Wait your turn, sir

My office is located next to a petrol pump, where I often stop in the mornings to get petrol for my car. The station is usually empty this time of the day and I prefer getting this chore out of the way then. But a couple of days ago, the petrol pump had a long line of cars, gleaming in the summer heat. We too joined the queue reluctantly, anticipating a long wait. As I looked around, I saw several ‘frustrated souls,’ making miserable faces as their cars slowly crept forward. What is this impatience and frustration all about, I wondered. Yes, I know it’s boiling hot these days, but is it really that inconvenient to wait a few minutes for your turn without the ‘Oh my God, I’m going to kill you’ expression on your face?

I figured it was. As we were closer to our turn, a Pajero – at the end of the row came screeching up – trying to cut the line, while gesturing to let him go first as he was in a rush. But his efforts were in vain. The tall, brutish guy got out of his car angrily and after exchanging a few insults, abusive language and having what I like to call a fist-fight, he snapped his fingers in front of my driver’s face, and arrogantly uttered: “You don’t know who I am! I can get you kidnapped in seconds.”

As I tried to put myself together after all this embarrassment, I questioned when this wadera-culture will end? When will educated people stop being uncouth and adopt some civic sense? Most importantly, when will they stop cutting lines? In the west, people are much more tolerant while standing in a queue, I guess because they know that sooner or later, they will get their turn. While in our part of the world, citizens wait dubiously, unfortunately knowing that the VIP or the ‘might is right’ culture takes precedence over all else.