interesting observations on India no.2

In Europe new civilizations and conquering peoples eliminated or absorbed eralier inhabitants, but the successive waves of peoples who invaded India simply found places within the indigenous structure. India, unlike any other country, accepts a variety of cultural forms and considers them immutable. It is a civilization where 1,650 languages and dialects are claimed as mother tongues and where there is no national dress, cuisine, painting, dance, music, or life-styles. (p. 16-17)

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

No other city has a slum as large as Bombay's Dharavi, where more than half a million people are crammed into tin shacks on four hundred swampy acres. The residents include educated, salaried office workers who cannot find affordable housing elsewhere and are so embarrassed by their surroundings they try not to let friends know they live in Dharavi. (p.21)

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

At times the smell of urine is overpowering. Some owners try to protect the sides of their buildings by decorating them with religious pictures. For instance, a wall in the Bombay Central area had images of the gods Ganesh and Hanuman, the virgin Mary, Sai Baba (the founder of one of the most popular Hindu sects), the untouchable leader Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, a Christian cross, a trident and drum (symbols of the god Siva), the number 786 (considered auspicious by Muslims), and the mystical Hindu symbol Om. (p.21)

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

While their vehicles belch noxious exhaust into the already polluted air, the drivers vent their anger by blasting their horns. This, when combined with the high-pitched film songs blaring from store loud-speakers, produces a noise level that has been tested at between fifty-seven and ninety-five decibels, far higher than the fifty-five-decibel limit suggested by the World Health Organization. (p.22)


(Arthur Bonner, Averting the Apocalypse, 1990)