I know its been a long time. Believe me when I say I am unrepentant as ever. I never meant my posts to be regular and still don't. I just like to write something up when I need to let off a huge quantum of steam.
By the way, I have changed............for the worse or the better is still an open ended question. But I most certainly have changed. For starters, I quit my crappy old job and have now joined a consulting firm engaged in business consulting for micro finance entities, for a better amount of moolah coming into my pockets every 30th / 31st. I should say that this most certainly has been a big relief. And..... did I say this before......... Money is also pretty good
I travel on a never ending basis and am loving every moment of it. Moreover, its also a huge ego boost to be finally able to claim I'm doing something that I've always wanted to do. I have moved base to Hyderabad, though I'm almost never there......... probably the suitcase should be referred to as my new home..... especially considering that my worldly possessions now are confined to one.
I'm digressing..... as always. I started whacking away on the key board thinking I would write something and now I've lost my way. (I've finally got rid of my filthy habit of writing stuff in paper before typing it)
I saw something in Hyderabad (on one of those rare days I was there) that made my hairs stand up in full attention (of the Wagah border kind).
I had taken up brisk walking in the false hope of bringing a halt to the horizontal expansion of my waistline. One one such expedition, while I was huffing and puffing my way up a pretty steep incline, I came upon this gated community some 2 kms from my apartment complex.
Gated communities have now become so common that even if they question the very essence of a so called 'free country' they have ceased to raise the hackles in me. I mean..... look at the concept; a clutch of men and women pretend that they have nothing to do with the wider society around them.They ensconce themselves behind tall walls and iron gates to keep the 'other' out. The one I saw had electrical fencing around its already tall walls. It had a small community of migrant workers living near it, and my strong suspicion is that the electrical fence had something to do with them
The last time I saw an electrical fence was at Periyar wildlife sanctuary in Kerala. It was intended to keep the elephants from ravaging the fields of the villagers living at the edge of the sanctuary. It was sad and funny at the same time to see some human being erect a concentration camp like environment around their own home to keep these urban junglee elephants out.
Ironically enough, their housemaids, drivers, the watchmen guarding these citadels of affluence and the army of other 'servants' occupy the spaces outside these 'exclusive' living spaces. The problem these potbellied uncles and aunties (I'm getting down to some stereotyping here...... most of the occupants of these modern day Babylons are actually pretty much in shape..... their gym toned bodies providing stiff competition to the wannabe models & film stars) have is not with the individual per se..... as long as the individual exists to facilitate their wellness and ease of living.
Their 'issue' is with the possibility of interaction with a large number of them...... on a day to day basis. They cannot and will not bear the thought of the rickshaw puller, the roadside vendor, the fortune teller with his caged parrot, the singing mendicant etc etc etc parading themselves before their own privileged selves. The fact that they have to put up with these riffraff on the roads (even if fully protected from the sounds and smells by their fully air conditioned moving palaces) is something they already put up with........or so the thinking goes.
They might be right.......... keeping themselves imprisoned in these suburban jails may enhance their 'standard of living'. God forbid...........if they have any wall climbing offspring.......
