For the love of shoes!

Respect!  A word which is very sacred. But the way it is shown here is sometimes so silly. I’m talking about the removal- of- footwear- respect.   It is out of question in temples, and it doesn’t bother me as I hardly visit one.  “Please remove your footwear” in hospitals and in colleges really pisses me off. The people who work there can, but no one else can’t. How is it fair?  Walking barefoot in a place where sick people visit is something hard to be accepted by me, even as I go there for a consultation myself.

 This is a rule in textiles showrooms, beauty salons, browsing centers and etc. Not all but at most places to be clear. This one act serves both the purposes to show respect and to keep a clean floor, neither is okay to me. This is a common practice in colleges too. Making students come in formals and then asking them to go barefoot in labs is contradictory. Thank god they spared the classrooms.  I asked my students not to remove their shoes one time after a “stinking” experience earlier. And I was informed by the lab in-charge person not to let that happen anymore. How can wearing shoes mean that you don’t respect someone? Okay if it is something religious, then why practice it in common places and in places of learning? 

The birth of many restrictions is because of the fear of negative consequences. Need to clean often?—No footwear, Need to show respect?—No footwear.  We are never prepared for the worst, but instead we are scared to try or accept anything new. And if anyone defies these "rules" then they are "influenced" by western culture! You want their tie, but not the shoes? Emulate the attire but leave the perception and attitude? Yes, some things end up bad and it is wise to avoid it, but there is no point in saying No to anything that is new or from a distant land.

Some of us were asked in a meeting if we should allow students to use cell phones. Only two of ten were for it. And the reason given for its restriction was –they will take pictures too, of girls and even the teachers. Yes that will happen but for that should it be a big No? It is like LPG, every house has one. Many get hurt or even killed when it bursts because of negligence or poor maintenance or of any other reason. Should we stop using that too? It was not in our “culture”  why did we say Yes to that?

It is time for us to change, to stop being adamant and accept good things from any part of the globe.