A man is shouting at the top of his voice on his cell phone (mobile). It does not go with refined taste even if someone vents out his anger thus within the four walls of his home. But when a man hurls offensive and unprintable abuses at someone on the other end in a public bus, it shows the class of the man and his taste. There is no point taking advantage of a thin presence of passengers in a bus.
One surely cannot accuse one's wife of extra-marital affairs over the cell phone and threaten to part ways. He also wants a confession from his wife of her guilt and to know the name of her suitor. For more than half an hour the man was haranguing his wife on cell phone. After 10 pm city buses usually wait longer than usual at Motijheel Shapla Chattar and at Gulistan for want of passengers. But between these two points a few more passengers get on board the bus but the man could not care less.
At Gulistan bus stop, more passengers including a woman take seats but still the man goes on fouling his mouth. Everyone on the bus looks either in disgust or feels disturbed. Finally, one of the passengers had to remind him that it was a public bus where some decency had to be maintained.
Indeed, the sense of decency has become a casualty now in all public spaces. There are people who start making calls -one after another -immediately after getting on board a bus. Many of them have two sets -one highly priced smart phone and the other one is ordinary - not to miss a call when they are engaged in long conversation on one of those.
Not necessarily what they talk about is fit for public consumption. They could easily shorten the talk to half or less duration. But they perhaps take immense pride to give an impression how busy and therefore important they are.
It is not just the run-of-the-mill folks but also apparently dignified persons feel hardly embarrassed to forcing co-passengers to overhear family or friend-circle disputes. Well-dressed and even fashionable, these people expose their lack of taste and social refinement when they open their mouths on the cell phone. But they are unconcerned and insensitive if others around them feel unease or irritated. Noticeably, no woman is found to raise her voice excessively loud when talking over cell phone in public places.
Some Romeos have acquired the habit of wooing their Juliets over the cell phone. For hours together they continue their romantic exchanges in a low voice -- but not as low as to be inaudible to the passengers sitting beside them. They certainly have picked up the habit from their non-stop conversing elders. To the Romeos, the age and composition of passengers right beside them hardly matter. They are immersed in their blissful world unaware that some of their words or sentences can embarrass, if not offend, the persons sitting right beside them.
Like flaunting wealth, today's culture centres around exhibitionism. Even when some of the outdoor activities like eating out were not meant for public view, today those are overexposed by floor-to-wall glass windows with no option for curtains. The tables are set as close to those glass panes as possible. Pedestrians or commuters can even see the feet of the diners from the street. No, they are not rooms with breathtaking views for the diners to savour while eating. It gives the impression of boasting the activity at hand. What a bland way of doing so!
Cosmopolitan societies attain refinement in taste over decades and centuries. But rusticity reigns supreme in this capital city. Abuse of cell phone is just one form. Many other forms get exposed in myriad ways and situations. For becoming members of a cultured society, people need to be humble instead of giving in to their cheap sentiments and hubris. Even low-keyed and innocent rusticity is better than flaunting anything and everything.
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