A Perception of Safety

How does one spend an entire month on the other side of the planet and not write about it? Hence, this post, on a humid Saturday morning in #Kolkata, West Bengal, #India. As a visitor--and especially someone who has spent a lot of time in the law enforcement and #security fields--I can't help but notice the differences between my home (the U.S.) culture nuances, and those of India. Kolkata is a bustling, crowded city of 15 million. It's not a tourist attraction, and other than a few colonial-era buildings and old temples, there isn't a lot to esthetics to "ooh and ah" over. What Kolkata does have, however, is an endless supply of delicious food. In my third trip here, I would characterize this city as a sprawling outdoor restaurant. There are tea and food stalls everywhere , and there are people lined up three deep to get a taste, day and well into the night. The other thing I've noticed about India is an abundance of security guards. Almost every legitimate (not a sidewalk shack) store and restaurant has a uniformed "guard" attending to the front door, and often inside as well. I inquired about crime in Kolkata and found out that it is actually a very safe city. Violent crime is nearly non-existent. That's not a result of the security presence; rather, it is a by-product of the common mindset. You don't see people having meltdowns about the traffic (which can be horrendous) or the long waits at ATMs. Everybody seems to have a very pragmatic view of life in a city jammed with people, cars, and motorbikes, oppressive heat, and sometimes torrential rain. India seems to be the poster child for the "it is what it is" attitude. So why all the security? Perhaps Indians like the idea of being protected. In that way, they are no different than Westerners. But security is almost a comic irony here. At the South City Mall -- a mall as modern and beautiful as anything you will find the U.S.--your driver enters the parking garage and is met by two security guards who demand that you open the trunk (the "dickie", they call it here) to see if you have any bombs or firearms in plain view. They don't do a search, they just look inside and then close the hatch. They don't bother to see if I might be wired up with C4 or have a gun under my shirt, either. It's an empty, rote task they do because they are told to. Other places, like posh hotels, will do the same thing but will also have a guy with an undercarriage mirror to check for anything suspicious underneath the car. At a jewelry store, three guards all stood outside and watched us; one of them was an older man with coke-bottle glasses, carrying a bolt-action rifle that looked like a WWII relic. When you go to a restaurant or buy even something as small as cosmetics at a department store, be prepared to provide your name and phone number. Why? Marketing perhaps, but no one seems to mind, and I've never seen anyone decline to do so. At another mall, I stood on the third level and took a short video of the gorgeous decorative lighted sculpture that adorned the center of the place, from the fourth floor ceiling to the ground floor fountain. A guard approached me and told me "no videos, sir." I don't know the language well enough to ask why or engage in any kind of conversation, so I just complied. It's a different ball game over here, and everyone has accepted the rules. It's easier, apparently, than railing against it. Everyone just wants to get their stuff done, go home in peace, and find something good to eat.