Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Xs vs Ys
In the last few days, I had the pleasure of interacting with two kinds of people – the original non-Indian Singaporeans (whom I will call X for no reason) and the Indians, who are living in Singapore for past few years and doing some white-collared jobs (who will be called Y).
Xs are fun-loving people who love to try some new thing or the other whenever they get a chance (which is quite rare since they have limited choices in a small place like Singapore). And yeah ….. they love to shop. They shop, shop and shop more. Its like a hobby for most of them. The shopping malls are crowded mostly by female Xs, some of whom sometimes wake up at 6 AM in the morning to avail of the early morning sale. By the way, female Xs always don all the hep attire that is available in the market. I wonder how big their wardrobe would be to accommodate all that fashionable paraphernalia. Xs also love to try different kind of cuisines. I was amazed to see some of the Indian food joints crowded by Xs.
Now for my favorite part - the traits of Ys. So let Ys speak for themselves. Here are some excerpts:
“When I went to India few years ago, it took me 30 minutes to cross a road”.
“India has a very low standard of living”.
“I love Singapore. Even if somebody gives me double this salary in India, I won’t even think of moving there”.
“There is so much crime in India. I am terrified of walking on Indian streets even in broad daylight. Here in Singapore, ladies can walk on the streets at midnight also”.
“Unlike India, everything is so orderly in Singapore”.
“India is the most corrupt country”.
So the choice is yours – will you rather be an X in your own country or a Y?
P.S.:
An advice to Ys – I have no problem in your praising Singapore or any other country you live in BUT for god sake please don’t sully the name of India by your comments (especially in front of foreigners/Xs). It’s a great country and some people consider it as their home.
Xs are fun-loving people who love to try some new thing or the other whenever they get a chance (which is quite rare since they have limited choices in a small place like Singapore). And yeah ….. they love to shop. They shop, shop and shop more. Its like a hobby for most of them. The shopping malls are crowded mostly by female Xs, some of whom sometimes wake up at 6 AM in the morning to avail of the early morning sale. By the way, female Xs always don all the hep attire that is available in the market. I wonder how big their wardrobe would be to accommodate all that fashionable paraphernalia. Xs also love to try different kind of cuisines. I was amazed to see some of the Indian food joints crowded by Xs.
Now for my favorite part - the traits of Ys. So let Ys speak for themselves. Here are some excerpts:
“When I went to India few years ago, it took me 30 minutes to cross a road”.
“India has a very low standard of living”.
“I love Singapore. Even if somebody gives me double this salary in India, I won’t even think of moving there”.
“There is so much crime in India. I am terrified of walking on Indian streets even in broad daylight. Here in Singapore, ladies can walk on the streets at midnight also”.
“Unlike India, everything is so orderly in Singapore”.
“India is the most corrupt country”.
So the choice is yours – will you rather be an X in your own country or a Y?
P.S.:
An advice to Ys – I have no problem in your praising Singapore or any other country you live in BUT for god sake please don’t sully the name of India by your comments (especially in front of foreigners/Xs). It’s a great country and some people consider it as their home.
