Note: This post of mine was published in a Japanese Magazine in India . I was asked to write an article that might help the Japanese understand Indians better.
Japanese: I
am coming down in 5 minutes please keep the car ready
Driver: Sir,
ok. I will be ready
[Reaches
Down]
Japanese: are
you not ready yet?
Driver: 2
minutes sir
Driver
(thinks to himself): I do not understand why this man says he will come in 5
minutes and comes down by 4 minutes 30 seconds
Japanese
(thinks to himself): I do not well understand the context of 2 minutes what he
usually gives me
Truly
speaking many we Indians, ourselves do not know the context of 2 minutes that our fellow
Indians give us. And I do not possibly think that our foreigner friends here in India would possibly understand the same. But I am sure I can give you an
equivalent of what 2 minutes means to us. It could possibly mean that we are getting on it/ it
means we are trying to do/ come ASAP. The 2 minute rule not only applies to
foreigners but to Indians too.
Getting to
talk about the 2 minutes context, it would be a shame if I forget to mention
that Indians or at least most of the Indians never fail to follow the Indian
Standard Time (IST) – pun intended.
A famous
quote by an anonymous Indian goes like this “Indians are never late, they just
run by Indian time” and so it is true.
And therefore
we could classify Indians into
1. Type Un
Indian
2. Type
unsure
3. Type very Indian
[Classifications
are purely fictional and based upon my imagination.]
Let me
describe you each type which could be an eye opener to all my Japanese colleagues out there
1. Type Un
Indian
This is a
very rare species that can be found in India and we cannot pick these people
from a particular group. This class of people I would say are growing rather
slowly but in a steady pace. They can range from the working class
to the white collar group. You say that you will meet them at 9:00am and these
chaps will definitely turn up at the latest by 9:01Am. And they are quite
Japanese in a way being sincere or polite enough to call you and send a word of
apology in case they are going to be late.
Consider
yourself lucky if your driver or working partner is one of that people.
2. Type
Unsure but happily sure
I would say
this set of people could be highly dangerous ones to predict [feelings mutual
from my side]. You can’t predict where do these people emerge from, but I would
call as a common Indian trait. You fix up the appointment with him at 9:00Am
one day and he shows up at your door anywhere between 9:15 to 10:30Am. You
thought this time you learnt a lesson, no be careful and don’t let your
appointment for the next time to be at 8:30Am hoping that he would show up at
9:00/9:15AM only to see him on your door steps at 8:15AM.
3. Type Very Indian
This class of
people are the ones whom you can find next door and easily point a random
person he can be one among them. This culture of being very Indian and
following Indian time has been imbibed in most of us. He might be the one who
says he would call you back in 5 minutes and would never call you back for
eternity until your names flashes on his mobile screen or you show up at his
door. Make sure while you are trying to make an appointment with him give him a
lead time of 30 ~45 minutes or says 5 minutes or I am on the way and shows up
only after a good 45 minutes.
And this
types can even go up to the extent of calling you as being affected with Obsessive-compulsive disorder if you are
being too hard on them be it right on your face or behind your back.
.jpg)
Tips to
survive IST: Nothing, You will experience IST
at least a minimum of two times
before getting used to it and start complaining about it instead of screaming
to the person who is late. You will get used to it once you start saying “Coming
in Two minutes ….”
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~Kei
