And for a Friday of another absorbing and hectic week ahead….. some thoughts….. some musings…..
By the Grace of God life is as busy in my second Innings. Today Book launch by Sashi Tharoor “An Era of Darkness”. Saturday, Shankar Mahadevan Nite at Banglore Club. Tuesday, Kochi Biennale inauguration and IGCC meet at TAJ Malabar. Then to Udaipur for a wedding and Mumbai two weddings. Thankfully been constrained to regret the Florida wedding. All weddings of very close and dear ones, each enjoyable and need to bless the young couples. We need them to change the face of India.
Weddings are no longer what was for us in the seventies at Guruvayur. Almost mass scale community type in courtyard in front of the temple. Had to be careful not to put the “Thali” on the wrong person. Quite possible as such was the jostle and hustle. All changed across the country. Weddings are now two, five, sometimes even ten days of fun and frolic. Worldwide known as Indian Monsoon Weddings, some straight out of Bollywood. No wonder now Australian Tourism Board market these weddings for foreigners to get a taste of India.
13 million (5%) households in India are Rich, 59 mn (31%) are Middle class and 180 million (64%) Families are the Aspirers and Low Income Group. Believe me there are no “Starving Indians”. These days it is very difficult to do “Poor feeding”. Some Indian rituals needed the family to feed 20, 50 and sometimes 100 poor people. It’s impossible to find these in Kerala. You need “labour contractors” to find so many poor to feed at a time, apart from times of Natural disasters and unprecedented calamities. But then the situation is same even in the developed World.
India is changing, Economy is changing and Societal Norms are changing. Let us all work together to build an Inclusive India and Corruption Free India, the Innovative way, the Ethical way, the SEEGOS way.