Route 79

The bus, really looks too cool to be true. I could just hug it.
That just sums about the Indian mentality - to keep things as clean and new as they can be. (I do practice the Plastic Cover over the Remote Control, not the others though.) There is even the plastic cover over the Washing Machine, a cloth covering the top of the refridgerator and one for the Televison, a cover for the car and its seats and many other things. Many people buy plastic covers for their cell phones - in order to prevent it from getting dirty.
The reason, I think is this. Whenever a huge/expensive/utilitarian equipment is bought, it is considered an investment; something that ought to last a while - preferably a minimum of 5 years. So, for that span of 5 years, it is supposed to look new for usage. If something goes wrong with it, people take pains to get it repaired rather than disposing it off. In my house, we had a motorbike which is 19 years old, a washing machine for about 10 years (replaced just recently), a television and a fridge for an equally long time, a taperecorder 15 years old, my computer is decently old - approaching its third birthday.
In the western world, as I have heard it, it is basically a use and throw model. If it does not work, throw it and buy a new one. Not many people try to get it repaired.

To continue...
Probably (some of my relatives in US have said) it is cheaper to buy a new piece of equipment rather than try to get it repaired.
So thats the reason, for the "Westerners" not trying to keep the newness. They would know that they would be replacing/disposing within about 3-5 years and that there is no need to keep it "new and clean".

Hi Sat - you're absolutely right - the "churn" cycle here in the West is a lot greater now than it used to be - and a lot greater than that which you find more commonplace in India say.

For example - based upon my own experiences - in the last 10 years - I have had:

* 4 washing machines
* 3 fridges
* 5 cars
* 12 mobile phones (last 8 years)
* 4 MP3 players
* 3 conventional walkmans
* 4 VCRs
* 2 TVs
* 6 laptop computers
* 3 camcorders
* 4 cameras

At each point of change - the change was stimulated by either:

a) Previous one went defunct or crashed.
b) Previous one was not performing as well as I wanted - and so I got a new one that performed better.

In fact - to underline your point: in the last 10 years of all of the above items - I had NONE of the defunct items repaired! Even the defunct cars were sold or scrapped. (OK - in two of the car cases - I had a crash which made them insurance write-offs!)

I was not aware that this was typically Indian (you do learn something every day, well, almost!). This explains why my pal Naseer never removes his remote controls from their wrappers. Another entertaining and enlightening post Jag :-)

Hi Stu - hey, now you know! It sure is very typically Indian! :-) Glad to enlighten!

jesus christ, jag - have you really gone through so much over the past 10 years ? i'm using my second washing machine in the past 15 years, second mobile in the past 6 years (and the first didn't even need replacing) and that's about it.

with regards the plastic film on your mobile : do you mean the bit of plastic covering the display area ? if so, i still have mine on after 3/4 years simply because i don't notice it :)

Hi Zoe - I obviously don't get on with washing machines. Either that or you are an Indian in your heart! (And I shouldn't really count the mobile phones - as they are a part of what I do for living.)

Yes - I mean exactly the bit of plastic that covers the display area. Wow - yours didn't bubble up in all that time? Excellent.

bubble up ? nooooo .... maybe it's because i keep it one of those anti-shock 'cases' because i have a tendency to drop my mobile. a lot.