The inside story

Why is it that people are judged by their choices and their looks? One of the many things I will never perceive fully is as to why people nowadays have become so judgmental. This trend is not only seen in teenagers but can also be spotted in adults.

Yes, I agree to the fact that the way people dress and appear from outside may be a reflection of their inside but I ask you this- is a frail reflection enough to actually judge a person? I step into college and I see many cliques. Good looking people tend to flock together, the studious people make their own little groups, then we have the usual jocks, foreigners, pretty girls in sororities, ect... These cliques do not have any rules or any type of authority over them and yet it astounds me how they are perfectly categorized. 

Apparently, the first day of college decides your category and hence, which group you will belong to for the rest of your college life. It's like the caste system all over again. A person from one clique never socializes with people from another clique. It's blasphemous. How utterly ironic if you ask me. Well, of course there are many cases where by the cliques do mingle but that is only because of two reasons- they are either forced to mingle or they need each other for some particular purpose.

Not only colleges, this discrimination goes on in the corporate world as well. I was told by someone that applications for jobs are gone through with the similar mindset. They brush through all the applications, not quite bothering to look at the qualifications, they just look at the photo of the applicant and choose them based on how they look! The person told me and I quote, "who will look at all the qualifications? There are so many applications. This is a much faster way. Plus, good looking employees will pull up the reputation and increase the panache of our company." My only reply was an exasperated sigh. 

Where is the world getting to? Once upon a time, people were judged how their actions, their knowledge and their values. Now, it is just purely looks. Here is what I think- do know the inside story of a person before just judging the outside. 

The adventures of the Indian local trains.

Have you ever travelled by an Indian local train in Mumbai? If you have, I am sure you are quite sympathetic to my fate.

My college being so far off from my house, a train ride six days a week to and for is a must for me. Trying to get a seat in a local train during peak hours is a equivalent to a war. A spartan war to be precise. You have to know the exact point where the train will stop and where would you be able to get in the fastest avoiding all the rush if angry ladies. It's very strategic. One can learn but only by experience.

While coming back from college, it becomes a full blown world war. People are tired after work, frustrated to the Core. All they want to do is just get that seat and go home and watch some TV. If you get a seat at that peak hour, you can get a seat in any train, in any country.

Getting down from the train is another story entirely. You get up from your seat two stations before only to look down and see two women bickering about who gets to take your seat and entirely pushing you out of the picture. You get away and push your way to the tightly packed crowd on the train where people keep getting on and no one gets off. Only through sheer will power do you manage to get your way through the entrance of the train and get down. Sometimes if the crowd is too frustrated, they don't even let you get off and you miss your station.

As soon as you are on the platform of your station, you feel safe. Survived the wars. I am proud to say that I, survive these train wars everyday and cheers to the others who are in this war with me :P