The sights and sounds of Manipal

Manipal is a historic landmark. Its this beautiful place with lots of trees and greenery. There’s security and parking. People come and go all the time. There are also visiting hours and emergency wards. Manipal…is a hospital. And I was there yesterday.

Indians in general are not a very sensitive race. We are impatient and rude. We judge you by the clothes you wear and the class you belong to. We respect you according to the people you know and the strings you can pull. We don’t look at everyone as ‘humans’ and we definitely don’t stand in queues.
But come a place where we’re vulnerable and we go all humble in our knees. The rudest person smiles at the flight attendant – because it’s the first time he’s in a plane. The street smart businessman gives his seat to a lady in the bus – because this is the first tine he’s in a plush greyhound. The crudest taxi-driver speaks softly when he goes into the hotel – because this is the first time he’s in a sweet-smelling-soft-music-playing place. Unfamiliarity breeds vulnerability and vulnerability breeds humility.

At the hospital yesterday, I was surprised – pleasantly. There were automatic queues. There was no overloading of lifts…people waited their turns!! There were even some smiles shared between patients in the waiting rooms…crying children were hugged by the guy sitting next to the exhausted mother…the sunken teenager shared a song through Bluetooth with a guy she’d normally never have spoken to.

I blame this perfect picture on vulnerability – the result of imperfect happenings in all these people’s lives. It is quite ironic and it’s a little sad. Why wait to be scared and vulnerable to be a nice person? – Lesson No 1.