Gurgaon - My Experience

Since I am from South India everything in Gurgaon (Haryana, India) is a learning by experience. People, food, culture even the climatic condition, almost everything.

But still it is India!

Long queues which are now slowly disappearing because of advent of Information Technology. Crowds even at places where we expect privacy and people who are necessarily interested in gossips and rumours then minding their own work. Rules are always ruled out here. (Well not only traffic rules, every rule).

Ha ha :) but we Indians always adjust.

Cars and roads are the most beautiful things in Delhi apart from girls. BOT and BOOT reforms from the government really improved the roads in India. (I should say Delhi and NCR to a great extent). I really enjoy the ride in car and enjoy the speed. (Every time it will be my boss who drives all official trips as I do not have a license thou to drive though I am professionally trained driver). You will find too many cars (cars like Porsche, Bentley, Ferrari are also common) in Delhi roads. I have seen a Hummer parked next door. I wonder where the money comes from! But public transport (Buses) is pathetic I can say it is very bad in Haryana. People sometimes take pride in breaking them for even simple reasons. So may be government thought that it is better not to have than to lose them. So everybody is forced to have a personal vehicle for transportation. And thanks to Metro trains. They solve a very huge traffic.

I am living in the best part of Gurgaon, really in a sweet home, perfect place to rest after work. We have a cook from West Bengal and she is really an expert in Sambar. Believe me we every day ask her to make sambar and rice for dinner (and no other dish). We also have a house keeper, without whom our house would have looked like a hostel. Still our house owner sometimes shouts on the neatness and sometimes says guys I wonder how you are going to manage your life in future.

The market place is the real happening place. The malls are huge and the best part is they have the crowd who can spend huge sum of money. There are about 8 malls in the distance of just 3 km in Gurgaon (that would be the total number of malls in south India). People really earn a lot and spend a lot. (but in south I think most of the money is still in lockers. Still economic liberalisation made in 1993 has not hit the doors in south)

I should tell about the people and their work culture. I like the dressing sense and outlook. Mannerism is very different. Respect is given only if and when required. Even kids love inviting trouble. Some take pride in it as well. Work culture, similar to developed countries, avoiding work after working hours. Work is given to people who work and many times the credit as well. (sometimes shared to everyone in team)

And the best things that I loved here (and I never dared in south) is dancing in streets during marriages. Marriages here are vibrant. I really liked their wedding style. The best part is the dancing. The bridegroom is made to sit on a horse and friends and relatives dance on their way to wedding hall. I have attended about 4 wedding, all are guys who are bright engineers just 24 years old.(I mean wedding is very early, 27 years for males is considered late in many families). I have every time danced on streets and I loved it. I even remember in one such wedding(in fact a rich wedding), a relative of the bridegrooms was distributing alcoholic drinks to everyone and when I refused, he gave a staring look as if I have committed a sin. (well I mean to say drinking is very common, unlike south it is not “assumed” that the person who drinks is a bad guy or would one day die of cancer only)

I must tell about women also. They are really brave and on par with guys (and as idiotic as we are as well). They are more sociable compared to the south. I was really happy when a girl invited me for coffee. I think that is the first time a woman has invited me in this 22 years of my living. As time passed these things became very common and one never takes pride or stress saying, “a girl invited me for coffee / lunch /dinner”. Nor do they. I never know women can be so cool and could make jokes as well. (As far as I knew women and jokes are really far apart).

I think this is the best time I am having in my life. I really feel free. (I feel like as if I got independence after coming here to Gurgaon). I am soo sick of bloody South Indian rules and their mindset. (I still remember my mom force me go for temple in Friday evening but I always loved playing cricket in ground). But, I also learnt to praise south for the clean government, their values and ethics and the way it bought me up.

"Bees that gives honey gives stings too". There are positives and negatives. I liked learning both at gurgaon.