Jai Ho?

I have not watched Slum Dog Millionaire, but what I have heard of the movie, I learnt that a negative side of India was shown. It might be reality, but when it is shown to International markets, reality takes a different meaning. Just as murders and violence are a part of every nation what people see or hear is what people think.

Let me make it clear, if someone had seen the New England winters, in their mind it is always Winter when you talk about New England. They are not aware of the beautiful Fall , the eyecatching leaf colors,nor are they alert to the coming of the much awaited Spring , the reddening of the Maple trees, the spurt of green leaves. It is only in New England that you see and differentiate the four seasons. But what if the avalanches,or only the observatory atop Mount Washington was shown to people around the world, people will definitely wonder how humans can live in such areas.

Most of the Indian movies have not done justice to India-from Bond's Octopussy to Slum Dog Millionaire. I have been asked so may wierd questions about India :How can you speak English so fluently is the most frequent question asked of me and in the few minutes that I get to speak to them , it is very difficult to explain that English is used in almost all officialspeak even though Hindi is the National Language.
Most often someone would have told them of a custom and I get asked if it is true--India has so many States and languages that the customs of one person may not necessarily be that of everyone else.
Someone recently asked me if wild animals roamed the streets of India.I have also been asked if there were departmental shops in India- wow!! what a picture to carry of India and it is extremely difficult for me to explain that we were as civilised as the rest of the world- that we have supermarkets and fashion houses,highrises and bungalows, beaches and lakes, gardens and zoos where the wild animals are securely locked up, we are educated and an extremely capable nation. One of the oldest Democracies in the world she lost a lot of important discoveries to the countless invaders that looted her.

India cannot be expained in a paragraph , she must be experienced. She is rich and unique from the Himalayas to Kanya kumari . From the Arabian sea to the Bay of Bengal.Every where you go, you will fnd the culture, language, the dress, the people, the food, the climate different .I still cannot say I know India because of her vastness.

But, all of my rants and ravings about her being denigrated by thoughtless movie makers out for a few bucks are just that - rants 'cos she was there centuries before me and will continue to be there centuries after me. I did not make her, she made me and she knows how to take care of herself, 'cos she has survived for so long....