In our country, we are conditioned to rush - to rush to work. to rush for provisions, to rush the queue, to rush onto oncoming traffic crossing the street...Essentially, to rush, rush, and rush. The frenetic pace has become second nature.
At the airport, you can spot the Indians a mile away. On any flight, they rush to be first onboard, and then, to be the first off the plane, pushing and shoving, jostling to occupy the exact same space. On the road, traffic hoots, honks, overtakes - stopped only by the signal lights turning red. Pedestrians play chicken with the traffic. When the lights turn green, they step off the sidewalk. A hand held aloft is expected to accord them right of way through onrushing traffic.
It is inexplicable how contagious the conditioning is. Rationally, we may be shocked by the behaviour pattern. In a group, mindlessly, we all do precisely the same thing. Essentially, rush, rush and rush, without any sense of why or what for. Perhaps, we have learned through the ages, that we need to rush to survive. Else, oblivion may consume us!
