Dead true

They don't have funeral directors in India. Why did I think this thought? My niece whose father is a funeral director in Scotland asked me what a funeral director in India is called. Why did she want to know this? Because, according to her email, they keep getting phone calls from a company who's telesales is in Delhi and they don't understand what dad's job is. Why anyone would want to talk to a telesales person, I don't know. Inscrutable Scots!

Telesales people don't bother me at all. The people who actually make the calls are only doing their jobs. At least, they're trying to make an honést living for themselves. How many of us have complained about those lazy so-and-sos on benefit? I find that telling the caller politely that I'm not interested and asking them to remove my number from their call list usually works. Many of us have spent a lot of creative time dreaming up "How to annoy a telesales person" techniques. Some of these can be quite amusing but most are just plain rude. I can't help feeling that, hiding behind technology, we have lost our sense of tolerance and reasonable behaviour.

There are people who behave abominably when they get behind the wheel of a car. We rant and rave, loose our cool and use our horn when all that's needed is a little patience? The same person when walking along the road might be held up behind an old lady or a group of students who are enjoying life but blocking the path. Does (s)he rant, rave and swear then? Not usually! A polite excuse me does the job.

Oh, and in case you're wondering .... when a Hindu dies the body is prepared by the family themseves. The eldest son, or eldest male relative, will take the lead in the funeral arrangements and deal with all the paperwork. I don't know but I'm prettty sure that Muslims and Christians in India will have a similar system.