Bro-zoned
Naturally, Rakhi this last Sunday brought its own onslaught of memes, and — be it in Hindi, Tamil, Kannada or Telugu — these one-liners are just so relatable.
The recently-taken photos of Rahul Gandhi looking around the German Parliament, Bundestag, have been converted into a Rakhi meme, with the narrative around one’s crush wishing them a happy Rakhi, but the recipient looking around as Rahul does, pretending they didn’t hear anything. To be honest, it sounds like something I would do.
A similar scenario features a sprinting Usain Bolt, underpinning the lifelong disdain guys tend to feel about Rakhi.
And what is Rakhi without the meninists citing, “If women want equality, why must we shower them with money and gifts while all they do is tie a string on our wrists?” That’s somewhat fair, Dhruv, but in the meantime, sit down while you take cheesy posing photos with your sister.
Two-wheeler mayhem
The picture shared on the Reddit India thread
When I first moved to India two years ago, I was obviously aware of the very different takes on road safety here, compared to the West. At traffic signals, I see small kids sitting in the front seat without a seatbelt, babies without car seats, and, worst of all, kids standing in open sunroofs to feel the polluted wind in their hair. It irks me like nothing else.
So yesterday, when Reddit India user @rohit12oclock posted an image of a couple on a bike with their kid held loosely on the side, I saw it made a lot of other people’s blood boil too.
Haryana-based user @mabehnwaligali responded, “This is a very typical Indian behaviour where something (in this case helmet wearing) becomes a ritual, without people really understanding the point of it and the rationale behind it. You can see it everywhere,” while several people noted that the parents were both wearing helmets, so at least that’s a good thing.
@ZealousAngel purports, “This is definitely a risky thing to do, but I’m pretty sure the parents are aware of that. Many middle-class families can only afford a two-wheeler and something like this ends up being the only way to get around for them. That said, I feel like they could’ve sandwiched the kid between the two of them, but maybe he is too young for that.” And one user who clearly had never been on a bike said, “He is protected by his mother's love.”
Naturally, someone in the thread @uberuberubee states, “This thread is hilarious. No one has a clue how to solve this problem still condemning their action. Kind of like best example of India.”
So, I’m asking you, does such behaviour irk you as much as it does me?
Rants and ramblings across cyberspace
