Wednesday, August 18, 2004
Just sat down with the best coffee I've tasted since leaving Melbourne. Short, strong, from an authentic espresso machine. It almost brings a tear to my eye. Unlike seeing a hessian sack on a market street, hiding a human form from the bustling crowds. Or the woman crouched on haunches, staring blankly at the street, the boy gesturing with his crotch at K from a rooftop. Unforgettable images rush by amongst the everyday tedium of an overflowing city. Life is everywhere, partnering up for its dance with Death, it passes around me; sometimes I am receptive and sometimes blithely ignorant.
Independence Day today, and I wonder who celebrates. The beggars? The taxi drivers and merchants? I can't imagine anyones life being much different, apart from the skin colour of their superiors. Caste is so hopelessly ingrained, and the country, its number of inhabitants so large that remedies go unnoticed. The papers today ran a feature on the Indian success story, how fully the nation has integrated into the global economy, made itslef an economic force to be reckoned with. Well British India was an economic force, the weight of Empire always made its resources sought after and somewhat valuable. Own government is of course a good thing, I'm not arguing against autonomy or in favour of imperialism, but what has India really achieved when so many of its people live so obviously under the poverty line, under tarpaulins on the side of the road? When one time British lackeys simply take over the asylum left them> When women still play an invisible role in society?
Independence Day today, and I wonder who celebrates. The beggars? The taxi drivers and merchants? I can't imagine anyones life being much different, apart from the skin colour of their superiors. Caste is so hopelessly ingrained, and the country, its number of inhabitants so large that remedies go unnoticed. The papers today ran a feature on the Indian success story, how fully the nation has integrated into the global economy, made itslef an economic force to be reckoned with. Well British India was an economic force, the weight of Empire always made its resources sought after and somewhat valuable. Own government is of course a good thing, I'm not arguing against autonomy or in favour of imperialism, but what has India really achieved when so many of its people live so obviously under the poverty line, under tarpaulins on the side of the road? When one time British lackeys simply take over the asylum left them> When women still play an invisible role in society?
Thursday, August 12, 2004
