Human nature is a fascinating subject, and the behaviour depends on the condition whether the individual is alone or part of a crowd. Bystander did not understand the science and the scientists behind this phenomenon. This did not deter him from trying to do his bit of study, notwithstanding his doubts whether he could be a judge of such predispositions. Not the one to stand aside, he decided to undertake a fieldtrip to glean some perspective, even if it turned out to be lopsided or biased.
He readied a list of possible locations to observe the behaviour of an individual in a crowded environment. Making the list was easy but choosing from among them proved daunting but decided on two, as most promising, locations for his maiden sample survey. As luck would have it, these locations had seamless connection between train ticket booking counter and a temple city. He was sure that in both the locations, people would be standing in queues and presenting ample opportunities to observe the behaviour of an individual in such an environment.
Got the ticket or not?
The Railway ticket booking counter never fails to present an opportunity to observe the behavior of an individual in a trying situation. Like an ornithologist patiently waiting to spot a rare species of bird, Bystander took position, leaning on to a support column at the entrance, with a clear view of queues and booking counters. Within minutes, his eyes started recording the frantic movements of a gentleman.
After entering the ticketing area, this gentleman stopped in his tracks as he found a long serpentine queue, in front of every counter. He spent a few seconds, in each line to find out the Q which moved faster than others. A peek at the counter dismayed him no less. Some of the passengers thought that the counter operated on single window mode, as like in banks, started seeking details about train timings, fares or similar such information. Some others tendered higher denomination currencies for the negligible fare amount or tried to search in various pockets to come up with assorted coins to top up the exact fare.
To his bad luck, whichever counter he selected to join, he remained at the end of the Q. The combined effect on the Q affected its forward movement like that of a goods train sidelined for a superfast express to pass. Frustration slowly building up, this gentleman started to move slowly ahead in the line, towards the counter. This journey did not last long as murmurs and protests made him to backtrack. He started the search for a kindhearted person to help him out to get a ticket. He even offered the exact fare for the ticket, to bring around that person assuring a hassle-free transaction.
Irritated standees, in the Q, started to shout and threatened a fracas. This only aided to redouble his efforts to quickly conclude the deal. As there are con artists, there are suckers too. Falling prey, a person standing second near the counter obliged. This gentleman, ticket in hand then turned around and surveyed the long Q with a “You all saw how I managed it” look!
Bystander watched this with disdain and decided to end the episode with the following multiple-choice endings, for the reader to choose from-
(1) When the helping hand approached the counter, the ticketing clerk unceremoniously downed the shutter and declared a break. (2) The commotion in the Q, brought security personnel to the spot and pushed the helping hand and the gentleman back into the Q. (3) The helping hand by mistake interchanged the ticket and boarded his train with a ticket for a wrong destination, leaving this Q avoider to curse himself.
Faith and fruitless:
Bystander’s second choice was a busy tourist cum pilgrimage destination. He was eager to observe how disciplined the visitors would be inside the temples. The tourists cum devotees had different perspective and, in a hurry, to take it in an orderly fashion. Either because of deep faith or due its location in a popular tourist spot, this temple had become famous. Probably this led the tourists to visit temples as pilgrims. The word to mouth that the presiding deity here ranked more benevolent than other deities residing in less popular temples. Residents and floating population made a beeline to this temple on auspicious days. As a result, this pilgrim found a large crowd converging at the entrance, creating a near stampede.
The fast-paced life left them with little or no time or patience to wait in a Q. Temple management, never failed to seize such opportunities to earn more revenue, arranged for ordinary to very special Dharshan (dynamic rates - more crowd, higher admission fee) and promptly organised maze-like queues. After looking at the thronging crowd, the presiding deity started to wonder how to grade the boons bestowed to be? Cyclic, just like the phases of moon; full of grace on auspicious days and average to low on other days!
Once in the Q, this pilgrim’s fingers itched to get in touch with people on cell phone. Mind fully occupied with worries about the safety of footwear left outside the temple premises or availability and quality of food in a crowded restaurant or the scheduled time of departure, he looked at the Q in front of him. The Q that was either moving at snail’s pace or not at all, urged him to do something, to find a way forward. The inspired pilgrim took the tentative first steps by sliding forward overtaking a few standees and waited for them to protest. With none resisting this tactical maneuver, he boldly tries to sneak in to the adjacent rows, one at a time. He ignores a few low-key murmuring voices, all the while plotting his next move.
After jumping the Q by two or three rows, without any compunction, he managed to gain some seniority. Realising that it might be the last transgression the other devotees might permit, the pilgrim desists from further attempts. When he reached the sanctum sanctorum, the temple staff singled him out and did not allow him to linger long in front of the deity. It was a photo finish even before the flash bulb could go ‘pop’! The deity chuckled at the devotee who the other day was so angered when someone else superseded him for a promotion! The deity then glanced at the moon’s phase, before deciding to bestow - a full or half or nil boon on this devotee!
Bystander felt ashamed that he too had to move along with the errant devotee, but he silenced his conscience with the reason that it was the only option to capture the movement and triumph of the queue breaker. He felt relieved, as if he had evaded an ambush all intact, when finally, they exited from the temple complex. The devotee, satisfied with this accomplishment, hurried out looking for an opportunity to repeat the jump – manoeuver in another Q line in another temple.
Though Bystander admired the audacity of the queue breaker, he decided to make him to pay for his act with not so happy endings-
(1) The temple is just getting closed for the scheduled break as the devotee nears the entrance (2) Special security arrangement are in place and the devotee had no chance for intrusion (3) He runs out of time to reach the boarding point and he forgets to collect his footwear (4) Waits for his train at the wrong platform as he missed to pay attention to the announcement regarding change in platform.
Not satisfied with the O Henry type twists he had added, Bystander thought about doing the following, as a follow up action.
The malady-
Everyone seems to be in a hurry and love personal freedom. Jumping the Q or at least thinking about to do so happens almost as natural as blinking of an eye. Nobody has the time to think that there are other such individuals. They too are in hurry and have similar inclination, intent and freedom to move ahead. In this scenario, how an individual deals with the inner conflict - appeasing the troubled mind by recalling/reciting the democratic norm “All are equal, but I am more than the equal?”
The cure-
What is the solution, when everyone clamours to claim the more than equal status? Finding more reasons to make them stand in a Q which forgets to move, and gives no option to jump, may help to put an end to this urge. Collecting a hefty fine on the spot in the Q itself will make people to think twice before trying the trick. The above punitive measures will generate employment for more staff as Q minders, a public-public partnership!
