Differences

This week I am going to concentrate on noting down some differences between England, where I’ve been staying for the last three months, and back home, in Chennai, India. As you can imagine, there are a great number, both visible and invisible; for example, the very people themselves.

Over there, in England, especially in the smaller towns, the population is such that you hardly meet anyone on the numerous walk-paths available. When you do, the people are usually seniors and they normally respond to greetings, which one poet described as “polite, meaningless words”. Not so with the younger walkers. They are always too busy, on their phones, or walking their dogs, or even just showing no interest in pleasantries or friendliness. Most of them don’t care about picking up the mess their pets have created.

Which brings me to my next point. England is no longer the clean, spic and span country that it was supposed to be. Litter can be noticed everywhere and people seem immune to this wilful desecration. Compare all this to India and the differences are only those of magnitude. In Chennai, and all over the country, we seem to thrive on the heat, dust, and overpowering garbage that we generate. To be fair, many Indians carry their refuse with them, to be deposited at a favourite dump that is on the way to work, and to hell with anyone who is watching. The absolute apathy shown by the average Indian regarding keeping the environment uncluttered ( after all, isn’t it just Mother India? ) is slowly spreading from the once-subjugated countries of the world, like a pox, upon the former imperialists.

Going further, it seems to me that England is not just sparsely populated, but also has little fauna to boast about. In India, we have ants, mosquitoes, spiders, household lizards, flies, cockroaches and termites to keep us company, but England does not seem to have any of these critters. The squirrels here are bigger than our bandicoots, and there are just very few animals and birds to make you sit up and take notice.

One more difference and I will be done. If any of you, dear Readers, wants to contest my views, please be free to do so. My last point is that England is a land with thousands of churches that have now almost become relics, things of the past, that have no relevance to modern life. In India, religion is a very profitable business, and this leads to all kinds of complications for ordinary people like you and me.

Think deeply on these things and even you may come to the conclusion that “mere anarchy is loosed upon the world”. Will there be a revelation soon enough?