Today is the shortest day in Oulu, the Winter Solstice.
Date: 21 Dec 2009
Sunrise: 10:17
Sunset: 13:51
Day length: 3h 34m 01s
Had to go our shopping.
Two incidents of today, in particular, stood out to remind me that I am back in a society that cares for its members. I am not talking about the government or the bureaucracy, but ordinary people.
Outside every large shop in Finland, during the 2 weeks before Christmas, the Salvation Army, a charitable organisation, places a tripod at which people can leave gifts of things they may no longer need to be handed over to the less fortunate in our society, especially at this time of the year when we are spending millions on new things.
As I was reversing my car, I saw a little girl of about 4 years, carrying a very heavy shopping bag, filled to the brim and running very determinedly towards the gift tripod outside the shop. She stopped in front of the tripod, and with a very lovely smile of satisfaction, put the bag at the foot of the tripod where a lot of other people had already left their parcels.
She was genuinely happy that she could give something to the less fortunate.
This sense of giving, which we call Christmas, instills in little children the sense of sharing. I watched her happily run back to her parents after her task had been completed.
As I was driving out of the large car park, there were a string of cars who had right of way streaming in front of me. It was dark, and I could not see the faces of the people in the cars that passed.
Suddenly, one car stopped. I could see a hand waving me to join in front of him.
The gesture showed me that there are people in this world who have concern for others, even on the roads, where everyone is always in a hurry.
Considering what we have been through in Indian traffic, where to gain an inch ahead of someone else is the primary objective, this incident gave me faith in the human being again.
Yes, I know I am back in a society and community which cares for its fellowmen.
Not only that, the first thing on Annikki's shopping list was sunflower seeds, not the type we humans eat, and bird seeds. Her intention is to keep it in the several bird houses in our garden, so that in this harsh winter, the birds that frequent our garden, will have their share of our Christmas.
Not only do people care for other people, but they show their love and affection even towards those little creatures that give us so much joy by just being there.
It's always a pleasure to go through your blogs uncle.They are insightful and most of the times gives an unbiased opnion about factual things. But this article doesnt seems to do justice because you simply ridiculed whole society of people by stating
ReplyDelete"Yes, I know I am back in a society and community which cares for its fellowmen."
Agreed that there are shortcomings in our ways(and I totally agreed on your blogs during your India trip) but then no country or society is perfect.
If you have quoted examples of self disciplined lifestyle of people here(which btw I totally admire and try to learn a thing or two) I can also come up with incidents where these very people behave just the lawless way that you so unceremoniously tag Indians with.
Both the countries cant be compared on just few grounds and you know very well. Throw in a couple of million people on Oulu streets and I bet no one will be waving hands anymore.
Just have a look during summer evenings near Library where the young crowd gathers on the weekends partying and drinking endlessly then relieving themselves on the sea shore ..why?? Because the queue for the toilets is way too long.. the basic instinct comes out when there is fight for survival and its a common human trait.India has its fair share of problem but then we are fighting it out ourselves and that will take time because of its sheer volume. Till that time I think its unfair to compare a country like Finland to India.
I am not a person who criticises for the sake of criticising. If you read my latest entry about sycophancy in Finland, you will see that I criticise what needs to be criticised, whether it be USA, India, England or Finland.
ReplyDeleteI had a call this morning from a friend in New Delhi, which I will blog tomorrow.
Mine is a subjective blog - not an objective one. That is what the term blog means - a personal log.
Maybe you have not heard me on the streets of Oulu on Free Speech Day. My wife and I criticise the Police, the Bureaucracy, the Judiciary, the legal profession, the media, and more in Finland.
Does anyone in Finland do that or have the guts to do that? Does that mean my wife and I do not love Finland?
Accept the good things anywhere. Reject the bad.