- is the winter capital of the state,
- is a city of temples,
- is a tourist paradise,
- had pilgrim tourism of over 6.70 lakh during the month of January and February this year with a 20% increase for the same period last year.
Why the figures and data? Well, these facts surely tell you that it’s a big city which buzzes with activity whole year through! So this surely gives an idea that there would be lot of avenues for work out here! Right?
Right! While the avenues are there, but the manpower (or is it the desire?) to do so is missing!
Scene 1: The Railway Station: It’s teeming with people at all times. One can see sea of people (including the kids and elderly women) carrying their heavy loads (bags and suitcases and beddings!) all on their own! Reason – There are NO porters on the station. Somebody really lucky may occasionally see one! I wonder why? On other stations, one has to actually ward off too many eager porters.
Scene 2: A household of a family who has recently moved to the city: As with a new rental home, one needs to drill here or get a wire connected there, mend a leaking faucet, or repair a broken furniture (of course in transit). Hence, you need the services of the Electricians, Plumbers, and Carpenters et al! Can you get them at one call or 2 or may be 6? The answer is a big NO. All my friends have 3-4 numbers each of the EPC and company and we keep exchanging them too, but all have big woes!
Scene 3: A supplier of computers and its accessories: A friend wanted to buy a printer. So we enter a shop. Quickly we tell about our preference for a brand X, and he suggests a brand Y. We being the educated, intelligent, inquisitive, women of today asked him for the comparative features of the 2 brands. And to our dismay the guy was just not interested. So we had a look at the boxes of the 2 products ourselves, discussed and decided the brand, paid and walk out. At other places, it’s an entirely different story with the sales people more keen to solve your queries!
There are so many and different such tales. There is so much talk about recession in blue –white color jobs, job loss, layoffs, etc. But our city is not affected by all this!
What could be the reason for this Laid Back Approach? Affluence? Or Happy with What You Have to Be Happy With? It is surely a contrast to “Happy to help”!