The meeting was scheduled from 6:00 AM. The venue was the
parking lot of our building. Eight more residents were invited to the meeting.
I reached the venue and found it deserted. Even the host had failed to make it.
I checked the place again after twenty minutes. Still
vacant. There was no communication about a postponement or cancellation of the
meeting.
I came back without a
protest. I didn’t expect anyone to be there. It was just the sheer force of
habit that had propelled me to the venue.
Over the years I have accepted that punctuality is treated
differently by different people. I remember meetings being scheduled from 9:58
AM at the multi-national Ingersoll Rand. The intent was clear. A delay of even
one minute was not acceptable. Mail was responded to in time, projects were
finished in time, and customers were served in time. It is not that Ingersoll
Rand did not commit mistakes. It did, but solutions were provided efficiently
and quickly.
At the other extreme lies my experience with some Indian
companies catering to the domestic market. Reminders were common, whether for a
response to mail or for participation in an event. All these companies were
dominant players in the Indian market, but had negligible presence elsewhere.
Religion is a weak spot with us. We sacrifice our life for
its sake. We can make it our strength and empower our life by delving deeper
into religion and practising it in its true sense. The Sanatan Hindu Dharma,
Islam, Christianity or other prominent religions do not recommend procrastination.
Still, generations after generations grown with an overdose of religion find
nothing wrong if the completion of a bridge gets delayed by years, if the
transfer of a provident fund file takes months, if the correction of a
government bill takes weeks, if a long distance train runs behind schedule by a
day, or if an across-the-counter transaction takes hours instead of minutes!
We get hurt if we suspect that a particular animal is being harmed
or a place of worship is being desecrated; but we find it absolutely alright to
waste time and subject other humans to inconvenience due to inaction or delayed
action on our part.
Aren’t our priorities misplaced? Isn’t that a larger
contributor to our sluggish progress than the oft-maligned political parties?
संदेश
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