Complete disregard for courtesies...
We (urban lot, earning from the MNC's which have opened shops in India for cheap labour {yea thats us :P}) happen to meet and greet people of all shapes, dimensions, backgrounds and what not. Of course there is that constant visible attempt of fitting in and matching up. Every other person seems to be a clone of their neighbour, their work colleague who defines their peer group. But again, I'm digressing here. Lets just say I wanted to set the mood and give some background and context, before I start off, on what I intended to write about in the first place.
So, like I meant to say, increasingly everyone seems to have completely done away with basic courtesies of English language. When I refer to courtesies, all I mean are simple pleasantries like 'Hello,' 'Hi,' 'Hey,' or even 'how are you,'. All these work for me just fine. These would largely be considered about okay pleasantries to be exchanged, when meeting anyone at anyplace. But, the most recent addition to this list is 'whats up,' 'wassup,' etc etc. I have never quite figured what is the expected response to this one. On most occasions, the wassup is replaced by an upward jerk of the head. I mean it won't Kill you to say hello while greeting someone. Oh, this is my 'Frasier,' moment... bragging about proper usage of language and everything with it.
Well if this doesn't irk you enough, there's more. I have been noticing rather keenly my conversations with colleagues and friends. There are those who stand out with their regard for good manners and their adherence to the same. And then there are those who just 'cut to the chase,' should I say. You take the call, and their monologue starts of how life's been treating them, and where do you fit in the picture, how you can make yourself useful. Thats with friends. Okay, we can assume that with friends, its all fair, and you can do away with the formality. Now about professional acquaintances, I have been fortunate enough to communicate with people, whose opening sentence is 'yea tell me,' irrespective of who's calling me or they.
If yo're reading this, and you fall in any of the above mentioned variety, then time to alter that a bit. Don't you think? I mean we are super busy and all that, but we can certainly afford to be a little less mechanical in our interactions, in person or otherwise....
We (urban lot, earning from the MNC's which have opened shops in India for cheap labour {yea thats us :P}) happen to meet and greet people of all shapes, dimensions, backgrounds and what not. Of course there is that constant visible attempt of fitting in and matching up. Every other person seems to be a clone of their neighbour, their work colleague who defines their peer group. But again, I'm digressing here. Lets just say I wanted to set the mood and give some background and context, before I start off, on what I intended to write about in the first place.
So, like I meant to say, increasingly everyone seems to have completely done away with basic courtesies of English language. When I refer to courtesies, all I mean are simple pleasantries like 'Hello,' 'Hi,' 'Hey,' or even 'how are you,'. All these work for me just fine. These would largely be considered about okay pleasantries to be exchanged, when meeting anyone at anyplace. But, the most recent addition to this list is 'whats up,' 'wassup,' etc etc. I have never quite figured what is the expected response to this one. On most occasions, the wassup is replaced by an upward jerk of the head. I mean it won't Kill you to say hello while greeting someone. Oh, this is my 'Frasier,' moment... bragging about proper usage of language and everything with it.
Well if this doesn't irk you enough, there's more. I have been noticing rather keenly my conversations with colleagues and friends. There are those who stand out with their regard for good manners and their adherence to the same. And then there are those who just 'cut to the chase,' should I say. You take the call, and their monologue starts of how life's been treating them, and where do you fit in the picture, how you can make yourself useful. Thats with friends. Okay, we can assume that with friends, its all fair, and you can do away with the formality. Now about professional acquaintances, I have been fortunate enough to communicate with people, whose opening sentence is 'yea tell me,' irrespective of who's calling me or they.
If yo're reading this, and you fall in any of the above mentioned variety, then time to alter that a bit. Don't you think? I mean we are super busy and all that, but we can certainly afford to be a little less mechanical in our interactions, in person or otherwise....
5 comments:
First that rant about smiles and now this, looks like we (your colleagues that is) really managed to rub you thr wrong way!
P.S: I agree with anything anyone says about improper use of the language.
R u talking about meeeee! You write this right after we chatted! :-|
actually who am I kidding I could any of those people...but you're a friend! "I could do away with the courtesies." No?
@Suhel: Hahaha
@PG: Yes absolutely, you could...I'm just saying :)
Hey!
First of all let me thank you for visiting my blog and following :).
Hmm, I think it is important to use some sort of greeting. It at least acknowledges the fact that you're not just there to steal food of someone.
I look forward to reading more!
Take care, and have a lovely week ahead.
Stay smiling
@ Nas: Thanks to you too :)
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