There are certain attributes that reveal basic traits of a country.They tell you why certain countries are rated highly, and why certain others are rated lowly
Selani by profession is a seafarer. He keeps travelling, and has seen the countries, people and their varied cultures all over the world. He once told his friends, “There are a few attributes that reveal basic traits about a country. They tell you why certain countries are rated highly, and why certain countries are rated lowly.”
I have always wondered why men with limited resources nurture unlimited desires! My cherished desire is to see the world, and be at different places all over the globe. But, it is like chasing shadows. I want to eat pizza in an Italian restaurant in Venice. I want to watch a Test match between England and Australia at Melbourne Cricket Club ground in Australia. I yearn to see Kerala, Shimla, Poone, Chirapunji, Banglore, Goa, Assam and other wonderful places in India. I, not being able to afford tours abroad, read travelogues, and in my imagination I join the authors in their journeys in the distant lands. But, listening to Selani is like sharing a great experience. He abhors writing. Therefore, he has not written safarnamas. Some bureaucrats proceed abroad on government expenses to attend a seminar, workshop or a conference in an alien country for a few days and churn out a voluminous safarnama. Selani, a professional seafarer simply talks about the life he spends in the fold of the people with diverse cultures and the countries he loves to be there.
Selani returns from abroad every time with fresh and amazing stories. He doesn’t tell you concocted stories. The girls do not fall in love with him in Venezuela, or Vienna. He never refurbishes you with sermons on the moral decadence in the West. During the African safaris he never grapples lions and savage tigers with bare hands. He never indulges in ridiculous comparison of cultures and values among different people living in the different parts of the world. He doesn’t suffer from the ailment that, ‘we are simply the best.’
Selani was here recently. Friends drenched him with queries. He smiled and said, “There are certain attributes that reveal basic traits about a country. They tell you why certain countries are rated highly, and why certain countries are rated lowly.”
He then elaborated the attributes that reveal the prestige of a country in universal ranking. If you are eager to know how neat and clean is a country and its people, simply watch their public toilets at bus-stops, railway stations, airports, offices and markets. If you discover neat and clean toilets, rest assured the country and its people are relatively neat and clean. In case their toilets stink, and are filthy, and choked then you should be on your guard. You are among the dirtiest people on the earth. If you are interested to know how disciplined is a nation, watch their vehicles on the roads. Well-disciplined traffic hints at the existence of a disciplined and an organized nation. Erratic traffic betrays an undisciplined and a chaotic nation.
Of all the factors that lift a country in the world estimation, political system is of prime importance. Frequent military takeovers, recurrent dissolution of elected governments, everyday amendments in the constitution, disrespect for law drops a country to the lowest estimations in the world.
Flourishing tourism is singular indicator for determining popularity of a country. Vibrant tourism indicates how respected you stand among the estimate of the international community. The tourists always prefer to visit countries they hold high in their opinion based on the bare facts. They refrain from going to the countries where they feel unsafe.
Are our public toilets at the bus-stops, railway stations, airports, offices, and the markets neat and clean? Is our traffic disciplined? Have we ever experienced political stability and sagacity in Pakistan during the last 57 years?
Tourists throng Maldives, one the poorest countries of yesteryear. Maldives now is one of the most desired tourist destination in the world. It is situated not far away from Sri Lanka, a heaven for the tourists from all over the world. So is India. The country throbs with tourists from abroad. From archaeological sites to monuments, hotels, restaurants, indigenous markets, art galleries, operas, theatres, cinema houses, temples and hill stations, you will find tourists every where in India.
I have not been to Switzerland. There are people who claim with authority that Gilgit, Skurdu, Baltistan and Swat in our Northern Area, are equally attractive. We have remains of Gandhara civilization. We have seven thousand-year-old ruins of Indus-valley civilisation, called Moen-Jo-Daro. We have attractive archaeological sites for the Buddhists at Taxila. We have rich heritage of Moghul monuments. We have beautiful beaches. We have colourful handicraft bazaars. But somehow, tourists do not come to us. They refrain from visiting Pakistan.
