Blowing One's Trumpet

Have you met people who within the first few minutes lets you know all the degrees and medals that they have amassed? This blurting out of one’s own achievements is not uncommon in the Indian society. It seems to have become an accepted norm of human interaction. One reason for this type of behavior may be that they want to be taken seriously. Another reason may be that they want to show off and show who is superior. 

One video is doing the rounds in the internet where some youths in Delhi were interviewed about the chance of India winning the FIFA World Cup 2014. They are optimistic that India can win it. And they would give reasons why that is possible. And when the interviewer asked if they'd seen the Indian (a fictitious name derived from 'I am lying') scoring, they said they did. You should look at their faces when they were told that India did not qualify for the World Cup. There is no 'I don't know' in their vocabulary. 

I knew someone who had a couple of visits to my home State Nagaland. And he claimed to know more than me; that he'd say the directions of places and the things that I can find here. I did not want to waste any energy engaging in a conversation with him.

In the Naga society also this culture is catching up. You find people claiming credit for things that they haven't done. It can be a government project that one claims to have brought to the villagers. There was a newspaper article where some people claimed that the present legislator of the area brought MGNREGA scheme to the village which the former legislators failed to do. One can be seen boasting as if one is running the show in a department or a certain administrative block is running under one's watchful eyes. Sometimes, we see them shrouded in false humility.

It was a pleasant surprise that I came across a certain person who I traveled with for two days. Only after the person left the State and I checked online did I realize that the person has degrees and achievements which are great.