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We
all have families and relatives who are pillars of support
in times of need. We are not cold and impersonal in our relations.
We are not plagued by emotional insecurities. We are not a
lonely society. Very few in India would be going from work
to an empty home. Children are not left to themselves or babysitters
after school.
We
are surrounded by many people who are simple, warm, caring
and affectionate. Anybody coming from the west is taken in
by this warmth and affection and hospitality. Because people
are not rushing from one thing to another, they always have
time for others. What is the point in rushing anyway?
Most
people are contented with what they have, and make the most
of it. And we see all around us cheerful and happy faces,
where we least expect them in the midst of all the squalour
and poverty. People who earn less than a dollar a day actually
laugh about things!
For
a society with such inequities and injustice there is remarkable
peace and quiet, and very little anger and violence. Our women
and children are not afraid to walk the streets alone. There
is no real fear of mugging and molestation.
And
most of all, the elderly in India are not petrified of old
age. They are sure of their family's love and acceptance.
Grand parents, children, and grand children live under one
roof fusing into a seamless web of a civilization. And when
the end comes, we can be reasonable sure of breathing the
last in the lap of our loved ones.
These
are great things in any culture in any age. Hyderabad with
its composite culture and languid style represents some of
our most cherished legacies. There is much that requires to
be changed. But there is also a great deal to rejoice and
be grateful for. We need to preserve the best and reject the
bad.
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