'Student Diary: Manraj Gujral, India'
One of things you tend to pick up, apart from your University Lessons – if you are listening to the lectures, is the art of being British.
What do people mean, for example, when they say: 'this hotel is quintessentially British'? There is probably a lot more than what meets the eye when you think about it. Being British can be dunking biscuits in cups of tea, or queuing up in traffic at the roundabout. It might be the stiff upper lip, or the regular ‘sorry’ and ‘thank you’ you hear on any given day.
When Andy Murray (a professional Scottish tennis player) lost the 2012 Wimbledon Finals against Roger Federer, he set a record for becoming second best. Murray appeared in all the four semi-finals of major tennis tournaments in 2012 and managed to come second in every single one. People used to say he doesn't show any emotion and isn’t in touch with his inner self. However, after losing the Wimbledon final Murray let a few tears roll down his cheeks. As a result, the English created sayings such as: “don't you do an ‘Andy Murray’ on me” and “not on Andy Murray’s watch” as a joke between frends. Cut to a few months later and Murray competed against the same opponent when he won the Olympic Gold! All was forgiven and a ‘British’ icon was born!
There are times when everybody comes together. Such was the case with the London Olympics 2012! And boy, what a party it was. I don’t think people were really rooting for the Olympics here until they saw the Queen parachuting out of a plane along with 007, James Bond, in the opening ceremony! People, me included, were watching with jaws open and chips (...ahem, French Fries) hanging out their mouths …pausing between unfinished sentences looking at what was going on. I think that got the Olympics going! I ended up buying tickets for three matches after that. One of them was for the Bronze winning Indian boxer Mary Kom. The cries of “Go, Mary, Go” had left me speechless the day after, literally.
So, a seven-hour flight form New Delhi to the UK might leave you with a bit of jet lag, but that will not be the only thing that trips you. It is the subtleties in UK culture you have to look for. That's where all the fun is!
