Indian paradoxes and beer pong -- a paradox in itself
The New York Times has a good story today that explores the wide gap in the quality of living in India between the haves and have-nots. One of the most striking things about this country is how a portion of the population lives in the 21st century with all its technological advances and comforts, while a substantially larger portion lives an existence the developed world shed three generations ago.
I've been to clubs in Hyderabad that charge a $5o cover. Of course, I didn't pay that. I wouldn't pay that in the U.S. But there was a line winding out the door. Just behind that building, a family might share a 10X10 hut with a leaky roof and no power or running water.
Income disparities certainly exist in the U.S. and they have greatly increased in the last decade or so if you believe John Edwards or Paul Krugman. But the disparity is much more obvious here. Maybe that's because the poor are so numerous or the malnourished children are painful to look at.
A week or so ago, my roommate Aparna told me that all my pictures make India look poor and that I should take pictures to show the rich side of the country. Now, Aparna (who likely will read this) has been a fantastic roommate, and I'm glad to say we've also become good friends. She's a kind, intelligent person. But something she said to me in my first two weeks in India has stuck with me.
We were walking through the Gandhi Government Hospital, and I was struggling not to show shock at the abysmal condition in which the sick people were being treated. Aparna explained to me how difficult it was to become a doctor in India because of the strict quota system. (India grants a certain percent of all government-funded schools, jobs, etc. to people from lower castes. It's one of the most aggressive affirmative action policies in the world and heavily criticized.) I asked why doctors would work at Gandhi when they could work in the private sector and make much more money. I asked if they did it out of compassion for the poor.
Aparna looked at me with a completely straight face and said matter-of-factly, "No one in India does anything out of compassion."
I've thought about that phrase a lot. I thought about it this morning when someone emailed this link about an Indian man who is building an $1-billion home in Mumbia. It's a 60-story skyscraper that will have six floors just for his family's cars. How can a man completely ignore the destitution around him and devote such a great amount of money to such opulence? I think it's disgusting.
Which brings me to my last Saturday night in India, in which a large group of expats played beer pong until the wee hours of the morning (rough transition, I know). Check out the photos here.
posted by Sarah Arnquist at
2:48 AM
2 Comments:
Firstly, wow! i made it to your India blog. cos i was hoping i was part of your india experience. thank you.
All that you saw here is the stark truth. People spend 50 $ per person on a sat night, whereas the avg farmer ( with a family of 4) earns and spends 50$ a month for a living. absolutely gross. and this rich Mumbai dude is on forbes richest people list, runs one of the largest indian conglomorates. Not to mention the private jet he bought his wife.
The second thing i wanted to highlight about medicos not wanting to join pvt hospitals is because of
1. The benefits of working with a a govt hospital ( that will never sack you etc)
2. Its very difficult to make it to the pvt hospitals. there are a few hospitals and already have their full capacity, although the junior docs are paid pathetically.
3. You need a masters or specilisation to be in big/ pvt hospital, but, whereas just a bachelors medical degree is good enough for the Govt hospital.
what we need is more hospitals, better medical care for the poor.
10:55 AM
Aparna seems to be highly biased and opinionated about reservation to the poor and the downtroddens. She is not at all aware....the reservation policy adopted by the present government is supported by all the political parties and this is for the benefit of those who have been deprived on the name of caste for thousands of years. NOt only deprived, but raped, discouraged, have been thrown out of the village just because they come from lower caste and blah blah..
Reservation is one fast track opportunity to give these downtrodden people to come mainstream and any rationale person who truly believes in holistic development would not like to leave them helpless and hapless.
Aparna dear, its not because of the reservation policy that it is difficult to get into medical institutes...but the main reason is that we have few medical institutes and these few institutes cannot cater to the huge demand. We should have united and demanded for opening of more medical institutes, privatisation of this sector so that we could have had more medical institutes rather than opposing the reservation policy which would benefit handful of aspirants.
Aparna Didi, at least it is expected to be rationale in your approach from you.
12:35 AM
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