Hope satire does help!
I enjoy the satire and humor which Jug Suraiya, associate editor of TOI, brings in to his writings. Sometimes it is uncanny how our experience run parallel and he blogs about it before I do. I am not upset as he writes well and I feel happy that we look at the same things and often with different perspectives.
Some months back I was in Mumbai and passed through some areas which were a little better than slums. I noticed clothes were jutting out of windows and so-called balconies. Some were there for drying and others obviously because of lack of space inside. The rooms looked so small, I had a feeling that the doors were kept open in the nights and probably inmates' limbs would jut out of the door as they slept.
A few days later I saw JS's article, I forget the heading, which also noticed clothes in balconies of apartments and in his opinion they were there in the balcony, not only for drying but more so because the residents wanted to show off their designer clothes and underwears. I guess he hoped that the residents would see the implied satire and desist from this practice and that the posh apartments would look less ugly! I suppose one lives on hope.
Recently on my morning walk, I jumped as a driver honked unexpectedly. Nothing uncommon in India. But the location was a bit uncommon. It was at the entrance of a posh locality. I was on the footpath and had just crossed the pillar of the gate and would have taken another second or two to cross the gates. But typically the driver wanted priority to enter the gate, he HONKED and I jumped!
I know by now that I am an underdog as a pedestrian and would have let the car pass. But as the car engine with all its power was silent, I did not hear him! I was not surprised that the driver did not deem to look at me or appear contrite, I could have been a stray dog or a buffalo!
It is then I saw this article from JS.
http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/jugglebandhi/entry/horny-india"
Interesting theory that the engine power comes from the honking and not from the fuel. Could be true, but the real power comes from either the finger of the buffalo of a driver or more so from that of the owner who sits behind. I agree with those who state that 'India is a great old civilisation but is not civilised'.
Some months back I was in Mumbai and passed through some areas which were a little better than slums. I noticed clothes were jutting out of windows and so-called balconies. Some were there for drying and others obviously because of lack of space inside. The rooms looked so small, I had a feeling that the doors were kept open in the nights and probably inmates' limbs would jut out of the door as they slept.
A few days later I saw JS's article, I forget the heading, which also noticed clothes in balconies of apartments and in his opinion they were there in the balcony, not only for drying but more so because the residents wanted to show off their designer clothes and underwears. I guess he hoped that the residents would see the implied satire and desist from this practice and that the posh apartments would look less ugly! I suppose one lives on hope.
Recently on my morning walk, I jumped as a driver honked unexpectedly. Nothing uncommon in India. But the location was a bit uncommon. It was at the entrance of a posh locality. I was on the footpath and had just crossed the pillar of the gate and would have taken another second or two to cross the gates. But typically the driver wanted priority to enter the gate, he HONKED and I jumped!
I know by now that I am an underdog as a pedestrian and would have let the car pass. But as the car engine with all its power was silent, I did not hear him! I was not surprised that the driver did not deem to look at me or appear contrite, I could have been a stray dog or a buffalo!
It is then I saw this article from JS.
http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/jugglebandhi/entry/horny-india"
Interesting theory that the engine power comes from the honking and not from the fuel. Could be true, but the real power comes from either the finger of the buffalo of a driver or more so from that of the owner who sits behind. I agree with those who state that 'India is a great old civilisation but is not civilised'.
Comments
Time to get rid of "Shabdha namage, Daari nimage" & "Sound Horn". I have even tried to incentivise the taxi drivers (driving me to & from Airport) by paying tips - only if the horn was not used. Hope "Pavlov" works here...