June 06, 2008
No problem! = Nine Problems?
No problem! = Nine Problems?
I think the most common phrase I hear whenever I ask for something in India is “No problem!” At first, I thought that is how they are taught for dealing with customer’s requests. However, I got to realize that not only the workers at supermarkets or stores use that, but also ordinary people use it a lot: to the point of being too much. The problem is that after shouting a generous “no problem”, there is no follow up action to meet my needs.
I was standing in line of the supermarket and I wanted some changes; I needed RS 10bills to use for auto-rickshaws. I asked for RS 10bills and the clerk said “no problem!”, but instead he gave me RS 20 bills. I asked him for RS10 bills, pointing at the RS 10 bills under the cashing machine. He generously said no problem and started packing up for the next customer.
In another incident, I asked for chicken curry at a local deli and the owner brought out mutton curry. Although I just could have taken mutton, I was afraid that the mutton was not lamb, but other suspicious meat. Consequently, I asked him for a change in the menu. He waved away me good bye saying “no problem!” I was so caught off guard and asked him for a refund. After arguing and waving me away and asking me to take that mutton curry, he thought I would just take away the mutton curry I guess… But I persistently heckled him for money and made a big scene out of that place. People gathered up and I got the refund.
It is funny how that when I am experiencing problems and asking for some alternative options, many people yell out “no problem” and try to shoo me away. Evne within the people who spoke perfect English had these ‘symptoms’; the No-problemitis affected UPS people too and they seemed to always reply with the same ol’ no problem when I asked them to expedite the taxes and documents processes. I think that is just how the way it is. I now think that “No problem” means actually “Nine problems”, as No stands for nine in Hindi. “Welcome Customer, Nine Problems!”
Posted by coyojon at 01:48 AM | Comments (0)
May 29, 2008
Indian Wedding.
Indian Wedding.
The heat and the endless struggle for me to get my equipments in time from UPS made me a very tired person. I feel like I am doing nothing right and all these problems seem to invade me at the very same time. I somehow got a very bad stomach ache and experience the worst bathroom experience so far; I am not getting my equipments; the professor who helps me flew away to Spain for a seminar; I was soaked in a shower that poured on my way home. The situation could have been going on and on like that, until the family members at home told me I will be going on a wedding party today. Gaurav and Shanu’s cousin is going to get married today and I was invited to the party. Although it is heavy and hot, jeans were my only option for the semi-formal attire I needed to go to the wedding. So I dressed up and went to the wedding.
As always, I entered any scene with that typical Indian stare when I walked into the Hindu temple. People are especially interested when I walk around with my camera. I have been stared at so much during my walks to and from the University that now I am used to it, but with all that many people staring at me at the same time… I felt uncomfortable. Oh well… C’est la vie. The stare soon turned into handshakes and random picture takes and instant choruses of “Hello my name is…” I guess it is really hard to see someone looking like me in Patna.
The interesting Pujas and ritual ceremonies went on and on during that hot evening and I was pleasantly greeted by the swarm of mosquitoes that found my blood very tasty. After getting introduced to a couple dozen of people, whom I had no idea they were, I had the chance to get close to the bride and groom. The groom was wearing a very nice silky gown with an enormous hat that he couldn’t manage to balance every time he walked. The bride’s clothes were more extravagant: with red silk and gold all over her. They had to go through many more rituals so I sat there with a bunch of another group of people staring at me. A waiter gave me a cup of Pepsi and the moment I sipped the cup was wiggly; the cups are so thin in plastic that they are hard to contain with one hand. This moment was so funny for the rest of the people there and they laughed on and on.
The wedding was really a chaotic event, like many other events in India. Everybody followed the bride and groom around: from the Hindu priests to relatives and even dogs. They were singing, chanting and shouting for blessings and a good marital bond. This went on and on until… it was dinner time. Around 9, everybody rushed to the corner where the buffet-style stalls were installed. I had rice, n’aan, poori, dahl, fried eggplants, vegetable salad, chutney and some very sweet ‘sweets’ made of milk. I thought the food was just too greasy and heavy but people engulfed everything they saw. Someone told me that the wedding party is there to feed people, not for the couple to get married. I thought that was really amazing; around one hundred people running around to catch the next round of rice or dahl served while having mountains of these on their steal plates. The event was a new and interesting experience to see the Indian marriage.
Posted by coyojon at 06:06 AM | Comments (0)
May 23, 2008
Photos so far
So... I was able to use some of the lenses I bought. Here are few of the pictures I took so far. You could click on the pictures to enlarge :)
A girl sitting under a tree in Raj Ghat, Delhi
Sunset at the rooftops in Patna, Bihar
Inside the Red Fort, a soldier standing in where, in the past only the royals were allowed to stand in.
In an "Auto"... speeding the streets
The Red Fort, Delhi
Posted by coyojon at 12:33 AM | Comments (1)
Indians as businessmen
Indians as businessmen
I guess this is a very biased opinion of India that I found so far with dealing with India. So bear with me and I do hope this is not the best part of India.
I think there is a fundamental problem with the way people deal with their work here. I think many Indians lack the mind of the straight forward cliché “business is business”. I found that many people cannot take care of their work the way they should be; many lack professionalism. The mindset is, let’s just let it be; it’s not my work and I don’t want to take care of everything. My equipments through UPS are not coming this way in Patna so I had to figure out what went wrong. The UPS from Kolkata contacted me through phone and told me I had to get the package cleared for customs.
Consequently, I just couldn’t work throughout the day in the fascilities; the equipments are imperative for the research. I came home to Dr. Ghosh’s place and started contacting the Kolkata office of UPS. A guy called Mario Alexander picks up the phone and tells me I need to tell him a fax number in order for me to get the necessary documents, and send them over. First, I told them the fax number. I wanted to make everything extra sure. So, I asked and reconfirmed the fax number I was supposed to receive the documents. He told me the right thing, but I had no incoming documents for the next three hours. I called him again and asked about the situation. After re-checking the numbers Mario replies:
“I think I sent it to a wrong number.”
OK…. Things happen right? Although I really wanted to get over with this, he said he will send it over right away. Now, he calls me and asks for my email address, to which he can send the documents. This was the most amazing experience I had with calling an email address.
“The email address is my name spelled out at gmail!”
And I called him out every single letter. We cross-checked two times. He told me to wait on the phone. Now there was no response on my email account.
I called him again and now he just tells me a wrong email address. So I did the exact same thing over again and told him I will text him my email address. And he replied with the infamous
“No problem”
You see. I think ‘No problem’ means ‘Nine problems’, as ‘no’ stands for nine in Hindi. He basically makes the thing all wrong again! I asked him for his email address and tell him:
“I will give you an email … all you need to do is reply to that address with the documents.”
He says ok.
Now after waiting another hour, I have no reply. So I called him again. He says “the system is down”. I have no idea what that means but he cares less to explain. I think his brain system is down to do this kind of work.
I talked to Gaurav and Shanu, the nieces of Dr. Ghosh, about this matter and they say “Everything in India needs to be said and confirmed three times in order for you to secure something”.
Well I sure experienced that again when I went to get my SIM card of the cell phone recharged. The number they tell me after payment is a wrong one and they care less to give me a right one. They say they have no responsibility in making that number right. I asked for the refund of the recharge, but they care less. Basically, they have no idea what the right number for recharging the SIM is and do not care about what the customer is receiving. Its in their interest to just get them sold. The shocking part was that this was not a xenophobic incident, because I waited outside while the students helped me out to get it recharged. Many told me this regularly happens throughout India.
Maybe it is because I’m in the infamous Bihari state or because I had bad luck throughout the day….But it was not a pleasant experience. I hope I get my equipments fast so that I can actually work and not stare at the ceiling all day.
Posted by coyojon at 12:19 AM | Comments (3)
May 20, 2008
Life in Patna
The blazing sun wakes me every morning as I get tangled up in the mosquito nets. I am staying with Dr. Ashok Ghosh of A.N. college of Patna. With the help of Dr. Ram Boojh, I had the chance to come to contact with Dr. Ashok Ghosh and am at his residence. His family is kind to provide me with the necessary room and food throughout my stay here in Patna.
The equipments are not arriving from the states. I still need my GPS system and the depth sonar system to get a 3D image of the basin of the Ganges River at the sites I want to make the biodiversity assessment. So… Without any choice, I am trying to finish my preliminary research and get familiar with the people around.
The national game of India ( I didn’t know there was anything called a “National Game”) is said to be field hockey. However, the real deal with everyone is an amazing obsession with a game called cricket. I got so tired of everybody asking me whether I am able to play cricket, so I decided to have a game with the professors’ nieces. The game itself was alright… But the funny thing was that while we were playing in an empty lot, people from the whole village came over to watch a weird looking person awkwardly swinging his bat. Whenever I threw the ball into the wrong place or made a wrong decision, people started laughing frantically. The scene practically became a theater for the people. After thirty minutes, the whole lot was crowed with people trying to see me. I was the Jim Carey-ish awkward American playing their favorite game: maybe a weird but reasonably amiable combination.
So I decided to get a cell phone in India. Unlike the CDMA mobile format in the US, the Indian mobile system is operated by attaching a prepaid chip called “SIM card”. The annoying thing for being a foreigner is, although it is very easy for Indians to get a SIM card, there are many requirements for foreigners: 2 copies of your passport, 2 passport size pictures, proof of residence in India, and a sponsor to be contacted in for responsibility issues. Along with these documents, the applying foreigners must submit these documents to a governmental organization after getting registered in a cell phone shop. Dr. Ghosh thought this was just too much time consuming so he bought a SIM on his name. So I hope I get it activated soon.
Indian food seems to be working really well for me. The flaming and fresh bits of herbs and spices are everywhere: even a simple dish called mixed vegetables gives you a pretty numb feeling flaming burn that last for a long time. I don’t know about other, but it works perfectly fine for me. : D Well, now I’ll have to go now to get Mrs. Ghosh’s specialty: the fish curry. Later!
Posted by coyojon at 09:53 AM | Comments (0)