The process of defamiliarization allowed me to compare cultural differences between the buses I used in Malmö, which has a mature transport infrastructure, and the ones in India. Apart from points mentioned earlier, there are different buses catering to the different strata of society in Calcutta and Delhi, and the volume and scale of usage are enormous. The lack of information infrastructure has given rise to power politics, while Malmö has a transparent and helpful information infrastructure. Another interesting point was physical proximity among passengers – a reflection of the Swedish sense of personal space compared to the Indian attitude of “adjustment” – and also the respect for a co-passenger’s personal space, which is non-existent in India. In Malmö older people usually tend to sit towards the front and younger people at the back, though in India these kinds of demarcations are very subtle, and difficult to distinguish, except that women travelling alone tend to stand near the seats reserved for women, and young men at the back. In India interactions with strangers are usually necessary, while in Malmö it is easily avoidable. As the environment in India is very noisy, people also tend to talk louder – and this is quite apparent in public transport – but in Malmö no one raises their voices and to be noisy in the bus is considered a violation of the social norms.
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