Same but Different

By Adwait at 21 May, 2010, 5:56 am

Same but different.
The phrase (if it can be called that) sounds like a kid attempting to learn the English language and is yet to figure out that same and different are not supposed to be used together. But it’s not way off from the truth.
What truth ?
What is same, and different at the same time?
It isn’t a riddle. So stop searching your brain for an answer. It is something all of us love (or love to hate). The place we called McDonald’s.
Though the name, the colour of the uniforms and Ronald McDonald are almost identical in different countries, the dynamics of the fast food joint in the US and India are far from similar.

Now what is McDonald’s?
A stupid question really; everyone can answer that. But for those who want to know more than the menu: Founded in 1940 on the 15th of May, in San Bernardo, CA, McDonald’s is the worlds largest fast food chain, serving almost 47 million hungry people everyday. It was founded by brothers Richard and Maurice. Their sole aim was to make sure, that the customers need not have to wait for their food, for a long time, so they introduced this ‘Speedee Service System’, now know to us as McDonald’s.

Famous for hamburgers in the US and Maharaja Mac’s in India, McDonald’s is much more than a fast food joint. So how is it different in India as compared to other countries?

The difference is not something tangible. It is not something you can see or touch, or rather comment on, by looking at it. It is much more. Let me put the difference in more simpler words. In the United States of America, a person like Bill Gates or Steve Jobs can sit and enjoy a meal in a McDonald’s. Even a homeless person, who has saved as much as ten dollars can enjoy the same meal. This does not happen here, in our country.

McDonald’s is a fast food joint, but first it is a symbol of one’s status. Here McDonald’s is more than Burgers and Fries. It’s about shelling out the money and spending it on western burgers, sitting in an air conditioned seating, and enjoying it with a coke and some tomato ketchup.

McDonald’s here is more than a fast food joint. In the US it is a simple fast food joint, where people are hungry and want something quick without thinking and looking at a menu. ‘One medium fries, a cheese-burger and a large coke!’
The above order can be carried out without thinking and without a menu card. This is how it functions in the US.
But in India, the McDonald’s is much different from what its franchises are in the US.

In India McDonald’s is more of a social hot spot. A place where only the higher strata of social society come and enjoy the food. It is a stereotype which we hear, about India being 20 years behind the developed nations such as the US or UK. But now after seeing this obvious disparity I wonder, is it true, are we still in the 90’s era in of the United States? You will never see both ends of the strata of the Indian social society.

The great American fast food chain, where each and every American can enjoy a hamburger and coke comes to India and serves as a completely different food place. Same but Different?

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Categories : Entertainment