I have been reading a book, Essays of E.B. White. It was a gift from my dad, and is turning out to be a splendid gift at that. White’s imagery and smoothness make for an easy, enjoyable read. However, his ability to see the ironies in the world are what keep the reader engaged. What’s more is how his observations and thoughts, from the sixties, are so clearly relevant to the state of the world today.
In one of White’s essays he talks about New York and what makes the city unique. He sees it’s most basic unique quality as being able to take in anything, while giving its inhabitants the choice to be affected or not. It is essentially, fully accommodating, yet un-disturbing.
This characterization led me to think about my current city, Bangalore. I realized that a resident of Bangalore would easily feel this same lack of encroachment, but not out of choice or respect, out of complete ignorance of their existence.
What is exceptional about Bangalore is its lack of shame. This is not a city with poor areas and rich areas. It is a poor city with rich buildings towering over the slums. The shame extends the full spectrum of wealth. The rich feel no shame about living with slums and beggars in the direct shadow of their excess. What’s more, the poor feel no shame at trying to scrape what scraps they can from what the rich leave behind. There is total complacency with the building of luxurious apartments, with high walls as the only means of separation between luxury and slum.
I’m not saying there should be segregation of classes. I’m saying that without shame, nothing is going to change. Seeing how the rich are only getting richer, they are unlikely to change anything on their own. In order to achieve a better balance in the city, the poor need to take a stand. The problem with a beggar is not the fact that he has no money, but the fact that he thinks begging is his best option. It is nearly impossible for a poor person in ratty clothes to walk into a business and get hired. But it is possible for the poor to protest their being ignored, to protest the limitation of their opportunities, to protest having to live in the shadow of affluence. If the poor rise up, the rich and the powerful will feel the shame that is so long overdue. They will realize that the city needs to change, along with the country for that matter, and they will make efforts for the betterment of the community, if only so the poor stop complaining.
What is unfortunate is that this may never happen. It is imbedded in the Indian culture that no one should care. My boss explained Indian traffic to me with a Hindi saying that states; anything goes. This is the problem. The lack of respect, the lack of shame, the lack of responsibility all stem from the thought, anything goes. When one is fully accommodating, one appeals to the lowest common denominator. This country has speed bumps, rather than stop signs, because people aren’t trusted to stop. Problems such as this are so rampant, one can hardly fathom. I like to think that I am observing the Indian culture with a non-ignorant view, though as an American that is unlikely. All I know is, if you can’t trust the general population to use stop signs that is a problem.
I was in a transport back from work one night drinking a cup of tea. When I finished, the driver told me to through the cup out the window. I refused, but he prodded me to do so, saying how it’s ok, everyone does it. After my repeated refusals he and the rest of the people in the transport laughed at me. People litter in America, that’s a fact. However, those people are looked down upon, and lose respect for it. Here in India six people laughed at me for choosing not to litter, that’s just wrong.
Every night when I go to board my transport home from work, the same thing happens; I go down to the loading bay, along with a couple hundred other people, find my transport number on the board, hunt for it in the sea of vehicles that branch out into five different groups, all of which converge at the same point to leave, and board it. When it is time for the cars and trucks to leave it is pandemonium. At five minutes prior to departure time the drivers are hanging out, chatting with each other, laughing and joking. When it is a minute past the time to leave, every driver is honking, cutting each other off, squeezing within a centimeter of the car in front, and nearly hitting people in their rush to get out. When I say nearly hitting people, I don’t mean they narrowly avoid them, I mean they head straight towards them and the people, if they’re lucky, barely get out of the way in time. The lack of civility and respect astounds me, and it is all bred from thousands of years of Indian culture.
People tell me; this is India, that’s how it is. I think that’s not good enough. Traffic is unnecessarily bad, and people are unnecessarily poor and unhealthy. There is a difference between doing things a different way, and doing things a wrong way. To me, this is a wrong way of doing things. Until the culture and the mindset changes so that respect, civility and trust can at least be understood, if not respected, rather than laughed at, India’s ascent to a developed country will go unrealized.
It may be very well though that the current wealthy class and powerful leaders want India to always be a step behind. This will keep wages low and continue the flow of foreign money into the pockets of a few. So long as the poor only care enough to reach for a handout India will be a developing nation, with cheap labor and a small group of wealthy and powerful elites. I’ve met some great people in this country, and it would really be something to see the heart and faith of these people in a modern nation, but lets just say, I’m not holding my breathe.
Today’s lesson, if you want something…you have to take it.
You’re Welcome,
x
No comments:
Post a Comment