There are certain inexplicable patterns of behaviour that are entrenched in the psyche of the Indian masses. It doesn’t matter if those actions cause anything ranging from discomfort to mortal tragedy – we as a people refuse to change and make room for anyone apart from ourselves.
Just look at this crowd in Manali. Lockdown was lifted and within moments, the place was packed.
Screenshot from someone’s Instagram.
— Dr. Manmohan Singh (@manmohansdeogan) July 4, 2021
Pehle oxygen nahi mil rahi thi,
Ab kehte Manali me hotel nahi mil rahe. 🙄#COVID19 #3rdWave pic.twitter.com/xtfcx4muwn
#WATCH | Tourists throng Manali town in Kullu district as Himachal Pradesh government eases COVID restrictions pic.twitter.com/snIiwfcIo5
— ANI (@ANI) July 5, 2021
And speaking of flooding the hills, Mussoorie isn’t much different either. C’mon people, think!
Uttarakhand | Tourists throng in Mussoorie as #COVID19 restrictions eased & heatwave hits north India
— ANI (@ANI) July 6, 2021
“Weather is very good here. I came here with my joint family. We are vaccinated and taking COVID19 precautions,” says Navdeep Kaur, a tourist from Amritsar pic.twitter.com/9rFRkaRtFW
This sickening scene from the Kempty Falls in Uttarakhand has everyone up in arms. 100s of maskless and bare-bodied tourists packed together like sardines in the water.
Forget social distancing, there was no room to even stretch your arms. It looked like a dystopian Fun n’ Food village.
#infobug07july21
— Infobug (@InfobugI) July 7, 2021
With no #masks in sight, hundreds of tourists appeared to be #vacationing their ‘#pandemic‘ troubles away at the Kempty falls in #Mussoorie.#repost #viral #Internet pic.twitter.com/3lnjLVG2gK
Then there was this traffic jam involving 100s of cars trying to enter Himachal after lockdown eased up. Yeah, that should not have happened.
Video: Massive Traffic Jam As Hundreds Of Cars Line Up To Enter Himachal https://t.co/8tPPtrTS2p pic.twitter.com/ljEuLUp9Ia
— NDTV (@ndtv) June 14, 2021
Remember the snaking lines outside liquor stores stretching for miles on end? As soon as lockdown ended, people went berserk.
There was no kind of social distancing to be seen, and the police actually had to resort to whacking people with sticks to keep them in line (literally).
West Bengal: People line up outside liquor shops in different parts of Kolkata ahead of the imposition of a two-week lockdown starting at 6 am tomorrow.
— ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2021
The state chief secretary has said that liquor shops will remain closed during the lockdown. pic.twitter.com/3uRJZo5S9A
Lines outside liquor shops as lockdown is announced in Delhi. pic.twitter.com/HALFhLFWGE
— Deep Halder (@deepscribble) April 19, 2021
Then there’s a personal pet peeve – people standing up as soon as the plane lands, despite pleas from the crew to stay seated, and the doors still being shut.

Don’t even get me started on how close people stand to you when you’re in a line. It’s as if rubbing their crotch on my butt can magically make the line go faster.
News flash, there’s no genie in that buttcrack bottle.

What all of these examples go to show is that Indians basically have no chill. After everything we’ve been through, the least we could demonstrate as a collective is a bit of a conscience, a bit of restraint and logic. But it appears that’s too much to ask for. Now, all we can do is hope.