the indianness of being argumentative

I was biking down the road not aggressively which I innately do whether while speaking, writing, pulsaring, driving, eating or having great *** (fun, I meant). That’s also how people know me. So chanting a song as if Sonu Nigam’s soul has entered mine, I suddenly happened to stop my bike as I saw a car guzzling down towards me. Both of us applied the breaks at the same time. A slang instantly came out from my mouth but it died before coming out because I knew that both the vehicles and the lives were safe so Its better not to create a hue and cry about the failed accident. Both the vehicle was just inches away from each other. The skidding sound of the car created huge shrilled noise and caught everybody’s attention. It just appeared to me that a scene from movie “Dhoom” has been recreated. Nobody was hurt (talking of cars, because objects happens to be more precious then lives nowadays). The incident happened in the middle of a busy cross-road. Few people came down there within no time as they had already anticipated some sort of clash. I always wonder as to why other people are so much delightfully interested in other people’s problems unless being called for. Maybe they know that their problems are beyond redemption so let’s dip our beak into others problems. No wonder, why humans are called sadist and especially Indians. I think no one can compete with India in terms of GDP(GOSSIP domestic product). I thought it meaningless in standing there anymore but suddenly the person from the car came out and started staring me as if he is the police and I have committed some heinous crime and going to kill me right away. My eyes retorted back with the same intensity with which he stared. For a minute I thought he is the 007 James bond and I am the culprit. People were anxiously biting their nails off as if world war III is going to start. We were in the midst of jammed traffic road. He loaded himself with all slang he had learned and was about to launch it. People were shouting from behind to disperse and as in India there are always free mediators, arbitrators and counselors who came in to delay the launch of deadly slang missile from his mouth. Then suddenly an ambulance came from behind to which we all dispersed, though the driver was unsatisfied so he noted my bike’s number. As if there was no other work left. I went home oblivion of the whole incident and slept till the evening.

In the evening I happened to visit the crossword and co-incidentally I happened to pick “The Argumentative Indian” written by Amartya sen. In this book he has synonymised argumentative nature of Indians with traditional historical, cultural and social milieu in which our ancestors right from the Vedic times resided, in a 350 page epic I should say. I read some excerpts from the book and it was truth revealing. But looking at the contemporary scenario around the world I think that every denizen of every developing nation ultimately gets cultivated, molded into an “argumentative being”. The society has an inherent quality of molding a person’s terseness into loquacity & tranquility into chaoticity. Right from price bargaining at the vegetable vendor to a high profile mall we all are inherently argumentative where only our subtlety gets changed in the latter. Right from Birlas to Banias argumentativeness is manifested through different forms. I asked a person standing besides me as to why people are argumentative. He was reading Khushwant Singh’s book interestingly (I realized that I have committed a sin) and I happened to broke his erotic concentration so he frowned and snarled at me and said, don’t disturb. He himself started argument ting as to why am I asking such uninteresting question at this time? (Obviously when you are reading khushwant Singh’s novels everything else looks dull). He added hurriedly and angrily, what’s wrong if one is argumentative, its one’s own inherent right. I completely surrendered to this argument as I lost the debate 10-0 and did not argue further. But I thanked him as he gave me this new perspective that its one own fundamentally fundamental right.

Argumentation is both constructive and destructive and we all are aware of that. But we always make a conscious attempt to convert a constructive argument into a destructive one. So what is it which makes a person an argumentative animal? Is it Ego, Money, Stress, Frustration, insatiable desires, heredity, chaoticity, Democracy, marriage, boss in the office, price rise, cricket, splitsvilla, swayamwars, big talk shows, News breaking channels or just being oneself. The reasons can be numerous but the solution lies within. Let us be voraciously argumentative when it is actually needed rather than meaninglessly argumentative.

Let there be an argument for global peace and not global piece; let there be an argument for love and not hatred; let there be an argument against injustice; let there be argument for one India and not many India’s; let there be an argumentative protest against something wrong; and finally let there be an argument for “We” and not for “I”. Let there be constructive arguments which may bring innovations, path-breaking Concepts and ultimately smile and not grudges.