IndianMaze

It was an interesting time at Holi last month. This festival is celebrated with full involvement of participants but with two view points. There are ones who celebrate it with a religious fervour and so wear new clothes etc. Then there are the ones who play with colours with same amount of intensity but use old clothes as clothes need to be discarded after all the colours that are used. This led to a clear thought as to how Indians are apt at recycling almost everything at home. This is not accounted for the carbon credits but is quite a phenomenon in both urban and rural India. It has become a part of the social norms as well. In a random manner, I recall instances where this has become a thread in Indian fabric. - ALL Indian households are visited by a कबाड़ीवाला ( a trader in discarded goods). Old newspapers, magazines, clothes, utensils, plastic goods are all sold and subsequently recycled - Every city has specialist tailors who have mastered the art of making clothes of children fr...

Sex, greed, dishonesty, lies,superstitions.........DEATH We got to talking of difficult situations arising out of children's' behaviour. My colleague, Panks, narrated a (horror) story. On accompanying his father to a family bereavement, this child asked as a matter of fact what happened. On getting an answer that grandpa's younger brother died, he shouted in the presence of the whole group "That's not right. Grandpa is older and should have been dead first." Normal outcome - shut the child by hook or crook (a spank here and there), shut the mouth with one hand, lift with another and evacuate faster than hurricane evacuation. On another occassion, I was chatting with my South African boss during a long journey in the serene mountainous drive through the Scottish Highlands and the discussion arrived at Indian culture and social behaviour. As usual, provoking is the name of the game in such scenarios. He got on to the journey of testing my limits of mental toler...