Heaven, hell in civil society

SOCIETY

A former driver with the family, now in Abu Dhabi, is very happy with his new place of work. "Bhaiyya", he told my husband recently, speaking in hushed, near-reverential tones, "This place is not like Dilli at all. There is no screaming, no abusing and even if you bang up someone else's car, they merely ask, 'should we call the police, or will you?'"

For a street-smart, clean shaven-sardar from our own rough streets, this new paradise is all but incomprehensible.

Driving us all over the pretty Emirates city, Kuldeep not merely played tourist guide but also informed us as to other things: No arbit challans, in fact, cops never man traffic, cameras are positioned at intersections to note violations and fines can be paid at the time of renewing the vehicle's annual permit.

If you are foolish enough to jump a light, an sms is sent out asking you to visit the relevant authority, no doubt with consequences that really serve as deterrent.

"When I took the driving test here," said Kuldeep (he had to take it afresh, after a month of lessons and with no less than four severe-looking passengers in the backseat), "all they kept repeating before giving me the license, was, sabr."

You don't have to know Arabic to get the drift. "Sabr" is a Hindustani word as well and means pretty much the same: Patience. In all situations, in traffic snarls, accidents, while waiting for school kids and pedestrians to crawl across the road when you are in a tearing hurry and so forth.

But the moment I landed in India after my longish break, it hit me afresh how much sabr we all really lack. Perhaps there is just too much competition here.

But even in the land of plenty, there are Indians who wish for a more "liberal" attitude. If Kuldeep is in heaven because of the implementation of certain laws, another Indian, a high-ranking woman executive, is going through personal hell.

An incident, recently, that has created a buzz in the community there concerns her: One night, the lady drove herself and a few friends to a pub. On the way back, she had a tyre burst and the car she was driving hit the pavement.

In the process, one of her friends was mildly hurt. It may not sound like much of a crime but she now faces trial and even possible imprisonment! It is this possibility that has many people like us, who can easily identify with her, horrified.

Obviously, if you go beyond this first-reaction and think of how even cold-blooded killers get away easily in our own country, you would no doubt root for a similar stringent state. Or would you?