Yesterday the Facebook update of a friend of mine read - A chilled glass of wine, with her favourite music playing and her kid dancing to it made her day. Some weeks back another friends status read - Warm sunshine and relaxing time with her hubby and kid made her day. Yet another one posted pictures of vacation with her children in some amusement park. The one thing common to all of them - apart from all the updates being upbeat was - they were based out of India.
Which set me pondering. Why were the frequencies of such updates not so common from my friends in India? I know day to day life is a bit tougher in India but then are there no small joys? Is'nt having family within reach a pleasure? Is'nt visiting the length and breadth of India equally spell binding? Is'nt having a cuppa tea with pakoras on a road side stall on over cast evenings delightful.
Of course there are inconveniences. There are the frequent power cuts.There are mosquitoes and ants. There is the slow internet connection. There is the constant haggling with auto rickshaw drivers. But I am not talking the big issues of corruption, infrastructure, basic education, medical facilities. I know these big issues are way better taken care of in the developed societies. I am talking about the small things, the little niceties, the sweet nothings. I am talking about the beauty of the Durga Puja pandals, the pani puri stalls, the peanuts on the beach, the carnage during the sale in Bata ,enjoying and catching up on MTV Roadies.
As an instance, I have noticed that catch up between friends is so few and far between in India even though accessible but in a foreign land people go through hell and high water to meet up! Of course there is a plethora of delectable dishes uploaded and smiling faces in social networking sites again with the location being CA, Manama, NJ or Singapore City. I long to see such updates from Hyderabad, Gurgaon, Bangalore and Bhubaneswar. Of course they are not absent. But wish they were more,lots more. On our recent trip back to India, we invited some of K's friends over to our home. They could not all come at the same time given their own commitments. What surprised us was one of them asked K if he knew what another pal was up to. K did know - but the incident did not fail to amaze me. Is it because the bigger things take up so much of our time and energy that we lack the zeal to pursue the God of small things? Or is it the case of ghar ki murgi? Or (no offense) the residents of developed nations are more flamboyant because it is cool to show case those exotic pictures? Just an open question, I would love to be enlightened.
Of course there are inconveniences. There are the frequent power cuts.There are mosquitoes and ants. There is the slow internet connection. There is the constant haggling with auto rickshaw drivers. But I am not talking the big issues of corruption, infrastructure, basic education, medical facilities. I know these big issues are way better taken care of in the developed societies. I am talking about the small things, the little niceties, the sweet nothings. I am talking about the beauty of the Durga Puja pandals, the pani puri stalls, the peanuts on the beach, the carnage during the sale in Bata ,enjoying and catching up on MTV Roadies.
As an instance, I have noticed that catch up between friends is so few and far between in India even though accessible but in a foreign land people go through hell and high water to meet up! Of course there is a plethora of delectable dishes uploaded and smiling faces in social networking sites again with the location being CA, Manama, NJ or Singapore City. I long to see such updates from Hyderabad, Gurgaon, Bangalore and Bhubaneswar. Of course they are not absent. But wish they were more,lots more. On our recent trip back to India, we invited some of K's friends over to our home. They could not all come at the same time given their own commitments. What surprised us was one of them asked K if he knew what another pal was up to. K did know - but the incident did not fail to amaze me. Is it because the bigger things take up so much of our time and energy that we lack the zeal to pursue the God of small things? Or is it the case of ghar ki murgi? Or (no offense) the residents of developed nations are more flamboyant because it is cool to show case those exotic pictures? Just an open question, I would love to be enlightened.
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