Crowd computing

It is always a great skill to come thru a crowd and many a times it takes quite a bit of tact to pass thru certain crowds.

When you talk about crowds - you cannot avoid a mention on Times Square New York. This is the only place apparently people just come to make a crowd around and I have a strong suspicion, there are paid organizations who work on "arranging crowds". With stunning regularity, you can see thousands crossing each other wondering what to do there! Most of them seem very happy to be part of this wave movement - I saw one guy crossing me at least 7 times very swiftly. I guess US government plays a role in this crowding exercise! Few couples get very intimate here and I guess either they unfortunately have no place to get closer or it could be that they are colleagues in the "crowd organizations" who can deftly manage such activities amidst the chaos. There was one guy who was running his office sitting in his car in one of the junctions, mobbed by his seemingly clients - and I guess his office address should read in his business card like this - "CXY 4302, NY, 42nd W Street or the next depending on the traffic, Times Square".

Crowding in India is not professionally managed as in the US. People develop their own skills from a very young age. Multi dimensional approach to walking or moving is very normal in India.

In the cinemas - thru the roofed ticket corridors, you see guys walking half-couched down and swimming over the heads of people. There are self-trained professionals in this category, who can smoothly slither above any kind of crowd.

In the temples – you meet people who practice folded-hands karate –i.e., using the folded palms as weapons to get their way forward and making it look like feverish reverence by closing their eyes (as and when required) & chanting god’s name in sync with their action - Govinda! (Push) Goooovinda! (knock down the predecessor) GOVINDA! (get through) ……….. (again) govinda! (get ready for the next push).

In the buses - there is an elite group called foot-board professionals who are highly respected for their skills as they allow the others to get a piece of the inside spacelessness. Many of the privileged seated-passengers practice the philanthropy of holding the belongings of those professionals, including cigarette packets. There are hard core professionals who can travel in perpendicular direction to the bus like above.

In the electric trains – it is amazing how people manage to find the space to stand and on top of it peacefully chat as though no one is around. When someone asks how are you? There will be 7-8 fine’s as it is difficult to gauge who asked who. Most of the conversations revolve around promotions, increments, transfers of the mostly government staff. I always used to wonder how they can talk of this same subject every day – and concluded government jobs have the best growth prospects. Many a times there will be chats between two guys who happen to stand the farthest from each other. On top of his voice he will say something and caution: DON’T TELL ANYONE AH? The middle crowd will find it very hard to avoid the subsequent probing glance by the revealer and to continue to pretend not to have heard anything.