Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Indian Newspapers

One headline in the Times of India read 'Acid-throwing psycho on prowl in city?' Although it's disturbing that some madman followed women at night to throw acid at them, I had to smile. It's because of the word psycho. I don't think I've seen that word in a headline in any serious newspaper in Switzerland, the States or the UK. And if you read that headline to yourself with an Indian accent it gets even better.

There's the remembrance page where photographs of the deceased as well as some well wishes are published on the anniversary of their death. It's a nice idea. Most of the young ones mentioned were soldiers. The military is very visible here and it seems they're recruiting heavily.

Fight corruption ads feature very prominently. Not just in the papers but at the airport or the railway stations there's always a name and a number to contact. There are rules saying you shouldn't offer bribes and act as a whistleblower if someone else is involved in corruption. I have no idea how successful this initiative has been but it's a good start.

You can tell that Indian journalists are not fond of China or Pakistan. It was reported that the Chinese questioned the success of the Indian moon mission and although they didn't write anything nasty you could just feel that they were angry about this. Instead of a Pakistani they referred to one of them as Pak-man.

In another article about children's education it was striking that they never talked about parents but children's guardians, which hints at the fact that a considerable number of kids are brought up by someone else.

Half a page is devoted to religion. It's divided into sacred space, containing quotes from Buddha, Krishna, the bible and other religious figures. It's nice how all of them can happily co-exist in a little, gray box. The rest of the page is taken up by some religious leader who offers guidance about how to apply religion in daily life.

Two full pages were devoted to the retiring cricket star Anil Kumble. Only the Obama coverage a few days later got more space. They also report football results from the Premier and the Champions league which makes me wonder why on earth they haven't qualified for the World Cup?

What I found illuminating about this little reading exercise is how facts are implicitly part of what is communicated. By looking at word choice, subjects covered or the amount of space given to an article opinions and values shine through, regardless of if it was intended or not. By turning to another culture we can understand what we might not notice in our own papers.

Delhi

The first thing I noticed when I stepped out of the airport was the scent of sweet dust and some ozone. It's a pleasant smell because it reminded me of my last visit to India 12 years ago. The area close to the airport consists mainly of sand coloured things: buildings, dried grass and dirt. Men are standing or squatting all over the place and I wonder what they're waiting for. Others are sleeping in their cars with their feet hanging out of the door or on the open lawn. The roads are good and driving is pleasant on this Sunday morning. It has nothing in common with the roller coaster rides featuring elephants, buffaloes, cows, goats, scooters and pedestrians I remember from last time. Thanks to the greyish pollution haze there's an awesome sunrise which looks a bit like a peach soaked in grenadine siroup. The domestic airport is gated and some guys were standing on those gates resembling herons. Before I could ask what they're doing Lalu uncle said they're watching the planes take off and land.
After dropping my stuff at home we headed for the city center of New Delhi. Close to the Gate of India there was a parking lot which they had converted into a stage for showcasing Cobras and monkeys. I had no desire to go anywhere near the snake and I had a feeling I'd see many more monkeys. This turned out to be true. In the middle of the city there's a forest and the monkeys sit there next to the road because some people feed them.
A military brass band was performing in their kaki uniforms. I felt sorry for them because it was the kind of day, when you could drink a liter in 20 minutes. They played a fusion style between traditional march music and the latest bhagra tunes. I find it hard to imagine people stomping to war listening to the latest Sharuk Khan movie soundtrack.
Security is tight everywhere. After several blasts happening all over Northern India there's no market, shopping road or major shop you can enter without walking through a metal detector, opening your bags and letting them frisk you. It's sad but better than being blown up (I'm kind of attached to my extremities).
In Indian offices you have to hold on to your papers especially your money, as well as your clothes unless you feel like doing a Marilyn Monroe...This is because in every room there is at least one fan blowing everything around.

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Thank You America

This time more was at stake. America has become my home away from home since the last election four years ago. My kiddie-cousins have been born and live in the States as well as other relatives I care for. I have worked with a number of African-American's in Stamford and a lot of other people who felt bad about the direction their country was heading. And last but not least Obama articulates the ideas I had about politics even before I knew who he was. I've been monitoring the race daily since January, hoping but not daring to believe in what happened today.

I'm happy because I think it's a safer country for my relatives if their leader is not obsessed with war. Al Quaida is pissed because recruiting terrorists is much easier with the perfect enemy they had in the hawkish Republican administration.
I'm happy because I know that the African-American community takes pride in 'their president'. According to an article of the NY Times school attendence has increased significantly since Obama has been on the stage because young black folks start to doubt the idea that they will fail anyway and school doesn't matter. Moreover everyone who is part of a minority or thinks that only the rich and connected can succeed can look up to Barack. This in my eyes is an important change because it's just not possible to succeed without having faith in the world and yourself.

Nobody knows yet if he will succeed with his approach to a different kind of politics but ideas have to be introduced to the public before they can be translated into laws, policies and attitudes. It was high time that someone would do that and Obama has already planted change in our minds, even if there are no tangible results just yet.

But today I don't want to think about the future just yet. Because it's the first historical event in my life that I'm deeply grateful for witnessing. Thank you America. Thanks especially to all the folks who had their doubts, who were brought up to believe something different but then took a leap of faith.

Ideals

Ideals are hard to translate into real life. This is true for everyone of us and it must be even more difficult to infuse politics with them. There are several reasons for this. Not living up to your own ideals is painful. Often we question the validity of our values and ideals when our life is a mess and gradually we come to believe that whatever is noble has no place in the real world. Another reason is that we are traumatized by wars, terror and dictatorships. Capturing the imagination of people is associated with disaster. But one of the most salient aspects is that my generation does not have role models. Martin Luther King, Gandhi or JFK have one thing in common: my generation has seen pictures, we know in our heads that they have inspired millions but we haven't felt it in our heart.
The sparse number of historical events which I have witnessed and somewhat understood have disappointed me. My generation doesn't march for anything because we know it's of no use. We are so used to the bad guys getting their way that we don't believe anything until it's a fact. Like Barack Obama's election.
Now I know that there are a lot of cynical people out there who are making fun of people like me. They call us naive. They don't believe in inspiration which achieves something, they say it's just one gigantic Hollywood blockbuster show with a happy end.
It's perfectly allright to not agree with Obamas politics. What kind of president he'll be we'll all see in the years to come. But if they can't believe that one person can inspire people to become better people then I pity them. Because obviously they have not experienced how it is to burn for something, to love something and work so hard that that this one inspiration makes you cling on, regardless of how much grief you're confronted with.