hands with everyone else but me. Why would he do that? The girl didn't seem to mind. She just smiled at him and said goodbye. 

I was pondering on this and then I realized where I was.  This was Trivandrum, Kerala. Touching girls is probably taboo here. Nattukaar enthu parayum?

These conservative notions are surely outdated if even a simple handshake is out of place!