No matter how much we curse our country for everything that’s wrong with it, be it corruption, communal disharmony or bad Hollywood rip-offs, there are certain things about India that could just make the rest of the world go pea-green with envy.

You can walk into a doctor’s, lawyer’s or hairdresser’s without an appointment. Not only will you be welcomed but attended to without any hassles, after a little waiting of course.

You can get someone to wash your clothes, mop your floor, do the dishes, water your plants, walk your dog and massage your feet for Rs.500 a month, or maybe even Rs 1000, if you take inflation into account. It's still a damn good deal though.

If you’re travelling alone, there's always someone willing to feed you, watch your luggage when you need to go to the loo and chat with you when the book you’re reading gets a little boring (according to them not you).

Having an operation? Or someone you know is having one? Everyone from your father’s cousin’s niece’s mother-in-law to your colleague’s wife’s brother’s son will volunteer to donate blood.

Realise you are out of sugar when guests drop in unannounced? Not only will your neighbour give you the sugar (‘give’ not ‘lend’) but also offer to help out with the coffee and snacks as well!

Speaking of unannounced guests, you can drop in almost anywhere at any time without prior notice and sit around chatting for a while and even score a whole meal without anyone minding.

What better way to spend a long train journey than sitting on the steps? Try doing that anywhere else and they’d slap a fine on you, but not in India. Pretty soon, they’ll have a reservation counter for train steps!

Jumped a traffic signal? Not to worry! There’s a half-price sale on with the law. Last time I checked, you can hand the law half the original fine and drive away. No courtroom hassles, no tickets, nothing.

Speaking of half price sales, almost everything is always on sale. If you’re looking for a good deal on anything, welcome to India, where you can bargain on almost everything, even if it has a ‘Fixed Price’ sign on it. A good place to start is by cutting good ol’ Mr. Fixed Price by half. And then moving close to a quarter!

Friends in town and need to step out of work early? No problem! Everything is "adjustable" in India. Late to work. No problem sir! There’s no such thing as late here. There’s just "Present" and "Absent".

This list could go on and on but my vision is going all saffron, white and green, so I better stop. So the next time you think you’re getting a raw deal living in India, look at what the rest of the world is missing. If anything at all, we’ve given them lots to go green about!