Ever since I’ve been living in New Delhi all by myself, this feeling of people’s interference has intrigued me more often than not. Sometimes it’s made me wonder if living single brings along a baggage. But over the years I noticed interestingly, that Indians in general are curiously inquisitive about anything which is not their business.
Initially the neighbours/semi-strangers/ office colleagues enquire about your age and then your marital status and the reason for being single. Not satisfied, they want to know the reason for your living single and why parents do not stay together. The amount of rent and if there’s some partner staying together is also enquired about. Bucketful of advise such as it’s risky for a single female living alone in the city, and that one must stay with some friend/family, and that one must buy a flat etc. is given for free. This achieved, the questions sometimes turn to the place of work and the amount of salary. Further, people will want to know how is spare time utilized (as if singletons have a separate definition for spare time), marriage plans, modes of fighting loneliness (it’s a given that living single brings loneliness). People are also inquisitive about mode of transport everyday and what is the make of car, in case you own one (it’s quite a hot topic of discussion in case you happen to own a sedan). Almost everyone would express a desire to take a look at your house and it seems like a crime in case it is tastefully (read expensively) done. Dropping tongues and popping eyeballs are the widely evident expressions.
Having said that, the inquisitiveness does not end there. In case one is married and has not had a baby in one year, questions about such plans float all over the place. Whether you’re married or not, females traveling alone are always subject to very personal and irrelevant questions by co-passengers who are complete strangers. Sometimes, the looks are worse than the questions. In a totally different scenario, if a new outfit, footwear or mobile phone is noticed, one is bound to get raised eyebrows and asked the price and the requirement of such a purchase. If you’re planning a holiday, the neighbours show greater interest. It’s important for everyone to know what food you eat/cook and whether you have a maid or not. Even when you stand in a queue and hurriedly fill a form, people either stare at the form or at you. It’s most irritating when people randomly stare at you as if you belong to Mars. Believe me, the list is endless!
My question is why? What makes Indians this inquisitive? Why cannot everyone mind their own business? I mean it’s nice to be concerned about your neighbour/ colleague, but most people seem to cross all boundaries of being civil. When will they learn the importance of personal space? When will they realize that this habit of being nosy is irritating to the sufferer? God only knows… or does anyone want to take a wild guess???
No comments:
Post a Comment