Thomas Friedman, author of ‘The World is Flat’ makes a very convincing argument that the forces of globalization have made the world a very flat place. Political changes and technological advances have combined to radically alter the world. Throughout this profound work Friedman asks others when they first realized that the world was flat. Although I cannot remember that exact moment, I do have moments of clairvoyance when I suddenly say to myself, “Wow The world really is flat.”
Saturday morning for example, I watched live on ESPN, the Houston Rockets play Miami Heat. I sat in the top floor of the dorm in Kolenchery and saw a game being played on the hard wood floor of Miami Arena. The game was an exhibition of centers of today and yesteryear and captures “the world is flat” attitude. Yao Ming, the center from China posts up on Shaq who grew up on army bases across the world. They are both backed up by Zo and Dikembe Mutombo from Zaire. I realized that my brother ws probably watching the same game but he was watching it in New York. He was watching it Friday evening and unwinding a busy week and I was starting my Saturday morning. Yeah the world is flat.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Friday, November 23, 2007
Anandwan - Forest of Joy
Anandwan was my field work assignment. The word anandwan means 'forest of joy'. To use the expression of Baba Amte, it is village for the least, lost and the last. Baba Amte the main architect of anandwan is a social reformer who has worked with leprosy patients for several decades.
Anandwan is located near Warora, Maharashtra and is nearly 3 hours away from Nagpur. Anandwan has nearly 2000 leprosy cured patients. In addition to this several, blind, deaf, mute and handicapped people live at Anandwan. The unique aspect of Anandwan is that everyone here does some work. Even people that have lost all of the fingers to leprosy will contribute to the village some how.
Anandwan is located near Warora, Maharashtra and is nearly 3 hours away from Nagpur. Anandwan has nearly 2000 leprosy cured patients. In addition to this several, blind, deaf, mute and handicapped people live at Anandwan. The unique aspect of Anandwan is that everyone here does some work. Even people that have lost all of the fingers to leprosy will contribute to the village some how.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
About field work Orientation
The fourth year of Seminary is set apart for field work. My first semester assignment is based in Nagpur seminary. We had one month of Orientation that began on July 3rd, a feast day in memory of St. Thomas. Some of the highlights of orientation were :
- Cyrus Sir's presence. He is an eighty year old missionary working among the tribals of Orissa. He practices what he preaches. He has only 2 pairs of clothing, doesnt own a cell phone or any things that we might consider a necessity.
- St. Charles Seminary. We got to spent 4 days at a Catholic Seminary in Nagpur. We share so many things in common with these seminarians. There were several Malayalee studentts who were really friendly to us.
- NCCI. The headquarters of National Council of Churches is in Nagpur and we got to spend on week there. Our program was coordinated by Dn. Vineeth Koshy who is now Secretary of the Youth Desk of NCCI. He graduated from Nagpur Seminary just this past Easter. The best part of NCCI was "Plunge"
About India
I think I should begin my blog with an entry on India. I was born in India; lived here for the first 10 years of my life and have been here for the last 3 years.
India Inc. is growing daily. The Sensex numbers are sky rocketing; it is approaching 17k - an astronomical number. The number of billionaires in India is increasing annually. A campain titled India@60 was launched in NYC to promote India. Indian companies are buying out companies in Europe. The growth isn't just in the economy. Indian authors are winning Booker Prize or being short listed for it. An Indian actress' name (Tabu) is being thrown around in Oscar rumors. Film City in Hyderbad is used by foreign film industry. Indian music is fused with western. India is no longer sitting on the benches and watching it is a main player in the game.
It has several strenghts. A well functioning democracy. A secular state that has bouts of fundamentalism. A huge middle class that is very fluent in English.
However it is sad to say that there is a huge portion of India that is still not reaping the benefits of these tremendous growth. A good number of the 600 thousand villages are still without electricity or access to roads. More than 80% live on less than one dollar a day. Casteism is prevalent in most rural areas.
India Inc. is growing daily. The Sensex numbers are sky rocketing; it is approaching 17k - an astronomical number. The number of billionaires in India is increasing annually. A campain titled India@60 was launched in NYC to promote India. Indian companies are buying out companies in Europe. The growth isn't just in the economy. Indian authors are winning Booker Prize or being short listed for it. An Indian actress' name (Tabu) is being thrown around in Oscar rumors. Film City in Hyderbad is used by foreign film industry. Indian music is fused with western. India is no longer sitting on the benches and watching it is a main player in the game.
It has several strenghts. A well functioning democracy. A secular state that has bouts of fundamentalism. A huge middle class that is very fluent in English.
However it is sad to say that there is a huge portion of India that is still not reaping the benefits of these tremendous growth. A good number of the 600 thousand villages are still without electricity or access to roads. More than 80% live on less than one dollar a day. Casteism is prevalent in most rural areas.
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