We Love the Unfashionable Bicycle!

This post is an appeal to my fellow Indians to start viewing things in perspective. It's a foolish idea, I know, since people are so deeply rooted in the views that have been propagated to them, that they begin to feel that they are actually their views.

I'm defending the humble Indian cycle, which has been much maligned by people and which, I may add, I have the honor of referring to as my prime mode of transport.

I have seen all sorts of attitudes towards my choice of steed. I have seen disbelief, quizzical glances, downright disgust, amused tolerance, disrespect, and every once in a while, be it ever so rare, admiration.

I believe the prevailing social norm in India, is that the bicycle is meant only for teenagers, and the lower class. I see no self respecting manager of a company, or a not so self respecting brash youth eager to prove himself a man, making the cycle as their prime mode of transport.

It is during moments of contemplation, when these undeniable facts present themselves to me clearly, that I shake my head in disbelief at the commonly held supposition that Man is a rational animal. I won't go into the benefits of cycling in this post. They are far too obvious to me, and indeed, to anyone who thinks logically. If you want a good breakdown, read about the benefits of cycling in this article.

But perhaps I'm being too judgmental. Live and let live is what I say. So I have no grudge against those who use a motorized vehicle, beyond the rather obvious fact that they pollute, make a terrible noise, and in some cases, use up so much road space per user, that pathways in major cities are becoming increasingly difficult to navigate through.

However, I do wish that people would apply the same principal to me, harmless as I am. All over India, I encounter active prejudice against the most friendly mode of transport ever devised. And I'm not just talking about the way people look at you.

In almost all parking lots, prime space goes to huge cars, and the space filters down to motor bikes, until only at the very end, if you're lucky, you find a place to park your cycle. And in all cases, cyclists are forced to park in the sun, in a dilapidated parking lot that seems to say 'Here lie all the unworthy and unwanted items known to man'. Even the parking attendants are frequently rude to cyclists, while they bow obsequiously to the huge Mercedes close by.

I feel a just wrath, as I view the shabby treatment meted out to cycles by people who look at self worth only as a function of what society deems is important. These same people have visions of one day owning a car themselves, and being bowed to by other Parking attendants, and so it propagates. People who are unable to think for themselves.

The rest of the world has long woken up, and has recognized the benefits of the cycle. They plan entire cities taking into consideration the fact that they need to make it bicycle friendly. There, the cycle is an accepted mode of transport and there is no shame in using it.

The picture that you see, is of a policeman riding a cycle in an obviously cycle conscious society. And he looks so cool! In India, only the lowest of the police force ride a cycle.

Now my readers mustn't mistake me. I love my country, and I would not leave it. I guess that countries, just like people, are childish at first, and then mature as time goes by. I know this will happen sooner or later (but probably not in my life time) in India. But it is frustrating to see it happen! It's just something that we conscious cycle riders have to learn to deal with. We're setting an example, and that requires guts. Go Cycles!

The deception of work

There is a certain attitude amongst middle class society in India, that I would like to share, having come under it's unappetizing effects rather recently.

The other day, my significant other (Don't know what else to call her - I never liked to tag her as my wife), informed me, that in the ET Awards function, India's top CEO's had replied, when asked how much time they get in their personal life, that this was not the time for India to be bothered with a personal life. That this was India's time to work as hard as possible. All this was received with much applause on the part of the audience!

The same attitude was visible in my previous office. The prevailing opinion was that to be worth something, you had to work hard. Even if there was an easier way to do it, one must work hard, complete the job with much sweat and toil, and be covered in glory. If an easier way was found, it was considered no great achievement. Great emphasis was placed on being seen to be working.

My recent situation, where I am exploring freelancing on oDesk as an alternative to traditional work, has been critiqued roundly by my father. He gives a number of reasons, not all of which quite stick together under close scrutiny, but underlying it all, is a primary reason. All the other reasons are rationalizations. The primary reason is that it seems too easy a life.

Again, I am lucky enough to live in my own compound, away from my parents, and not pay rent. My father feels that this is too easy for me, and I should work hard and prove (this word keeps coming up -'prove') that I can earn my own keep completely. To whom should I prove this and why? I don't need to prove it to myself. Pushed to it, I'm sure I can, but why should I deliberately push myself to it? Should I prove it to him? There's no need for that. I don't need to justify my existence to him.

There are thousands of people in the world who are luckier than me. Thousands of people who don't need to work at all, and have a quite easier time than I do. I don't grudge them their lifestyle. I don't grudge Bertie Wooster his style of living so easily. So why should I grudge myself, my own small portion of good luck?

What is this obsession with working hard for the sake of working hard? People seem to be deriving their self worth from how others perceive them to be working, and saying - He's a hard worker, so he's OK. As if there's a need to justify their existence to the world, instead of accepting that they exist. As if they are tendering an apology to the world, and to themselves, and saying "Here. I don't deserve to live. But see! I'm working as hard as possible, and not enjoying myself. Forgive me for the sin of existing."

Doubtless, this may be thought as an exaggeration, but an exaggeration is necessary when you want to bring home the point. I have observed this sort of attitude over and over again in several people.

My views on the matter, is that such people are not sure of themselves at all. They feel you have to earn your right to live. As if living is a commodity like any other that needs to be purchased. If one has to work, then of course one has to work. But one works in order to live. Not the other way round. If living comes by itself, then work become unnecessary. Work is a means and not an end. Of course, if one enjoys doing something, then let them do it to fulfill themselves. But one mustn't hold oneself up as an example, and say, "See! I'm working. Admire me, and follow my example."

Since when has material comfort solved the fundamental problems of humans? After 10,000 years of existence, we are still the same people, fighting the same battles, and facing the same problems, though in different ways. These existential problems are of humanity itself, and cannot be solved by outside means, but only through inward means.

How does one combat this trend in Indian Society? Indeed, the whole economic apparatus is geared towards making us feel this way. The economic system, once set in motion, becomes hungry to keep itself going, and for this, it begins to feed on the people whom it was created to serve in the first place.

Let me tell all the CEO's who had proudly proclaimed that this was not the time for Indians to pay attention to their family lives - "Mind your own damn business, and don't suggest to me what I should do. Look to yourselves first, and see how you're driven by forces outside yourselves. We are not slaves, but free people. And I will not be a slave to a false conscience that is being imposed on me by people like you. My true conscience is my own to keep."

New Avenues

For the past few days, I've been taken up with a relatively new concept in India - Freelancing. Ideas of the sort had occurred to me before, but I hardly knew how to follow them up.

Then just a few days ago, my wife called me from work, and asked me to check the Economic Times for an article on freelancing, and I've been busy with it ever since.

The ideal of choosing my own work timings, not having to go to office in a suit, and to do whatever interesting job is thrown up, is an ideal, if it ever comes true. This is the closest I will ever get to it I suppose, if not actually touch it.

The jobs that are available online are so diverse and varied, that there is something to suit everyone. The various sites that I have looked into, are odesk, and Elance. Still keeping my fingers crossed about how well it's going to turn out, and I've just received my first interview request online.

One particular job on writing about the latest Scientific research for the lay public really appeals to me. I may not get the job, but I've applied for it, and I don't think I would have found the opportunity to even apply for something like that anywhere else.

Let's see how things turn out. If this clicks, it might be the way to go for me.