Today I read a bizarre news on internet about Tejas Express which ran from Mumbai to Goa. I will talk about the news later on but, just to begin the description of the topic. It is a semi luxury train which had several luxury amenities and facilities like, on-board touch screen infotainment with high quality headphones, automatic doors, great interiors, automatic tea/coffee vending machines, bio-toilets and modern services in bathrooms/washrooms. It runs with a speed at 200 km/hr. A lot of hype was created around Tejas Express because of such amenities and because this train was one of its kind to be provided at lesser prices of tickets. This train was assumed to be the beginning of Indian Railway’s new innings for providing best facilities to common people at affordable prices. Tejas Express began it’s first journey from Mumbai to Goa on 22nd May from Mumbai to Goa.
But
The passengers gave shock to administrators. According to reports in the media, the Tejas Express at the time it left Mumbai was completely different the moment it reached Goa. Sadly, the change was ugly and dirty. Around 12 high quality headphones were stolen, many of the on-board infotainment screens were scratched or damaged. The screens were pulled forcefully pulled out of their places in order to steal them. The toilets were all dirty and messy as if people were determined to make it dirty (nothing natural about it). Some travelers said the toilets started to stink withing hours of journey as people didn’t even bother to flush. The maintenance guy said that the garbage, wrappers and food stuffs was fallen on the floor just like any other train. Even windshields were scratched and broken in some cases. In short a train which was as beautiful and loaded as a palace, became a shattered and dirty shanty.
This news broke my heart and as an Indian I feel ashamed today! It is not a breaking news to anyone that Indians are bad at following the traffic rules, not standing in queues, loitering on the road, defecation in open. Many people blame it on poverty and illiteracy. I absolutely don’t believe that the civic sense has anything to with financial conditions or literacy. Civic sense is a cultural subject. We Indians boast too much about our culture and heritage. But, honestly speaking civic sense was never part of Indian culture. I can list down so many things we Indians do which will make you feel embarrassed. But, it is not the subject of my article. I want to raise my voice against the bad or no civic sense in our Indian society and don’t believe current Indian generations deserve luxuries like Tejas Express. It’s my strong belief that good services should cost more, so that customers will value it more.
I am not sure what is the solution for this problem. I have lived abroad for some years and have seen something which can be implemented easily in any country including India. When I experienced it I thought it was strange and unnecessary but, today I am convinced that it is the best solution to teach civic sense. Once, I helped a very young kid picking up his car he dropped. He just began walking away when I gave his car back but, his mother stopped him and asked him to say ‘Thank you‘ to me! The kid refused but mother was persuasive and she made that kid say thank you to me. This to me was a big surprise. You don’t see this happening in India (at least I have not seen it so far). I thought it was not necessary for that kid to say Thank you to me but the mother was right. It was not about being grateful to me but it was about the civic sense! yes, civic sense. I am seeing kids in KG’s in India are taught not to loiter on the street. Obviously this generation will grow to be more civic than my generation.
I think the moment we Indians start teaching basic civic sense to our kids the Indian society will be more civic. I will be honest to say that I am hopeless about my generation and older generations. Nobody can teach us to be civic now. But, at least we can make sure the newer generations are taught civic sense right from the KG’s and schools. Also, it is essential that parents will follow the same things they teach their kids. You can’t teach your kid to follow the traffic rules while you are breaking all the rules, honking unnecessarily. I just want to start a dialog on this topic and the solution I present. Please put your comments and suggestion in comments section.
Disclaimer:
The views and opinions presented in this article are my personal views and must not be related to my employer Autodesk Inc.
It’s sad to see Tejas train in this position. I must say we shouldn’t blame INDIA! The idea itself is not practical! I mean to say Indian railways should’ve designed according to the mentality of our people not according to the trends around the world! We should come up with some ideas that best suited to the region. I can give an example. We love Paan (betel leaves) and no one can stop people eating and spitting. We should use materials that cannot hold the paan stains! however we should stop that but till then… its needed! Similarly…. there are many ideas we can make to suit our people. The thing is.. IF ANYONE HAS ANY IDEAS, THAT SHOULD PASS IT TO THE RESPONSIBLE AUTHORITIES!
It’s true that the product should be made keeping the customers in the focus. If there are good ideas which are practical in implementation, they should be passed on to the authorities
Whatever Rohit has written is 100% true. We Indians don’t deserve such luxurious amenities at reasonable prices.
I have seen so many people open the doors of their high-end BMWs & Mercs and spit on the roads.
There’s a total lack of civic sense in our society.
long way to go for we indians -but when i see the attitude of majority of younger generation my heart sinks