A single word

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I sit in the quiet solitude of a room; outside, the Tibetan freedom flags wave as furiously as the fan twirling above me. It is the first moment I have found in which to simple find calm and reflect. India... A single word to describe a place full of so much contrast and clash, love and fear, I am sure. It is not even a lengthy word - merely five letter of which one is doubled up leaving only I N D and A. Perhaps one could piece together the extreme diversities between North and South, East and West, with each one letter. But then one would nevertheless be left with all those places in between North and South, East and West, unaccounted for.

Where to place Delhi, for example, the political hub and capital of the country? It would have to be placed in the North category, and thus would fall in alongside regions such as Kashmir, Jammu and Himachal Pradesh. We are left in an Indian pickle; the latter are hilly, mountainous areas bordering Pakistan, Nepal and Tibet, at stark contrast to the flat, hot plains of Delhi. Perhaps we could cut each of the letters, I N D and A, into halves, so that Delhi does not need to be lumped in with the extreme North. Getting warmer, getting warmer. What about the religious differences, you ask? Ah, well, yes, that is another entirely separate pot of dahl...

India's main religion is Hinduism. Some 82% of the population practise it; they believe that the earthly life is rotated constantly with death, like a game of naughts and crosses. One life, one death, one life, one death. If you exercise good karma and lead an altogether virtuous life, you will be reborn into a higher caste and thus have bestowed onto you more prosperity and wealth. If you are a bad boy, you will be sent straight to the lowest ranks upon rebirth, where it is likely you will be stuck with doing some menial job just to feed yourself at night. If you are unlucky enough, you may be reborn into a class below that of even the lowest caste - the Untouchables (today know as the Dalits). Here, you may sweep streets or clean latrines, given you have enough strength to get yourself up off the side of the polluted highway, at which you sleep, every morning. Assuredly, though, you have the same chances of reaching a better place upon rebirth, even at this low level, as long as you just lead a meaningful life. Interesting...

The other main religion practised in India is Islam. Comprising only 12%, the ostensible contrast between it and Hinduism has been enough to dress the country in bloody civil war for long and profound periods of time. There are also significant settlements of Buddhism, Jainism and Zoroastrianism, as well as Christians and Sikhs, amongst others. Add to this the growing trend towards Indian Yuppi-ism amongst the growing upper and upper-middle class, and the picture begins to paint itself. Chaos. Confusion. Contrast. Division. But also lots of love, I am sure.

X

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Comments

[mum]

Rebirth
Maria, heavy stuff and noone dared to comment, ha,ha!I read that the burning of the dead at the Ganges at Varanasi is a chance for the dead to escape the rebirth ritual altogether. Is that true, meaning that this would be the most desirable??Have a great time, you two!Mum