Different shades

[If you are complaining about Indian Admi]

I guess its very inherent to Indian character to complain about anything and everything.
Trains not running on time, kids not doing good at school, ...... and Indian administration. Its true that administrative work gets delayed in India...you have to stand in long queues to get things done. but the interesting fact is that its not just in India that administrative delays occur. I was surprised to find similar delays in French administration. French paper works is seriously Oohh La La! Similar to indian administrative officers, French ones too behave as if they are doing a favour on you by renewing your residence permit or changing your address
So all those who feel that they did the worst possible mistake by deciding to stay in India, rethink your statement!!!!
all said and done, I think every country is unique in their own cute way. Like every individual is unique in his or her own special way. So lets be happy whereever we are and smile our way through all troubles and administrative works!!!
Bon courage........

[wendy]

i've never really had the opportunity to see babus abroad, but i'd also like to add to what you say. like the Jaagore ad says, our babus behave that way because we also stoop to their petty-mindedness.

The widespread belief is that work cannot get done if you don't bribe the official in charge. However, i'm sure it would be surprising to see how much work gets done if only citizens would be firm in not bending to slimy tactics. It's not Gandhigiri or something, it's sheer clear-headedness - the babus don't have power over your paperwork, YOU do. Yes, they are rude, they're inconsiderate, they're insensitive to people's feelings, but it requires firmness and patience - if you want work done here and now, it's not possible to test the efficiency of the system. And is this the legacy of citizenry that we want to pass on to our children?

[PB]

Babu's attitude can be very culture dependent. Of the continental europe, only place I have toured for a longish time is Germany; when ever language was NOT a problem, the German officlals will just let you know if the work can be done or not, and how it can be done. This, in the beginning, left a feeling of them being very curt, but after a couple of things, I really appreciated that neither my time nor their time is wasted.

Was in USA for 9 years. Its amazing to see the attitude of public servants; extremely helpful. I have seen Postal Office person take 15 min to make sure everything is right on my international package, and overlooking my utter ignorance; same with US Social Security personell. When my gazallion initials name lead to name mismatch on the SSN card; got it corrected with one visit and the official called my office and her superior and everything, and got it done in half-an-hour.

India too has legislation on corruption/bribes, but lacks any serious regulation. Legislation without regulation is completely ineffective; more people should be complaining about corruption to officials (ACB). That reminds me of the current situation of people wanting Jagan as CM of AP; people following the ordeal tell me that it is to save the huge amount of black money generated during YSR's regime.