Where is your car madam???

The day had come to an end and we were still smarting over the thrill of the first individual Olympic gold for India. Filled with the spirit of athleticism and the rumblings of our stomachs, my wife and I started our spirited walk to the super market. It was something we religiously and happily followed, to buy things for the household and which better place than a super market, considering the length and breadth of commodities available.
‘Walking together or alone is good’, say the doctors and counsellors in one breath, good for the body and for relationships. Therefore we tried our best to suck in the remnants of the fresh air, although there were regular interruptions from a zig zagging motor bike rider and a perilously close, horn honking car driver.
Our walk ended in front of the Spencer’s super market, and we entered with the excitement and anticipation of a child, about to unwrap a chocolate. We grabbed what we wanted and negotiated ourselves to the counter, to make our payment. Here we waited not just for the pleasant and smiling counter person to bill what we bought but also for someone to ask, “Do you need a box madam?’ When this was negated, the more important question would follow, “Where is your car madam?”
Now to put this into perspective I have to throw some light on my wife. She is a German, white skinned and therefore always attended to in super markets.
The way we behave with people is based on the perceptions that we build up. This is a cultural learning and we all have our own assumptions based on this. The media as part of the culture industry play their own part in throwing up various assumptions. This being the case, we have ready made ways of behaving, once we come across a person, who for us is a group of codes.
I don’t consider my self very suave or stylish. But coming to think of it, neither does my wife. But a combination of the fact that she goes to shop at Spencer’s, the commodities she buys, her white skin and her mannerisms all together, or one by one alone, act towards creating a world, of which she is then made a part of.
Don’t we all in some way or the other behave like this? We are mesmerised by outward appearances and looks, and in the process conveniently forget the inner beauty of a human being. May be we should think before we ask next time…..Where is your car madam???