Everyday life in India
on Jen's Indian Adventure (India), 18/Jan/2010 12:44, 34 days ago
OK.So life is very different over here, but there are two things in particular that fascinate me– shopping and mobile phonesShoppingAs previously mentioned shops do not make life easy over here– well easy compared to shopping inIreland. InIrelandwe have large supermarkets that will sell you just about anything all under one roof.InIndiaevery shop sells something different. I have identified which shop sells coffee, which has toilet roll (sometimes– although this shop is closing down so the hunt begins again), which sells milk etc.The best part of the whole shopping experience is the shop security guy.All the major chain stores have security at their entrance and exit points (usually two separate doors). At the entrance point you must leave all bags outside. There must be a big problem with theft over here. I can understand with such a large percentage of the population being below the poverty line that this is possible. The security guard will give you a tag which allows you reclaim your personal property once you have finished shopping. But generally they don’t take responsibility for mobile phones, Ipods etc, so I have learned to leave these at home if shopping as without a bag how are you supposed to mind them? !It’s when leaving a shop that the real fun starts. Firstly at the check out all plastic bags are sealed – again to ensure you steal nothing on the way out. This of course is one of the many reasons Indian streets are so dirty - there's no recycling as it's impossible to re-use some stores plasticbags. The staff member at the till then stamps your receipt to say ‘paid’, even though it’s clear from the receipt that you have. You then have to produce your receipt to the exit security guard to prove that you have paid for the bags you are carrying. This is the funniest bit as generally the security guard is standing so near the cash point that they actually watch you pay in the first place. Again then they stamp your receipt to allow you to exit the shop.I don’t know for sure but I am assuming this is some way of giving people employment. Here inIndiaanyone with a work card (a registration card that gives them the right to work) is entitled to a minimum of 100 days paid work per year. If they apply to the government to find them a job and they cannot be found one in a certain period of time they are then entitled to a social welfare payment. This is also one of the reasons you see so many female construction and road-side workers.Mobile phonesOver 5 million people sign up for a mobile phone every month inIndia. The competition between the various brands is intense. Every shop front (small traders in hut-like premises) here advertises one brand of mobile phone or another, even if they don’t sell phones or credit. But most shops do sell credit – grocers, pharmacists, even the bakery sells phone credit. The commission must be great !I’ve signed up with an Indian mobile phone company as I got a lot of free texts at the start (all now used up), but their service is quite different from what I’ve been used to at homeFirstly, every time I text or make a call I immediately get a text from them updating my credit balance– a really good idea. But then it’s all down-hill after that.I’m not exaggerating when I say I get at least 10 texts or calls every day trying to sell me more credit, internet access and even a dating service. Generally they are all in Oriya or Hindi, but as I’m seeing them so often I am getting used to them.When you phone another Indian mobile phone with the intention of speaking with someone you have to hear a marketing sales pitch in Hindi, with beautiful background music, before the phone actually starts to ring.With my network I get quite philosophical messages from them on a regular basis such as‘Imagination in the one weapon in the war against reality’ which arrived this morning. From time to time I even get a text wishing me ‘good night’.And then– the icing on the cake – there is no voicemail set up on the Indian mobile network, so everyone just answers their phone whenever it rings, even in the middle of office meetings.