Friday, August 10, 2007

Reducing India

"Twenty years ago the rest of the world saw India as a pauper. Now it is just as famous for its software engineers, Bollywood movie stars, literary giants and steel magnates."
Time Magazine

Pauper, really? and in my opinion, none of these four categories of people represent the people of India. Its amazing how the media is so apt at reducing India to one, two, three or four things ... or just one city (B'lore) or just one issue (foeticide) and so on...


4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I wonder if Indians make too much of India's complexity.

ishani said...

Getting hyper around Independence Day I feel is a media exercise - whatever the issues around India are, we don't need to suddenly wake up to them on August 15. Why can't we just sit back and enjoy I-Day, like many other countries do? Meanwhile, the issues and problems are there and will have to be tackled on a long term and sustained basis.

ishani said...

To add to my previous comment I'd like to say that in Delhi, Independence Day is celebrated with kite flying competitions - these besides the official I-Day celebrations etc! The skies above are dotted with multicoloured, beautifully crafted kites all across the Capital. I'd suggest to my NRI friends to take a chill pill and celebrate our Independence Day in good spirits & humour - perhaps you dont get kites in the West and perhaps the weather doesnt allow you to fly them - but it's the spirit that matters. So go ahead and celebrate! I had once found a beautiful kite which had landed on my balcony from some terrace nearby on the morning on my birthday. That was among the most beautiful B'day presents that I've ever got!

Anonymous said...

actually, in the NRI world the tradition is fireworks and picnics