Life inside and outside the Bubble

A bubble from sea to shining sea. It may be possible to have us all IN the bubble as long as resources are used wisely and population completely controlled.

As a very new member I am enjoying the many thoughtful posts, and am mildly amused by the rants.

Servants in America are so rare and only employed by the very wealthy. I can`t imagine someone cooking for me or driving me anywhere. Beggars are seldom seen, except in the very large cities. Poor, yes we have the poor, but we also have so many organizations to help. Any hard working individual without drug problems or mental/physical/emotional difficulties can do very well.

Re: # 29


Bottom of society is also responsible for its` own survival.The best thing that has happened to india, even though it is gradual, is the realization of all sections of society that they have it in their hands to make the best of their lives.The poor aren`t sitting around waiting for handouts.They`re actively seeking employment,educating themselves and aspiring to better things.The middle classes are doing better for themselves and that`s how it should be.In a nation of one billion people,anything whither GDP, GNP or per capita, divided by one bilion will be small.And the devious white people who draw up data, divide per capita by the entire population, which includes newborns!!.So much for data.Inspite of that, we are up there in terms of output.Our rural folks work hard and their lifestyle is suited for their setting.I had a rural migrant maid and she would never use the microwave to heat up a cup of coffee.She would pour the darn thing into a vessel and heat it up over a stove.I taught her how to use the microwave , to no avail.And microwaves are cheap in India Rs4990/-, brand new.We do have a long way to go, but we`ve made a start.S$$$w you!!

Cayenne.....idiot...I am Indian....which I indicated quite early on the article. Honestly I can write in similar detail on Pakistan my friend, and to be honest their development statistics are largely even more miserable than ours. However that is not the point....its like the child who got a D in an exam gloating over his friend who got an E or F. As for the statistics, I dont need to make any up, go check any formal website or resource from World Bank, ADB or anywhere, its quite simple actually. If you think 6-7 years of 5-6% economic growth and the fact that greater free trade has meant that you get more western products and services in your cities and towns, is on its own the start to great things, so be it. Just remember development is ultimately measured on how the bottom of society fares, and in the case of our society, its not 20% but 50 to 70% living in pretty abject poverty. Wake upo my friend, there are no need for ``snakes...scorpions and swamp rats feeding on our succulent`` flesh when there are plenty of vultures from inside the damn nation doing a decent already.

#27 by Saj1981 on April 22, 2005 4:28pm PT


Hi `Saj1981`.....Next time just call yourself pak(istani)......make it easy on yourself.....`cause all this data on india is made up by???.......YOU......take it easy,man.....We indians are confident but also realistic about our future.....we are aware of the snakes, scorpions and swamp rats that live across our borders wanting to attack and devour our succulent flesh...........

Hi...new on this site..but definitely wanted to write on this issue..especially as Im in the development economics field and it seems that a few others here have made careers in it as well. I cant personally comment on the internal situation on Pakistan, but I have studied its economy well enough to understand that things definitely are not in black or white as to why such a ``bubble`` exists. As for India, I can vouch quite safely that there are fundamental reasons why ``India Shining`` failed for the BJP, and for that matter will fail as a great ideal even for Congress if they forget certain core facts. First and foremost of all is that 70% of people still live under $2 a day, and 50% under $1 a day. That is a hell of a lot of people living in abject poverty.....and to put it even more bluntly..the gnp per capita is approx. $530.....that is the mean....if you understand stastics the median figure would be well below that..and the mode...even lower. So what Im asking is.....what the hell is....and how do you define the ``middle class``....in any developed country for example the UK...when the avg per capita gdp is given as $23000....that actually correlates with a ``middle class`` income.....do you get what Im saying...the vast majority of the ``middle class``.....that an interactor detailed below is in fact a tiny minority...perhaps 10% or less the nation....most likely less for that matter.....the point is ultimately for all that feel that democracy..secularism and fundamentally the ``free market`` will be the panacea for all ills..in reality all three are necessary but not sufficient conditions for development......the first two are socio-political structures that definitely paves the way for a more egalitarian society..but the third..which is the engine of economic growth....but the question is what good is growth that does not permeate throughout society...what good is growth that makes the top 10% and especially the top 1-2% significantly richer...and ever expands the gap between not only the haves and the have nots...but between say the top 1/10th of society and the top 1/4th.....it is far far too simple to say that our poor have a ``handout`` mentality and do not seek to allievate their wreteched states, or even worse that we are on the road to development now that we have one tennis superstar...a choice of McD`s to go along with bhel puri from the stands.....and more imported cars for the very rich..crime barons and their ilk....the fact is aside from the usual pre-requesite measures such as clear and well defined markets...cleaner...less beacracratic justice system and so forth...in a pure economic sense..both and india pakistan suffer from pathetic relative expenditure on areas such as education and health...secondly...the tax net spreads only as far as 12-18% in India..and that figure is probably a little lower in Pakistan...and if only that was from the richest elements of society but its not....fundamentally every developed nation government gets its largest revenue source from private taxation...it is the essence of a society that can move forward in the fundamentals like health..education. In scandanavia, the avg taxation rate is close to 55%, and the resultant reality (for all the supposed deterioation in recent years), is a society with far less of a ``bubble`` between the haves and the have nots then any other society. Lest anyone call them communists hehehe....there is democracy..secularism...and even Mcdonalds across their major cities. The difference being that development has not come at the expense of civic duty to the least well off in society...not civic duty in the private sense..but in the greatest public sense...and nations such as India with Pakistan with the enormous amount of poverty abundant....it is something those of us contributing all those in the tiny minority that is the ``middle class`` would do well to think what our role in this is.

Re: # 25

Beejay:

This article wasn`t autobiographical. It was part fact, part fiction and part things just observed growing up. You`re a little presumptious too think that i`m living in some `dream world` where everything is as black and white as i make it out to be in the article- and that im just sitting around on my butt complaining. I spent the last two years of my higher education in Pakistan working at a micro-credit insitution; i`ve spent my fair share of time outside the `bubble`. I understand the privelege i had growing up; i`m going to try to use that to actually do something constructive.
in a few months im going to uganda. i will help build an AIDS clinic, and will also do ethnographic research in the poorest part of sub-saharan africa (the poorest part of the world). i hope to use the skills i learn when i eventually get back home. i don`t feel any obligation to do this, i sincerely want to.
your comments about capitalism and the illusion of `growth`:

i refer to you my earlier interact. there`s enough empirical evidence to prove that real poverty levels have actually increased over the current historical epoch we like to call `globalization`. you may enjoy your mcdonalds, you can even love foreign investment. everyone likes to be able to buy more things. The fact is, however, it is just blatant hypocrisy to point to such things as `growth` and `development` when the majority of the population gets no tangible benefit.
the British are gone?. We both are communicating in English. Can you get on with it?.

Shan, as you are a new writer, I don’t want to be too hard on you. However, I do sometimes think that we (of the subcontinent) are always looking for an excuse to (1) find a way to blame others, and failing that (2) look for a way to blame ourselves so that we can drown ourselves in sorrow (for ourselves) and we would go to the most unlikely extremes to locate that blame/sorrow. Usually, there is never a hint regarding what could/should be done. Why don’t you pause for a minute to reflect that franchises like McDonalds stand for a lot more than a means for native Pakistanis (or Indians, for that matter) to indulge in just one more form of American decadence? How about looking at it from a slightly different perspective? Here are a few things one could learn from that great “American” institution:

1) You don’t need a college degree to make an honest living, just a desire to work hard.
2) It is all about being of service to your fellow humans.
3) You charge a reasonable amount which people can afford and which allows you to make a living. Capitalism at work!
4) It is possible to have clean food at reasonable prices.
5) Time has value, so don’t keep your customers waiting.
6) Be on your toes. People skills are critical. Keep those customers happy, or the competition may not be far behind.
7) Even you, some day can grow up to own your own franchise, so go ahead, have that dream! It’s okay to dream!

Repeat after me - there is no bubble except in your mind!

Other comments:

[our security guard slips me hash when no one’s looking.]
This is downright weird!

[You call him by his first name, because your parents own him.]
No, they don’t! Can’t you get rid of that mindset once for all? Slavery does not exist. And, if it ever did, it certainly was not a fault of McDonald`s!

[… Such moments of charity give you a little buzz, a brief respite to the humane which you forget soon enough.]
Is the problem with the environment, or you?

[The angrez, the colonizer, the dreaded nemesis of a forgotten generation- now, the benevolent benefactor. Cruel, cruel irony.]
Look, the British who ruled the subcontinent are long gone. Can you get on with it?

[But before we sacrifice everything on the altar of global capital, lets pause to think about the outside.]
Talk about a stretch!

[There isn’t room for everyone inside, with the air-conditioner on. There never will be.]
Very typical! Crib a lot but no solutions, which of course would leave you with the status quo. Well, status-quo is the problem to begin with! Go figure!

cayenne #23 No doubt India has these modern research centers - so do most other countries in the world. But no one would consider India to be at the cutting edge of science by any means. Perhaps in future it will move to the cutting edge (as no doubt will many other third world countries). And no doubt poverty will steadily be removed in India (and in other nations in south asia), but again the subcontinent will be among the last places on earth to do so.

To look at things more positively: What we are seeing is the entire world steadily catching up with western civilization. This means there will be vastly greater resources available to mankind to go beyond not just the removal of poverty but to bigger and better things that we can only dream of today (harnessing the wealth and power of the solar system and the massive planets, far bigger than earth, is no longer a science fiction but something for which concrete projects are even now in place). Indians will no doubt be at the forefront of such efforts - but so will Pakistanis, Iranis, Turks, Arabs, Chinese, Japanese, Africans, Latinos, not to mention all of Europe and North America. There will simply be no room for the petty jingoism that I see too many of your compatriots practicing on chowk.

Anyway, thanks for a good discussion and enjoy whatever you are looking forward to drinking.

21 by tahmed32 on April 21, 2005 9:43am PT
cayenne #19: I can understand your excitement as the..........


.........I can only speak for india, and with all respect, the climate you speak of to propogate scientific advancement has always existed in india.The Indian Institutes of Sciences, various research and technology centres are at the forefront of innovative technologies adaptive to local conditions.The `simputer` a basic computer that can operate in a village , using satellite communication, through India`s network of INSAT satellites , is an example of our nation`s pioneering work, among others , that first attracted the western world to approach us and wanting to work with us for mutual advancement.This evening by chance i tuned into the indian parliament channel(akin to C-Span. CSpan is also available on basic cable in India), and i was hearing the Min. for Science and technology give a detailed report on cloud seeding operations , intently listened to by other members.And, we assume all politicians are yahoos. The India Intl. Centre is a political research and resource center for all political parties , where they regularly meet and draw concensus on national issues facing this nation spearheading India`s national and defense policy doctrines.We are attacking poverty and population growth.Give us ten years and you will see poverty rates come down by atleast 10-15%.The poor have caught on.They are actually more ambitious than the middle classes.That is my personal observation.And with this i shall say no more on this topic ,atleast!!.I will draw one for you tomorrow night!!.

shan: You say you were drinking when you wrote this article - whatever it is you were drinking seems to be working. Perhaps you should send a case of this to all the military boys in love with their shiny new F-16s, to all the mullah fazloos walking around in emperors robes, to all those who need to understand the truth behind the saying ``There but for the Grace of God go I``.

btw: alcoholic beverages dont bear this label, but drinking is as injurious to your health as cigarettes.

cayenne #19: I can understand your excitement as the ``bubble`` mentioned in this article grows bigger in India and more and more people are able to enjoy things like shining cars and so forth. However, this is not a mere ``India-only`` phenomenon - indeed, the countries with the largest percentage of people living in extreme poverty, about 30 percent, still happen to be India and Pakistan. Nor does this bubble represent nirvana. It represents and adoption of the fruits of western civilization that are now available. However, they still dont understand (imho) the kind of social values and cultural environment needed that makes possible for scientific advancement (the hallmark of western civilization) to take place, and they still have a long way to go before they catch up with the west in terms of certain values.

Keep drinking to my health - it seems to be working (just came from my a routine checkup and was assured by the doctor that I was good for another hundred thousand miles). :-)

malikjahanzeb #18: You will be pleased to learn that I took your advice 30 years ago (probably before you were born) and decided to make my career in the US where I have been ever since. I did that after spending an year in training at the civil service academy in Lahore and realizing that the only way I could live a decent life within the government was by taking bribes rather than by fulfilling my role as public servant - and so decided to quit and make a career somewhere else.

However, this simply means I moved from the glass bubble of the middle/upper classes in Pakistan to a much, much bigger glass bubble (the US). Those that live outside the bubble are still there. The need to be concerned with those outside any bubble (rich country, or rich society within a poor country) nevertheless remains for all of us - myself, yourself and anyone else who has the good fortune of not being ``outside the bubble``.

#16 by tahmed32 on April 20, 2005 2:59pm PT
cayenne: India`s economic progress does not give me heartburn ...............

That mention of Sania and similar is `bubble talk` to you is disturbing to me.All of us indians are proud of what a middle class indian girl has achieved through dint of sheer perseverance and ambition.She is a role model for millions of girls in my country.She`s barely twenty and has a promising career ahead.I would welcome someone form another country sharing something positive on this site.It is the `new` India i myself marvel at, not an elite exclusive domain, but dynamic and created by the middle classes, ambitious, driven and aspiring to excess.Rolls Royce just opened its` second showroom this month.And the buyers are your garden variety ghutka barons and farmers from the heartland.Not the elite and the effete.The elite and the effete drive Maruti`s and borrow money from their rich `ghutka` friends to pay the bills!!.That is the new India for you.

AAAH!!.The poor and the peasant farmer.Recently , in maharashtra, the govt. has passed an order prohibiting release of state water for farming to farmers who have more than two children.Sacrilege!!.BUT, as they complain about it, the farming community has by and large accepted the order, and there has been discussion in local panchayats about the need to balance population with the requirements of farmers, who tend to have large families to till the soil.The poor aren`t whining about the changes around them.They want to be a part of it too.One would think rebellion would have broken out by now due to `disparity in wealth`.On the contrary, it is the middle class that is driving the economy, buying consumer durables, spending on vacations and willing to work hard.The recent ``Open Skies`` agreement between the US and India is not a publicity stunt.It is need based.India based airlines just placed orders for 50 aircraft from Boeing and 45 from Airbus Industries.Middle class India is eager to see the world and the world is eager for them to spend their money.

I mention alcohol facetiuosly, since most of the interactors are from an islamic country and are wound up in eddys of their own making.Here in India we are free, to make our own choices a freedom that is more precious than all the economic wealth that we may accrue.Late night in cities across india , you will see loose drunken beings wandering around looking for a taxi or autorickshaw to go home, due to rather strict drunk driving enforcement nowadays .Who knows who is from which part of india,what religion they belong to, what their sexuality really is or their economic status?.We all walk the streets as one.I am proud to be an indian.I shall drink to your health again tomorrow night.Inshallah.

tahmed32:

i have a very practical suggession that can bring us all out of our misery. see, pakistan is basically a troubled land. there`s something in the air that checks the inception of modren ideas such as democracy, secularism, pluralism etc. etc. it`s not worth thinking about. believe me, it was a mistake of gods that you and i were born in such a pathetic place.

enter the solution. there are a lot of countries out there which are thriving and arn`t that much thickly populated. if somehow one can get a visa and do some nasty tricks to convert it into citizonship, one gets out of all the trouble. you will work hard, will be rewarded for that and the best thing is that your future generations don`t have to live in that hell you have got rid of. no worries at all. just keep some connections open. join some websites (chowk is a good one) and you will be in touch with your culture as it is an evil you can`t get rid of. but no worries, your children will be free from it.

so, if more and more pakis can manage to do this, our problems will start going away. i know people who have successfully done this and they know it works.

ha ha ha

cayenne, tahmed, andaleeb:

It is true that India, and now, even Pakistan have rapidly growing economies. But in our part of the world, the majority of the populations (small land-holding and landless rural `peasants`-(that word sucks)-) are not part of this growth. In fact, the increased inflation and instability caused by the liberalization of markets has greatly reduced the quality of their lives over this same time period. Is this growth desirable?. theres clearly been no `trickle-down` effect free-marketeers and other neo-liberal types rant about.
There needs to be a serious rethink about the concepts of `development` and `economic growth`. How these sorts of discourses have gained legitimacy, when the majority of the people they are supposed to represent have no effective representation, is really sad.
I don`t want to preach to people, but i find it hard to beleive the `bubble-dwellers` i mention in the article (which i wrote when i was drunk...hehe) sleep guilt-free at night when they see the contradictions every day of their lives.

hi andaleeb.. same shan. perhaps a little crazier now.

cayenne: India`s economic progress does not give me heartburn - far from it. I think this is the most exciting piece of news from the sub-continent in the past 50 years. As for India`s ``achievements`` in terms of someone winning a tennis match that you refer to, this is exactly the kind of ``bubble talk`` that this article is directed against. You are new to chowk, so perhaps your post to which I objected below is not representative of your way of thinking. But read some of the longtimers on chowk from India (jay, arjun, and so forth) and you will I hope understand my objection. i dont share your pride in getting drunk (any bum with a bottle can do that), but thank you nevertheless for drinking to my health and wish you good health as well. To help realize your good wishes, I shall now head for the gym.

hamidm #9 While the Pakistanis you know may indeed be spending their time not doing anything other than chatting about the misery outside the bubble, as per the examples I gave in #14, there are many Pakistanis who do care and do spend time and resources.

As for the ``entitlement mentality of the poor`` that you talk about in #11, this is merely adding insult to injury. Hard though it may be to believe, the poor are no different than you or me or anyone else. The micro-credit scheme (one of the few worthwhile ideas to come out of the third world I may add) is based on this very assumption, and has proved correct.

andaleeb: I agree fully with you. There are indeed many well-off Pakistanis who step ``outside the bubble`` to help those in need. Many of these are expats who fund organizations like DIL (Developments in Literacy) and SOS (orphanages) or simply set up college scholarships for poor but good students in their villages. One gentleman, a retired colonel, has opened over 300 schools for girls in the most remote areas of Mianwali (places where families are scattered in small hamlets). And then we have Edhi and Imran in the health sector. So, well-off Pakistanis are second to none in ``stepping outside the bubble``. I myself spent an entire career with an international development agency, and the most rewarding time was when I stepped ``outside the bubble`` of five star hotels and meetings in ministries and went to some of the most remote and backward places on earth (where even the local government officials refused to go). I will forever remember the dignity in the eyes of the poorest of the poor and the weakest members of society (women and young children with aspirations of getting a school education) in places like Bangladesh.

The sad fact however is that there are too many Pakistanis who are content to live inside the bubble (the generals in their glass tinted flag cars, the maulvis and landlords in their pajeros, and even many middle class pakistanis). It is to these that the article is addressed, and properly so.

hi shan....shan rehman from froebels class of 2003? nice piece!

tahmed: man ppl care about what lies outiside the bubble...maybe u shud get out and realize that many ppl `inside that bubble` are making an effort to help and improve our country`s situation.

personally i think shan`s right but at the same time its how far u look into it and how truly u think u can make a difference. and charity definately helps...trying donating 10 bucks every month from ur paycheck and watch the difference!

Re: # 10
cayenne, i believe tahmed mistook u for someone else. take it as a case of misdirected anger. btw sania rocks!

Re: # 8

tahmed mian ......... i know a lot of people outside the bubble and do whatever i can do to lend them a helping hand but time and again i have been disappointed by the entitlement mentality of some of the ``miserable poor`` ........

............. nobody is arguing that most folks living inside the bubble could do more - but you cannot build a society based on charity alone ............ pakistan lacks the basic social and politcal infrastruture that is required for any meaningful progress and we don`t have to reinvent the wheel - the answer lies in secularism, democracy, pluralism and free markets ......... you and i can make all the donations to various chariities and adopt all the poor families we want, but it won`t make a dent in the big ball of misery ............ it will make you feel good, specially if it is tax deductable and you can get your picture taken with imran khan ................

............ as i get older, i have little patience for yet another heart-rending story .......... by this time i have heard them all .............

#8 by tahmed32 on April 20, 2005 8:07am PT
further to #7: as for cayenne missing the point - he.....................

Oh.Go on!!!.Spew forth more venom, if it makes you feel good.None of what you said is true.I may be over zealously indian, but some times facetiously too.I find many things in my country downright ludicrous.I wouldn`t say pakistan is worse off or better off than india `cause i don`t know.I will proudly trumpet my country`s achievements.If that gives you heartburn, so be it.Sania Mirza`s tennis ranking went up from 103 to 74.That an indian woman could get even this far in the highly competetive arena of tennis is an achievement.She`s only 19.Maybe she`ll go much higher.I gloat.If that makes you unhappy , so be it.But i certainly ain`t insulting pakistan in any way.It`s 9p,i`m meeting my friends at a local bar for a few drinks before i head home.I will drink to your health.I live in India, the land of free, loose and drunken beings.I love it.

Re: # 7

tahmed .... i disagree with your statement that ``Too many Pakistanis simply dont care of what lies outside their ``bubble``................ everyone seems to ``care`` as this article points out, i.e. if care means moaning and groaning .........people in pakistan talk about it constantly in the comfort of their drawing rooms and the chattering non-residents continue to wring their hands on the internet ..........everyone talks about it because it is cathartic and it makes them feel good and then they can go back to what they were doing ......... an enema would serve the same purpose ..........

further to #7: as for cayenne missing the point - he has the excuse of being a CREIP (creep) and therefore all he is capable of writing is about how bad pakistanis are. Talk about the weather, and he will tell you that the weather is miserable in pakistan while it is eternal spring in india. Talk about sports, and he will tell you that pakistanis are terrorists while indians are ``just like gora americans``. This is creep madness, quite obvious on chowk.

your (hamidm`s) reason for missing the point is simply what i mentioned below - the misery of the poor in pakistan means nothing since you got it made inside the bubble.

hamidm: i dont see any ``pride`` in Dunkin Donuts in the article. On the contrary, it is about the bubble that people like you and cayenne and most other desi babus live in. As I said in #3 below ``Too many Pakistanis simply dont care of what lies outside their ``bubble``. `` Your post just proves my point. You dont get it even if it is written in black and white as in this article.

Now go back and read this article a few times. Maybe the point of this article will sink in. Maybe it wont.

Re: # 5

cayenne,

excellent questions : ``Why are pakistanis so proud of their `McDonalds`s`` and `Dunkin Donut`s?.And, then criticize their existence``..........

.............. because we are a nation of hand-wringing dolts and hopelss romantics who find it easier to whine and moan and groan than accept reality and then get off our sorry duffs to do something about it .......... you are absolutely rigt when you say ``Social responsibility is a burden not only for the rich but for all sections of society`` - the miserable poor in pakistan are just as guilty as the upper classes when it comes to taking responsibility ..........everyone is blaming somone else .....

............... in the past india and pakistan were equally miserable, but in the last few years i have noticed a remarkable change in the attitude of indians - they are upbeat, optimistic, and hopeful about the future ........ why?...... because they are firmly on the path of secularism, democracy, pluralism and free markets which will eventually lead to prosperity for all ............. the pathetic pakis, on the other hand, continue to dither on the road to nowhere ................ so we will continue to see silly stories and lame lamentations like this .............. expect another heart-wrenching poem from temporal soon .....

Why are pakistanis so proud of their `McDonalds`s`` and `Dunkin Donut`s?.And, then criticize their existence.Such a paradox.Here in India we have international and national chains of every product from indian sweets to european pastries, Maruti`s to Rolls Royce, McDonalds to MarryBrown`s, Barista to Qwikys and Coffee Day , in other words one sees the wole spectrum of products available for the consumer to use and then discard, as it should be.All this is based on one`s income.Here in Mumbai, you will see a chai shop selling lard laden cookies in front of a coffee shop selling 20 different types of coffee and delicate cookies.Based on one`s income one goes to the appropriate place and goes on one`s way.That is democracy for you.


Poverty is an unfortunate situation in our part of the world.In india, our experiment of using a `free economy` as an engine for growth and change is bearing results, albeit slowly.But we have to start somewhere.Social responsibility is a burden not only for the rich but for all sections of society.Without that we will continue to see more poor children at traffic junctions

Re: # 1
i didn`t discover chowk till about a month ago. this was supposed to be called `globalization and subjectivity`, but, whatever, im glad it got read. a lot of stuff in here is a little exaggerated` - part fact, part fiction, part things just observed growing up. so it wasnt neccesarily autobiographical. i count shabbir, the man who still drives my grandparents around- and boota, the man who cooked for my family, as friends i can trust.
i agree with you about the hypocrisy. its always pained me that otherwise good natured, caring and well-educated people can live with it without any qualms.
its also unfortunate that rich or urbanized middle-class desis (including those in the diaspora) claim authenticity to their `culture` when their lives our incredibly different from the vast majority of the population- who aren`t urbanized, and certainly aren`t rich. this definitely happens on places like chowk, and pretty much in all national and regional `progressive` media representations. Even how the educated understand their history, something so fundamental, is from a certain class/urban bias.
didnt mean to rant..

Shan: How sad it is that while some pakistanis live in a ``bubble`` as you accurately put it, others live miserable lives. I found your reference to the ``The children’s eyes staring into the multicolored wonderland of Mcdonald’s`` to be particularly heart-rending.

At least you are conscious of this ``bubble`` and the misery of the urban poor. Too many Pakistanis simply dont care of what lies outside their ``bubble``.

shan:

...am reminded of this poem that i would like to share from my ilog...(no g this is not instant poetry;))

gajra*

he did not say anything
just thrust the gajras* in view
and looked with baleful eyes

when the traffic halts
other hawkers and beggars attack
seeking alms, selling wares
with timing, driven
but this kid and
his even younger sister
just look at you

they could be mute
i never heard them
the only thing i traded
was a dismissive
maaf karo! nahiN chahiyay**

yesterday stopped at red on islington***
and the scent of jasmine wafted in
i looked for baleful eyes

*-- a bracelet of flowers: an ornament of flowers for the wrist
**-- forgive me! don`t need it
***- a T.O. street

shan:

welcome to chowk!...

...as long as the lungs are fed air we continue to live in bubbles...the one you mentioned here was from inside one privileged bubble...a child of ten or twelve sitting in the back seat of a small upholstered air-condtioned car with a uniformed chauffeur...being accosted by a child of same age from the other side of the window...begging or selling matches, paper or combs...this discussion may get out of hand if i mention jab`r or qad`r ...fate or free-will ...destined or ordained...

digression: not so long ago the cars were not air-conditioned and we addressed them as uncle or chacha...guess times do change..end digression...

and then we grow up...inside different bubbles...i don`t know how long you have been on chowk...but there are folks here who still live inside their bubbles and look on others outside their bubbles as that child on the other side...with utter contempt...not with tolerance...not with compassion...and yet we invoke the same Creator and His messenger...bubbles!

rgds

t