Getting back to basics

The ration card....its one of those vital pieces of paper that define us very much like the passport,except that in this case it also provides for basic necessities in life like rice,dhal,sugar etc.The idea of course is that of public distribution and government social responsibility hence the price is low and by and large there is a hierarchy there of lower income,middle income etc etc.There are white cards,yellow cards and green cards.Most of the well heeled and reasonably affluent don't use this card for anything but an identity thing but some of us do venture out to buy stuff and that's where it all starts.

Start with the identify bit.There i was at the gas agency trying to change the gas connection to my name(it belonged to my dad).First question.....ration card?.Yes I add after just a wee bit of hesitation.You see I don't have a ration card,neither does the husband,but wise father didn't think it fit to delete my name from his card(he never trusted my ability to plan anything so must have done some forward planning for this day).Well obviously that's not good enough so I settle to change it to my mothers name(she is a natural heir so that's fine).A lot of paper work and more running around government offices but that's another story.I decided that it was also to be done another day so off I went to buy sugar at the ration shop.

There is somethings to be said about the ration shop.For starters,most to the people in line for basic necessities are from the lower socio economic class,they wear sarees,smell of stale sweat and are usually there with a few small children in tow.They also cannot afford to go to fancy supermarkets to shop.Well there I was feeling guilty as hell for having an air conditioned car,enough money to shop at a supermarket and all but I did want to buy sugar nevertheless.Lets look at it objectively,the government owes me that much,after all I pay taxes and they need to provide basic foodstuff right?.So why did I take the precaution to change from jeans and t shirt to kadhi kurta(bought from government kadhi shop at government price),why did I park the car in the corner of the road so no one could notice that I arrived in a car,why did my hair get tied into a ponytail and why did my designer sunglasses stay back in the car?.Actually it was guilt,somehow I felt that I was taking what was not mine,but another rational self said that this is my right so I must exercise it.I stand in the ques,and one woman pushes past me to jump the que.I am ready to protest,until I notice that she is tired,pregnant and has a child in tow,had just finished loads of work in some fancy house(i got all this listening in on the general conversation) and she could do with a rest so I let her be.No one bothered me,they asked if they could buy my share of oil(they assumed I wouldn't need it) and I told them they could but the oil ration has been stoped on my card.The women were kind enough to notice that I didn't have a clue as to procedure so they pointed me in the right direction.
The woman at the counter gave ma a nasty look(or was it my imagination) and only relented when I spoke in tamil and identified as one of them.What i noticed was that she had probably fallen into a talcum powder box this morning.Caked with powder her face as quiet a sight and she took her own time to get the bill organised.She asked if I wanted anything else and I replied that I didn't (I wasn't sure what i was entitled to and didn't want to ask).Well we waited for a while and got all that we wanted.Interestingly in the ration shop you bring your own bags and there was no plastic bag in sight.Everyone has cloth bags.Here were reasonably poor folk,being environmentally responsible(without knowing it) and there just down the road were the fancy people with fancy cars using all the plastic in the world and not giving a damn as to what damage they do.

Somewhere in all this I ask myself whats with us the educated lot,can we learn a few lessons from lesser mortals and can we teach them some things too.maybe its time for a little give and take.Maybe its time to go back to basics and find somethings which we have lost in out fast paced lives.