You may have come across the statement often enough, if you happen to spend much time online: ‘India is not for beginners.’ The caption crops up frequently on social media as an introduction to some video aiming to shock or amuse. The shock is presumably felt by people who aren’t familiar with India; the amusement, by those who think it’s funny that non-Indians respect rules and regulations.

It’s weird how we rarely stop to wonder why things work the way they do in these parts. I have often struggled to understand the reactions of most people when confronted with something tragic. It happens every time an accident occurs, for example, when gawkers start to collect as if by magic to stare at someone’s pain or, worse, livestream the event for likes. What makes us so oblivious to things most sensible people would never be caught doing? Why is it so hard to maintain a modicum of civility the minute we step outside? To blame it on illiteracy is convenient, until one accepts that bad behaviour has little to do with access to education. What these videos reinforce is the notion that anything goes in India, and that the world must accept it because ‘we are like this only.’