Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Ajeebs


Last morning, I woke up a little late, quickly got ready and rushed with my breakfast. Well, none of that is unusual these days, especially because I tend to sleep late, and therefore struggle with getting up early.

And then, I found myself a taxi to go to the office. As I sat inside, I realized that my shoes are too dirty and needed polishing. I figured, the best alternative at that time was to just clean them up properly. And therefore thought that I could possibly ask the taxi guy for some help.

Me: Boss, do you have a piece of cloth that you may use to clean your car?
Driver: Yes sir (looking at me suspiciously)
Me: Can you please give it to me. I just need to clean my shoes
Driver: Do think before you ask for it again
Me: Sorry?
Driver: This is a clean cloth that I use to clean my dirty car. I thought you might need it to wipe off your hands and face
Me: Sorry?
Driver: You are well educated, you should be mindful of making such comments. This is a clean cloth. I wash it everyday
Me: Boss, what's your problem? Why are you getting angry? Don't give me that random piece of cloth, if you don't want to

And I was left thinking that what is it that made the driver angry. May be...
- ...he was already annoyed with something and I just triggered his emotional burst
- ...that car is everything for him, and he takes really good care of that car, and anything remotely associated with it (e.g. cloth) receives equally high regard from him
- ...he wanted to just pass that comment - "you are well educated....". That seems to be the most popular dialogue amongst a lot of people these days. May be because they regret the fact that they didn't end up getting educated
- ...because it's an absolutely normal reaction, and in fact, I am ignorant to have thought that car cloth is typically a dirty piece of cloth (well, back in my pre-MBA life, that's how I treated that cloth)

I found the situation to be totally Ajeebs. And I figured that publishing about it on this blog is the only way that I'd stop thinking about it.