This year the Indian summer, and by I literally mean the summer we in the northern part of the country were hit by; was particularly vicious.
I remember growing up in a non air conditioned environment, where the sole way to cool ourselves in the evenings was to head up to the terrace, pour water all over and then enjoy the 'cool' air thrown around by the pedestal fans! Of course the nights weren't hot air blowing dragons- the days were!
Air coolers came in much later and were great during the hot dry summer parts but insufferable during the humid bits. And fridges- there weren't any! Not till I was properly 'growed up' as my younger one would put it.
Big earthen pots kept the water beautifully cold and other things as well! Nothing was made in excess- all had to be consumed the same day or had to be given to the stray cows to eat.
One had to book a cooking gas connection and wait for months before getting freedom from tedious kerosene stoves. The same for a telephone connection- unless you knew someone (the omnipresent ever present requirement to get anything done in India), you could wait for 6 months to a year just to get the fat black instrument, which has changed people's social skills forever. Gone were the days of friends and relatives just dropping in- it all began to be preplanned. True some of these unannounced guests were irritants but still had the thrill of surprise. Now, I sit down every Sunday with my moleskines and plan each day, each play date, each phone call that I must make through the week!
I did not grow up in a village. I grew up right here in the the capital of India and if this seems incredible to you, you CAN go to any village today and see it for yourself! The difference, I guess was in the availability of power. Which again is not saying much considering the power situation in the national capital region this year!
We, are a highly skewed country; much like a little girl dressing up in her mother's clothes- in a big hurry to grow up but the maturity and confidence of the adult years way beyond her reach.
And so we have great cars, great phones, huge international brands and the yearning to be a part of the developed world, but we also lack the maturity of a truly adult nation.
Amir Khan has named a lot of issues plaguing our society today, so I won't even get in to that; but I will end this with a news report I read in this morning's paper- about a political/moral police party putting up warning posters all across Ranchi, threatening acid attacks on girls who wear jeans. Is Amir Khan listening? Or coming up with a nationwide campaign countering this incredible attack on a person's basic right to wear the clothes they want to?
No, the 13 episodes are up. The cameras are off and the spotlight is on the three odd medals we have won in the ongoing Olympics.
No, the childhood I had, was free and untainted. Free of prejudices, untainted by suspicion and though not well to do at all, I felt safe.
I remember growing up in a non air conditioned environment, where the sole way to cool ourselves in the evenings was to head up to the terrace, pour water all over and then enjoy the 'cool' air thrown around by the pedestal fans! Of course the nights weren't hot air blowing dragons- the days were!
Air coolers came in much later and were great during the hot dry summer parts but insufferable during the humid bits. And fridges- there weren't any! Not till I was properly 'growed up' as my younger one would put it.
Big earthen pots kept the water beautifully cold and other things as well! Nothing was made in excess- all had to be consumed the same day or had to be given to the stray cows to eat.
One had to book a cooking gas connection and wait for months before getting freedom from tedious kerosene stoves. The same for a telephone connection- unless you knew someone (the omnipresent ever present requirement to get anything done in India), you could wait for 6 months to a year just to get the fat black instrument, which has changed people's social skills forever. Gone were the days of friends and relatives just dropping in- it all began to be preplanned. True some of these unannounced guests were irritants but still had the thrill of surprise. Now, I sit down every Sunday with my moleskines and plan each day, each play date, each phone call that I must make through the week!
I did not grow up in a village. I grew up right here in the the capital of India and if this seems incredible to you, you CAN go to any village today and see it for yourself! The difference, I guess was in the availability of power. Which again is not saying much considering the power situation in the national capital region this year!
We, are a highly skewed country; much like a little girl dressing up in her mother's clothes- in a big hurry to grow up but the maturity and confidence of the adult years way beyond her reach.
And so we have great cars, great phones, huge international brands and the yearning to be a part of the developed world, but we also lack the maturity of a truly adult nation.
Amir Khan has named a lot of issues plaguing our society today, so I won't even get in to that; but I will end this with a news report I read in this morning's paper- about a political/moral police party putting up warning posters all across Ranchi, threatening acid attacks on girls who wear jeans. Is Amir Khan listening? Or coming up with a nationwide campaign countering this incredible attack on a person's basic right to wear the clothes they want to?
No, the 13 episodes are up. The cameras are off and the spotlight is on the three odd medals we have won in the ongoing Olympics.
No, the childhood I had, was free and untainted. Free of prejudices, untainted by suspicion and though not well to do at all, I felt safe.
You're right. It's a balance that India seems to have lost. A powerless India...unable to control electricity or its future.
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