by Ashe Hope

Created on: November 01, 2008

Observation of crowds in Indian cities is an unique experience. It can be entertaining , exasperating, mind boggling or educational. The key word here , is "Observing". As long as one is not caught up in participating, but merely observing, it can unfold many aspects of human nature.

Crowds in Indian cities come in many shapes and sizes. One of the most common cause of crowd gathering in the Indian atmosphere is the celebration of a religious festival. One sees a whole lot of people , united by the common cause of the love of a certain God.For instance , the clebration of Ganesha Chaturthi or Krishna Jayanthi. Each wants to progress to the main area. While it is all supposed to be in harmony and love of the Lord, there is a lot of jostling and pushing and verbal assaults. A casual observer would wonder whether it would be more appropriate to please God in the solitude of their home, thus ensuring more peace of mind. But apparently the crowd does not think so. If asked, the individaul would probably answer, " What is the fun in celebrating all alone ? You have to come and celebrate it with others." The observation here is , maybe, the ancient philosophers had thought of this , to encourage people to mingle together. But maybe, they had not thought of the population explosion!

Another kind of crowd is the fun loving crowd. Criket matches and first day release of popular movies are a prime example of this. This is the kind of crowd that brings like minded people togehter. The jostling and pushing are still there , but easily forgotten and forgiven , when one's hero scores a point! Perfect strangers become good friends, even if temporarily so. But there have been marriage alliances that came together after a Criket match !

Crowds at Railway staions and Bus stations are a great study of human nature. These are crowds, brought together , not because of common interest, like faith or fun, but because of necessity. The interesting part of such a crowd is, that until the journey begins, each individual is wary of the other. They are mentally planning the space for themselves and their luggage once the train or bus arrives. However, once situated, they strike up great companion ship , sharing food and life stories with each other. Crowds at airports, however, are a different breed. For one thing, their seats are already secure, their luggage space limited, and they are more in contact with their far away companions by cell phone or lap top, than their immediate co passenger. Of all kinds of crowds, this may be the most boring crowd.

Instantaneous crowds are formed at the drop of a hat. Pardon me, no one wears hats any more, so it can be at the drop of a word. The next time you find yourself a bit bored in a public place, just get up , look around and say to no one in particular, that you had just heard that a popular movie actor was arriving for a film shooting in that area . You will be amazed at how many people have time on thier hands! This is a calmer kind of crowd, all of them eager to share a story or two. After some time, the crowd disperses as effortlessly as it had formed.

Angry crowds are something one would want to keep away from. Unfortunately, half the crowd does not know what the anger is about, and are simpy marching in protest. Student riots, and political gatherings are such crowds. Bus burning and tear gas is common in such crowds. The biggest observation here , is the waste of immense energy.

What ever may be the cause, crowd is an effect of it. It is a physical manifestation of a mental stimulation. Most often, after the physical strain wers off, the mental jubilance remains. I suppose, to provide impectus for another crowd experience.

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