Privacy - we take it for granted. Annonymity. Keeping your thoughts to yourself and not revealing your emotions. Minding your own business - funny Western traits. Not so here, your business is everyone's business and the scrutiny to which one is subjected is quite remarkable. The students have a point with that wrap-around headscarf !
Visiting the doctor in Italy was always a very sociable event - you walked into the waiting room and greeted everyone, soon everyone was chatting. Il dottore, mine always wore a bow tie, would then come out and invite the patient into his rooms. In England, it was a case of strict annonymity and you didn't look to right or left - a beurocratic process and you were part of the system. Here in India, you go in to see the doctor in pairs and a quick rotational system operates - he takes blood pressure of patient no. 1, while asking patient no. 2, what his problem is, says goodbye to patient no. 1 and starts examining patient no. 2, while patient no. 3 walks in and sits down, etc. etc. Wonder if he ever gets muddled - books an ingrowing toenail removal for someone who has kidney stones ?
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