we are good at getting offended and overacting. we burn effigies and stone players houses, when our teams losses. we refuse to deal with thing rather, we keep quite and hope it goes away. our country still has 70% living in poverty and another 70% does not have access to proper toilets. infact, our country tops the world in open defecation. but instead of dealing with the issue, we ignore it. yes, our country is doing well, but millions of people still earn less than 30 rupees a day and still don't have access to power, clean water etc. just go to any rural area and see. we should deal with the issue, than such problems wont' exist.
There is nothing wrong in eating with hands provided they are thoroughly washed and dried, as such, without using a towel.One comment of Oprah (reported elsewhere):Negotiating the Traffic in India is like playing a video game: needs serious pondering over by all concerned.Is she wrong in saying so? I don't think so.If the chaos is aloud to prevail,one can imagine the fatal results.
When we use our hands for eating we make sure that they are properly washed and clean. What is the guarantee that dishes spoons forks etc are clean. With our own hands we can make sure that they are very clean and there is nothing uncivllised about it. Can some one explain if in a bufet Party can we eat piece of chicken or mutton by using fork and knife and not using hands.
I have no issue with her statement but the way she said it clearly meant to emphasise perhaps, there was something wrong with our culture; eating with our hands. Every country has their own culture, way of doing things etc. What can be normal for one group of people, can be strange for another. But it's ok if you point out such differences in a proper medium and not highlight their shortcoming. One thing that bothers me is that, many people in the west have not travelled much outside their country so their opinions are based on what they read on the newspaper, watch on the soap box etc. So, when someone makes such statement on such a large platform, it can give negative impression on the entire society. I have been living in NZ for many years, and I have encountered many people, who made strange comments about India, they supposedly heard or read somewhere. Lastly, constructive criticism is fine and yes, we should address many issues that are lagging in our country. But it doesn't mean, we should keep quiet and let others ridicule our way of doing thing. That's my personal opinion because I feel hurt, when I hear someone say bad things about my country.
to take philippic like water off a duck's back howsoever near the knuckle we may find it to be. However, equally pertinent is the fact that "only an inerrantist reserves the right to cast the 1st stone-Buddha".
Let all of us inculcate the habit of seeing the errors of our ways while taking everything in our stride if we desire to turn this world a Xanadu not dystopia.
This is first time I have looked for the name of the person who has written the article. An authentic one. This approach can be applied to every criticism we face (individually also).
