The word laid-back must have been coined in Hyderabad. Time has no meaning here. I have discovered this sad fact through bitter experience. To someone who has been brought up in an army household where 9am meant exactly that and not half an hour later, other people’s use of a broad spectrum of hours can be extremely trying.
For example, when dealing with technicians or workers, I have asked politely the time of their arrival to ensure I am at home. The reply I get baffles me. I am told “I will come in the morning”, which gives the person a lot of leeway. When I try to pin him down to a more specific time, I am met with evasion and a look of disbelief as if I were asking for the impossible. Pinned down by my unwavering stare, the victim tries to escape by saying he will call and confirm the time. But I have learnt my lesson. Mobile phones are often not answered or are switched off. When I persist, the man gives me a time, but I know that he has bowed under pressure and has rattled off a time that he thinks will satisfy me.
In one classic instance, one of these workers told me without batting an eyelid that he would turn up between 11.30am and 5pm. Stunned by the reply, I looked at him in disbelief, wondering if this was his attempt at humour. But his facial expression told me that he wasn’t joking. Realising that I needed his services more than he needed the job, I found myself agreeing to his terms, although it meant not going out anywhere during that timeframe. It was a bitter pill to swallow, but I gulped down my disappointment and forced myself to say that was fine with me. What made matters worse was that he did not turn up during that period and called to say he was on his way at 7.30pm.
Shops there never open before 11am or even later. It is only the tiny grocery stores that start business at a reasonable time as also the wayside laundry shops that make brisk business. So, you have to step out of the house around mid-morning, which is not a pleasant experience as temperatures soar to over 42 degrees Celsius.
Luckily for me, my flat is very conveniently located with shops and eateries close by. And yet I hesitate to step outside as the heat hits you as soon as you step outside. I make a quick dash to the store and am back before I melt. That is why I would like shops to open early instead of having to walk to one only to find it is still closed although it is 11am and the sign displays the opening hours. I wait for a bit and then walk back home, telling myself that I will call later to find out whether it is open. The owner of one such shop had told me that he normally opened at 11am sharp, but that day he had to go somewhere and opened late. I listen to the excuse and discount most of what he says.
So, I will have to learn to adjust to flexible timings if I want to retain my sanity. I know there is not a chance that others will mend their erratic sense of time. It will be hard to unlearn old habits and a lifetime of rigorous timekeeping. In my previous place of work, I was always one of the first to arrive and seeing the others stroll in leisurely much later without any feeling of guilt was infuriating.
Maybe, just maybe, it is time to throw away that watch and move with the times, just not ahead but backwards!
Vanaja Rao is a freelance writer based in Hyderabad, India.
