Get "this" for FREE!!

Sounds tempting right? Yeah it does, but to what lengths will we go to get one? This is one thing which I noticed in this country after I moved here. To attract people all you have to do is offer free something.

This formula worked perfectly in school. If you need people for any conference or presentation, all you need to do spend a couple of hundred dollars for food and woah you have got a full house. But, you have to be smart and offer food towards the end so that people will stick around right? During school I can understand that the students don't have the time to cook food and are either studying sleeping or working.

But what after you are done with studies and working now. The habit sticks to you. Any place that offers food, you are automatically tempted to go. Its sad that they continue this practice even in work places. Its not entirely bad though, because people do need incentives to justify their time involved. The worst is that we don't consider other people for the same. There are four people in line and four pieces of pizza's, what do you do? Take one piece even though you know it won't be enough just so that other people get it. But not our other fellow Indians (I deeply regret to say), they want to take three or four not because they have a big appetite, but since they want some for dinner or next days lunch.

Are we in such a state that we can't afford to spend for another meal? Can't we think about the person behind us, that he could be more hungry than you? I saw this happening two days back at a theater, were they were screening a Rajnikanth movie. The offer was you get free food with your tickets. Not getting the food was not an option though. And like I expected, half of them did not get food since the one's who did grabbed two to three boxes of it!!

Something similar happened this morning, I enrolled in a raffle for a free round trip and two nights stay. I did not know what the catch was. I get a call two months later saying I won it, but I need to attend a presentation to claim it. Yes, it was a time share package. And I did attend it, not because I wanted that trip I knew I was not going to use it, but to offer it to my friends who would go for it (Now I am being generous). There were around sixteen of us in the presentation, and over half of us, you guessed it Indians! The irony was that in the end of the presentation, they assigned their staff for all the Americans but not us since they knew what we there for and directly told us to claim our prize. Now how demeaning is that? I take my word back since all of us were there for the prize! But this one guy started arguing since he had to make a $100 deposit which might not be entirely refundable. Now that is the heights! Looks like everybody knows if its free or if there is bargaining there, there's going to be an Indian there.

So friends, the next time let us be more considerate towards other people and not let other people think low of Indians. A little sacrifice won't kill you!

Lastly, post your comments and I'll send you a free meal coupon at Chili's. Just kidding!