Lead Global: The Monkey At My Car Window
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Institution of Affiliation
India is the most populated country in southe Asia. It is characterized by a unique religious, economic and social life. It is also the most visited country because of the popularity of Taj Mahal, its sacred place. Travelers who have visited India have had difference experiences and observations due to its citizen’s diverse culture and lifestyle.
India is a religious country with well-defined religious characteristics and practices. Monkeys are sacred to Indians and as such, they are used and respected for religious purposes. For example, Hanuman ,the director of army of monkeys, is validated by Hindus as a replica for human constancy. Cows are also respected as sacred religious creatures. India has also sacred places that also acts as a tourist attraction like the Taj Mahal.
India has mixed economic levels, where there are the rich and the poor. The monkeys have hang around the city and have been known to victimize the residences of the leafy suburbs. Buildings in rural and urban cities are dilapidated showing the high levels of poverty. Poverty is also seen in the Indian’s mode of transport. They use tuk-tuks and motorized try-circle as a mode of transport. India is also gender sensitive. In that, the tuk-tuk-tuned-school-bus ferries a large number of pupils of just the same gender.
India has a high population of the 1billion people. This causes traffic jams, traffic confusions and also crime. Like the case of the narrator, people tried to rock the car and solicit for money from him in a crowd using a monkey. The population of monkeys in India is also very high, they roam around undisturbed as they are viewed as sacred beings.
- Indian citizens are socially sensitive. They are friendly and show empathy towards each other (Ted.com) . The hotel manager is generous enough to pack food for the visitor for breakfast and lunch. The driver of the car, upon returning to the car smiles to the muggers who smile back at him and disappear into the crowd.
Indians are also very industrious citizens. Their shops are all-inclusive shops in that they sell everything, from food, fruits, soft drinks and even car repair spare parts. Some Indians are oblivious of the disorder and traffic and set their businesses at funny locations, like the man who set up his barber shop in the middle of two roads. They have innovated cheap modes of transport like the use of Tuk tuks.
There a number of defense mechanism against monkeys and people one can apply. First, there’s the need to stay calm in such a situation. This helps to reduce panic and not to give the attackers a clue. One can also opt to give monkeys food e.g. bananas so that their attention is disrupted. One can also opt to call for help by shouting or screaming. If there’s any weapon near you, one may consider to use it so as to scare away the attackers.
I remember a scenario where I visited Kenya, particularly its capital city Nairobi. One afternoon, after a successful business meeting, I decided to take a walk in town since the hotel I had booked with was just in the Central Business District of Nairobi. I took the Luthuli avenue route and them to river road. I was heading to downtown when a middle-aged man approached me and casually with a smile asked for directions. I politely explained to him that I am visitor in the city and that I don’t know much about Nairobi.
A certain middle aged lady stopped when I was just about to continue with my roaming. She tried to reach for my wallet in my back pocket but I realized earlier and shouted at her. What amazes me is how the man remained calm and made no moves to stop the lady or even emphasize with me. When I screamed the second time, both the man and the woman disappeared in the crowds nearby and could not stop them even after the police arrived.
Although I have had some bad experiences in the countries I visit for business, I would definitely like to visit their rural areas. This countries have a diverse culture and way of life especially in the rural settings. The irony of having order and disorder in India’s rural setting is an experience that one would like to experience even more. The disorder is evident in how business are set and also their location, traffic jams and too many people. The order is seen in how some people peacefully participate in activities such as school children being neatly dressed to go to school, but in funny means of transport.
It is not possible to prepare for bad occurrences that may happen to you while in a destination. Most of this countries do not put their bad sides in the media and in marketing platforms. For instance, India markets its diverse culture and religious tourism attractions but does not prepare potential visitors of the risks they might expose themselves to as they interact with monkeys. The hotel manager did not prepare the narrator on the potential risks. The driver also left the visitor alone in the car without briefing him on what to do in case of risks. So it is not possible to prepare for such risky experiences.
There are several mechanisms that one should apply if monkeys attack them. The first one is that you co-operate with them. Monkeys often attack someone because they think you have what they want. One should cooperate by giving them food. Also, do not ignore the early signs that monkeys show before getting aggressive. They do send signs like opening their mouths, their eyes and grunting. One should also try to chase them away by scaring them with a piece of stick.
From the story, there are new ways of reacting to the situation. The most outstanding one is staying calm and not to panic. This aids in not showing one’s vulnerability that the attacker might use against you. Also, studying your attacker before reacting, the visitor realized that the attackers were not smart enough to notice that the driver and the passenger’s door were not locked.
From this story, I will definitely decide to go to India to learn more about the Indian’s way of life. The story portrays them as both unfriendly and friendly people. The monkeys also have a unique lifestyle different from other monkeys in other countries. This provides the demand to travel to India even more.