Random Thoughts

The Global Village Is Tilted in America's Favor

Happy Diwali - or is it happy Memorial Day? Or what?

I have heard people say after the 9/11 terrorist attack that America "deserved it." No, they were not Osama's henchmen or heartless and they really dint mean it that way. They were just Indians giving vent to their frustration and complaining that Americans were "smug and supercilious." They felt America was insulated from the rest of the world.

They were the Third World screaming for recognition.

If Indians knew all about 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina and about hamburgers and how many children Madonna has, they demand that Americans know all about 7/11 and cyclone Baaz and about dosas and idlis and how many children Juhi Chawla has.

No matter that they themselves dint know what Nepalese and Bangladeshis ate for lunch and North Indians looked at South Indians like they were from outer space and vice versa. They of course knew all about Shoaib Akhtar and were happy that Osama was alive or dead on the other side of the border.

But then Americans have an insatiable curiosity about Russians.

But who am I to complain about these things when I am myself a part of the booming BPO sector and I make my way to the office on Diwali - Waiting impatiently for people to burst their crackers while they wait impatiently for me to pass, wondering at where I was going with my lunch bag?

Yes, I am wearing a silk sari. And yes, I have sweets in my bag and I wish my colleagues a happy Diwali. But wait a minute - the day hasn't dawned yet, has it? Its still 10/20/06. Or If that's very confusing - its the 20th of October.

My neighbors suffer from chikugunya and Dengue fever and I have not had a health check up in years, but I worry about the fluid in so and so's knee across the world and wonder if they have had their six-month follow up colonoscopy.

"Major error!" I scream at the young girl who has innocently walked into the snare lured by the pay check (and that is 'eck' and not 'que', mind you).

"It is "favor" and "odor" and not "favour" and "odour". And "analyze" is spelt with a "ze" and not "s." Please change your autocorrect from UK English to US English. Don't you know Tony Blair goes the Bush way?"

Its 4 pm now and time to go home. In India, I assure you - In India. And its still Diwali outside. The files will have reached the doctor's table across the globe before I've taken 20 steps. And he, having had his bowl of cereals for breakfast will be perusing it.

Now that's the global village for ya. I'm no longer amazed by the fact. Just terribly confused and I am not sure whether I am right-hand dominant or left-hand dominant any more either.

Perhaps I deserve it when a little boy takes good aim and shoots me with his toy gun.

Was it CNN or NDTV that conducted a poll recently on whether the world took India's stance on terrorism seriously?

Dint see the result of that poll - but I think that the question could be slightly rephrased - Do Indians know India's stance on terrorism?

Lemme finish this hamburger and then I'll answer ya.  

29-Oct-2006

More by :  Glory Sasikala Franklin

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