I believe this piece, would like to know where it appeared and wonder whether it also doubled up as a PR piece.
What is worth some reflection upon is the bit where Suvendu Roy of Titan Industries says "I started chatting with him and the initial sense of ridicule and disbelief gradually diminished." This is a such a persistent quality in us Indians, where does it come from and where does it go. But its is good to hear even someone state this out loud, his sense of ridicule. Its a pecuniary quality that is common to many of us, and is spelled out well in the book "Being Indian" by Pavan K. Varma. Also the bit about the rider attempting to make sense of this persons dharma both in its humanity and business methodology, as in, "We realised that we had come across a man who represents Mumbai ? the spirit of work, the spirit of travel and the spirit of excelling in life. I asked him whether he does anything else as I figured that he did not have too much spare time." Very little basis to make the claim, but eminently acceptable when one does not know how this bienseance came together--as in sense of propriety. Complex analogies will mostly come from the masses. To make analogies and connections that aid or abet in how ones sees oneself amidst the changes that occur around us requires a different mingling as well as soiling of the mind. These changes have to be grappled with as the country gets sold to the largest bidder. One must also remember that during the Emergency the elites, the educated, the business houses, and ones with good jobs all supported it. It was people like my Dad who managed to flee from a sterilization van on a Mumbai street after escaping but not without staring in the face the spectre of Shri Vasectomy or should that be Bhesechthomy. We have all ended up on various paths, and truly with vastly different experiences. Dad must be smiling--in fact howling with laughter in the form of a cloud while we debate global warming. Man this is funny. I wish my brothers woudl howl with laughter too at whatever comes in their path. Coudl say more but must stop before I get too martial, contra-religious, or even pleasantly sexual--and risk this post not making it to Goanet. But life is short and waking on the razors edge is an art. Only those who can see outside our censorious existence while living within it, can create a different head space. Those in our higher institutes or education are not taught to see. It comes from within and in some cases a bit of it may be taught--as in a course on Social Change. I believe as a non-psychologist the Miller Analogies Test was applied on the streets of Mumbai, the answers will be devastating emotionally to those who believe in their superiority for a myriad of reasons. BTW, the largest employer in India is not the Indian Railways but the streets and by lanes of the country. venantius j pinto > Date: Sun, 28 Jun 2009 16:38:31 +0530 > From: Luis Vas <[email protected]> > Subject: [Goanet] Good samaritan Rickshaw driver > > Hope you have this experience one day > > *As received* > > *Suvendu Roy of Titan Industries shares his inspirational encounter with > a** > **rickshaw driver in Mumbai:* > >
