The Hindi lesson for today is.... Chalta Hai

I have spent more than 18 months total in Bangalore now, and I have come to understand a bit of the Indian culture and mindset. In the interest of enlightening my fellow westerners coming to this country for the first time, I'd like to share some of what I have learned about this exotic city and its people.

Judging from the number of Americans I am now seeing, the ex-pat numbers seem to be up to pre-recession counts. Using my friends' family as a fresh set of eyes, I am amazed at how "Indian" my own attitude has become. I am guilty of accepting the "Chalta Hai" attitude, even while I fight against it whenever possible.

First, a (very) brief Hindi lesson - "Chalta Hai" means, literally, "It goes on". Now, there is no exact meaning for what it conveys, but a close proximity in Jersey-ese would be "Close enough." It is the embracing of this attitude that leads to wiring jobs like this:

In other words, if it works (to ANY degree), it may be close enough - so why complain? After all - Chalta hai.

I hate the phrase, and even more, the attitude. In work I run interference for "young professionals", who fail to follow their own guidelines - because there is "so much" other work to be done. Which, taken to the logical conclusion, means that doing a little bit of a lot of jobs is better than thoroughly completing any one job. So a mechanic who almost fixes 10 cars would be worth more than a mechanic who actually fixes any car. Or something like that.

At my place, I am viewed as a tyrant by the delivery boys - because I expect the grocery store to delivery EVERYTHING I ordered, and I expect change. I expect the newspaper to be delivered EVERY DAY, not just when you happen to have enough papers to go around. If I tip, it is my decision, not theirs - even when they make up some bogus delivery charge to try and get an extra 20 rupees out of me. Of course, when challenged, they smile, and say words like "you can't blame me for trying". Chalta hai, dude.

More than anything I dislike the feeling that comes up in me - that I am not dealing with a group of adults, but some strange form of children in adult bodies, where lying is not so much a stretching of the truth as some elaborate form of fantasy - and not one to be punished, but to be joined. Everything is negotiable here - Autorick fares, purchases from vendors, everything - and with the prevailing attitude, apparently the truth is also negotiable.

When my friend moved in to his villa, he had no hot water for 3 days. For 3 days, plumbers came out. Still, they would leave without fixing the problem - after all, there was other work to be done. Yet companies are spending billions to send work over in India. So apparently the business management and the Indians share a common belief - something less than 100% is acceptable - as long as the price is right. In my mind, clearly a "Folie à Deux".

There are some bright spots. I occasionally see newspaper articles decrying the "chalta Hai" attitude. I run across some people in my work with an eye on quality, and a go-getter approach. But part of my anxiety comes from reading Rudyard Kipling. Kipling was born in Bombay (now Mumbai), India. In many of his stories, he describes how the Indians must be MADE to work, describing them as lazy and unwilling workers, while the British had a envious work ethic. Now, I don't train people to do coolie work - but I am starting to sympathize with his viewpoint. Where I once saw racism, I now see an understanding of an entire cultures mindset. I find myself ashamed of my views. And I want Indians to prove me wrong.

But I think things will just go on the way they are. Chalta hai, man, chalta hai.