You know you're on the Subcontinent when....
Nemo Me Impune Lacessit
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Being India he probably had a spare set of keys in his pocket or could obtain one within five minutes from the hundreds of roadside repair shops!
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Roooj= indian named roger
Customs officer on way out= Why you spend so much in India, crew only allowed 600 rupees a day....! What??? Well i guess they dont like people spending money in their country!
No smoking in public, big No No, but its ok to take a crap and a piss in public!
Never question anyone in uniform!
But all said and done, i always look foward to an exciting trip to india, its truely magical of a place.
Customs officer on way out= Why you spend so much in India, crew only allowed 600 rupees a day....! What??? Well i guess they dont like people spending money in their country!
No smoking in public, big No No, but its ok to take a crap and a piss in public!
Never question anyone in uniform!
But all said and done, i always look foward to an exciting trip to india, its truely magical of a place.
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magical india
Dear Rage,
I dont want to sound sarcastic and I always try to keep an open mind and be optimistic and positive but I have been living in india for over one year now and I am still racking my brain to find anything possitive to say about this country...so far I have come up with 1. the money is good and 2. the cost of living is low...3. it gives me some empirical knowledge about how my ancestors used to live 800 years ago or so in europe...
The people are friendly enough in general but at the same time pushy and often cunniving and scheming...
doesnt sound very positive ofcorse....so pls Rage let me know what you think is great about india...again this is not meant sarcastically...I really want to know...thanks
I dont want to sound sarcastic and I always try to keep an open mind and be optimistic and positive but I have been living in india for over one year now and I am still racking my brain to find anything possitive to say about this country...so far I have come up with 1. the money is good and 2. the cost of living is low...3. it gives me some empirical knowledge about how my ancestors used to live 800 years ago or so in europe...
The people are friendly enough in general but at the same time pushy and often cunniving and scheming...
doesnt sound very positive ofcorse....so pls Rage let me know what you think is great about india...again this is not meant sarcastically...I really want to know...thanks
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classicart,
when your ancestors in europe were running around c**k in hand, stone in the other, chasing rabbits 5000 years ago, there was The Indus & Nile Valley
civillisations. Today, the reality is a reversal of fortunes.
If anything, you may learn from a foreign exposure, is that nothing is for ever, and that humility is a virtue you may want to consider.
when your ancestors in europe were running around c**k in hand, stone in the other, chasing rabbits 5000 years ago, there was The Indus & Nile Valley
civillisations. Today, the reality is a reversal of fortunes.
If anything, you may learn from a foreign exposure, is that nothing is for ever, and that humility is a virtue you may want to consider.
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no problem classicart, consider spending some time in Rajasthan, the forts and palaces there rival the European rennassaince era. also, Himachal Pradesh on the foothills of the Himalayas.
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India
After that long flight, sitting on the Hot seat inside the Washroom of the Hotel Room. Ones eyes veer towards the Shower, which, for some reason is too close to the seat. And also it is not long enough to reach even ones Shoulder for a bath.
After some interrogation regarding why the Shower was "Not Standard", the slightly embarrassed and amused answer came ,
"Sir, that is to wash yourself after you are done with your business on the seat".
Let me know if there's any other place where you can find this mechanism.
After some interrogation regarding why the Shower was "Not Standard", the slightly embarrassed and amused answer came ,
"Sir, that is to wash yourself after you are done with your business on the seat".
Let me know if there's any other place where you can find this mechanism.
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yes these butt showers can be found almost anywhere in south and south east asia...not sure about places further north...
sometimes it is not the hose and shower contraption but just a bucket and a scoop...
actually this is far more hygienic then the way we go about this detail in the west with rolls and rolls of paper...nothing beats a good wash...
sometimes it is not the hose and shower contraption but just a bucket and a scoop...
actually this is far more hygienic then the way we go about this detail in the west with rolls and rolls of paper...nothing beats a good wash...
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classicart ji...
As rdr wrote, there were the Indus and Harappa cultures on the subcontinent 7000 years ago and they still are.... I at least feel it vividly, whenever I visit the place.
Try to bargain for a coulpe of bananas and then mingle with plp on the market, go for a haircut or - even better - a shave with knife, in one of the small shop reached only tru a narrow passage. Or attending one of the wild hindi festival where whole towns explode in fireworks (sometime the whole shop goes: whoum!) and colored water and lights...awesome. And compared to europeans/western, the plp in general are much easier going with a mellower approach.....
And then - even the tigers are fewer nowadays - India still have a rather impressive wildlife considering. The mighty Himalayas, beaches, plains, jungles, diversity en masse.
classicart, think you need some weeks staying with a indian family, preferable in a remote mountain village.
cheers
As rdr wrote, there were the Indus and Harappa cultures on the subcontinent 7000 years ago and they still are.... I at least feel it vividly, whenever I visit the place.
Try to bargain for a coulpe of bananas and then mingle with plp on the market, go for a haircut or - even better - a shave with knife, in one of the small shop reached only tru a narrow passage. Or attending one of the wild hindi festival where whole towns explode in fireworks (sometime the whole shop goes: whoum!) and colored water and lights...awesome. And compared to europeans/western, the plp in general are much easier going with a mellower approach.....
And then - even the tigers are fewer nowadays - India still have a rather impressive wildlife considering. The mighty Himalayas, beaches, plains, jungles, diversity en masse.
classicart, think you need some weeks staying with a indian family, preferable in a remote mountain village.
cheers
Last edited by fhegner; 1st Nov 2009 at 20:48.
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3. it gives me some empirical knowledge about how my ancestors used to live 800 years ago or so in europe...
800 years? Try less than 100 years. If you are from Eastern or Southern Europe then even less. Europe of early 20th century would be considered a 3rd world country today.
Don't worry Old man Europe only grows it's GDP about 1% during a boom year. India averaged 9% for several years and even in this global economy will grow 6.5%. The GDP per capita convergence is very rapid and will exceed Europe in 30 years. When will your European Union become one country, seems like you guys are always bickering and fighting (2 biggest wars of the 20th century was between Euro's). Read this article, all of Europe is loaded with external debt, (UK is 408% of GDP!):
The World's Biggest Debtor Nations - Slideshows - CNBC.com
800 years? Try less than 100 years. If you are from Eastern or Southern Europe then even less. Europe of early 20th century would be considered a 3rd world country today.
Don't worry Old man Europe only grows it's GDP about 1% during a boom year. India averaged 9% for several years and even in this global economy will grow 6.5%. The GDP per capita convergence is very rapid and will exceed Europe in 30 years. When will your European Union become one country, seems like you guys are always bickering and fighting (2 biggest wars of the 20th century was between Euro's). Read this article, all of Europe is loaded with external debt, (UK is 408% of GDP!):
The World's Biggest Debtor Nations - Slideshows - CNBC.com
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Dear fhegner
I am sure India looks wonderful and is very exciting to the occasional visitor who can depart again after a few weeks or even the next day after an airline layover.
I have however lived here in a small dusty, dirty mining town in the south since july last year and am very ready to leave and never come back.
Haircuts? almost every month I go to my small barber shop (30 rupees) and have my hair cut. I'm sorry but when he touches my cheeks with his filthy hands I cringe or I see the roaches crawling in the cracks of the wall or the grime dripping off his counter let alone his razor!
But let me not continue on this negative path. As i said before the money is good and the people are friendly. Nature is beautiful. Ofcorse nature is beautiful everywhere and anyway beauty is highly subjective.
As I am writing this, in my neighbors garden behind my house, a small travelling band is singing and beating their drums (like they do every full moon it seems)...divali is over and after 2 weeks of incessant firecrackers and loud explosions that could rival Baghdad or Kabul, I get good nights sleep again. This afternoon I am going to my Sikh friends temple for the celebrations of their 1st guru...
This morning my boss rode his lamborghini or maserati or even his rolls royce to the office 2 kms away getting stuck in potholes or behind an ox cart...spider man, like somebody called him because his extremities are so crippled that he "walks" on all four like a spider, shuffles along in the dust and **** on the side of the road...
I'm sorry I have lived in Indonesia, Thailand and Laos plus a bunch of developed countries, but in my opinion India steels first price in being a complete f**k up as a country. Bridges collapsing, fuel depots ablaze with no ability to stop the fire, a bureaucracy that can fry your brain to a sizzle and people toiling away with no dignity or prospect for a better life. Corruption is so rampant that it, along with the afore mentioned bureaucracy, swallows up 90% of all human endeavour. Nothing gets done. And if something does get done it gets done half assed. I have dealt with it for over a year now. It was difficult in the beginning and it still is difficult.
I am living right in the thick of it guys not in a swanky layover hotel in Delhi or Bombay with escursions to the colorful countryside.
So my friends pls don't take my experiences into acount and keep coming to india for a holiday, if you must...but remember that a society can be judged by the way it treats its weakest (somebody smarter than me said that once) I have seen how the weak are treated here: like **** by the side of the road, literally
Enjoy the tigers
I am sure India looks wonderful and is very exciting to the occasional visitor who can depart again after a few weeks or even the next day after an airline layover.
I have however lived here in a small dusty, dirty mining town in the south since july last year and am very ready to leave and never come back.
Haircuts? almost every month I go to my small barber shop (30 rupees) and have my hair cut. I'm sorry but when he touches my cheeks with his filthy hands I cringe or I see the roaches crawling in the cracks of the wall or the grime dripping off his counter let alone his razor!
But let me not continue on this negative path. As i said before the money is good and the people are friendly. Nature is beautiful. Ofcorse nature is beautiful everywhere and anyway beauty is highly subjective.
As I am writing this, in my neighbors garden behind my house, a small travelling band is singing and beating their drums (like they do every full moon it seems)...divali is over and after 2 weeks of incessant firecrackers and loud explosions that could rival Baghdad or Kabul, I get good nights sleep again. This afternoon I am going to my Sikh friends temple for the celebrations of their 1st guru...
This morning my boss rode his lamborghini or maserati or even his rolls royce to the office 2 kms away getting stuck in potholes or behind an ox cart...spider man, like somebody called him because his extremities are so crippled that he "walks" on all four like a spider, shuffles along in the dust and **** on the side of the road...
I'm sorry I have lived in Indonesia, Thailand and Laos plus a bunch of developed countries, but in my opinion India steels first price in being a complete f**k up as a country. Bridges collapsing, fuel depots ablaze with no ability to stop the fire, a bureaucracy that can fry your brain to a sizzle and people toiling away with no dignity or prospect for a better life. Corruption is so rampant that it, along with the afore mentioned bureaucracy, swallows up 90% of all human endeavour. Nothing gets done. And if something does get done it gets done half assed. I have dealt with it for over a year now. It was difficult in the beginning and it still is difficult.
I am living right in the thick of it guys not in a swanky layover hotel in Delhi or Bombay with escursions to the colorful countryside.
So my friends pls don't take my experiences into acount and keep coming to india for a holiday, if you must...but remember that a society can be judged by the way it treats its weakest (somebody smarter than me said that once) I have seen how the weak are treated here: like **** by the side of the road, literally
Enjoy the tigers
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big oil,
I'm not talking about money man...or riches or GDP or stuff like that.
I am talking about the general condition of the human beings who have to live in a particular place. As I said before i have lived in many countries but only here in india do i see tremendous suffering that the average millions have to endure day in and day out...illiteracy, poor infrastucture, health services etc...now if this was a poor country then that would be understandable, but india is not poor. It has enormous riches and educated people (unlike e.g. cambodia) so to me there is no excuse for having such abominable circumstances.
Look we all have our history and stuff to be proud about at various times in the past:
The italians had michelangelo or marco polo or the roman civilisation
The greeks plato and the golden age of city states
The guatemalans have the ancient Maya civilisation
The french had the revolution which did away with bloodsuckers at the top
The russians were first in space
The americans were first on the moon
The english had...mmm...football
The germans had...mmm...sausages and beer
The dutch have cheese, the belgians chocolate
The Icelanders the first parliament
and so on
But all that doesn't really matter. What does matter is how a country is run and how it treats its people now and what their immediate future looks like. What level of dignity they can have. How healthy they are and educated and most of all the level of control of their own individual destiny. Most people live in virtual slavery because their salaries are so low they can not afford to complain or demand changes.
So I am an advocate for an Indian revolution to do away with corrupt politicians and industrialists. Go back to where Ghandi ji had to leave off.
Wow I guess I am definately in trouble now...
I'm not talking about money man...or riches or GDP or stuff like that.
I am talking about the general condition of the human beings who have to live in a particular place. As I said before i have lived in many countries but only here in india do i see tremendous suffering that the average millions have to endure day in and day out...illiteracy, poor infrastucture, health services etc...now if this was a poor country then that would be understandable, but india is not poor. It has enormous riches and educated people (unlike e.g. cambodia) so to me there is no excuse for having such abominable circumstances.
Look we all have our history and stuff to be proud about at various times in the past:
The italians had michelangelo or marco polo or the roman civilisation
The greeks plato and the golden age of city states
The guatemalans have the ancient Maya civilisation
The french had the revolution which did away with bloodsuckers at the top
The russians were first in space
The americans were first on the moon
The english had...mmm...football
The germans had...mmm...sausages and beer
The dutch have cheese, the belgians chocolate
The Icelanders the first parliament
and so on
But all that doesn't really matter. What does matter is how a country is run and how it treats its people now and what their immediate future looks like. What level of dignity they can have. How healthy they are and educated and most of all the level of control of their own individual destiny. Most people live in virtual slavery because their salaries are so low they can not afford to complain or demand changes.
So I am an advocate for an Indian revolution to do away with corrupt politicians and industrialists. Go back to where Ghandi ji had to leave off.
Wow I guess I am definately in trouble now...
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Sad when some people here cant even have a laugh at the absurdity in their own backyards!
Just proves to me they are still untraveled and small minded, just wait until they go live in a developed country, I would love to see their posts to a thread like this, it would be a scream..... dont worry boys I would join in with the pokes and prods at the strangeness of the developed world, as I am not sensitive and have a sense of humor.
Just proves to me they are still untraveled and small minded, just wait until they go live in a developed country, I would love to see their posts to a thread like this, it would be a scream..... dont worry boys I would join in with the pokes and prods at the strangeness of the developed world, as I am not sensitive and have a sense of humor.
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Well India's per capita GDP is only $2900 (or $1000 in currency exchange terms), so when you say it's a rich country, that's a false statement, it's rich in pockets but with 800 million peasants, it's not going to industrialize overnight. Also it may come as a shocker to you, but income disparity is actually much lower in India than the U.S. or China. (As measured by the GINI index)
I think India has a bright future, literacy rates went from 12% in 1947 (wonderful job those Brit's did) to 75% now. India will achieve 95% literacy in 10-15 years. Life expectancy in India is 70 years (CIA world factbook). In Cambodia it's 62.1 years. I trust their analysis more than your statements.
What makes India "look" worse than other 3rd world countries is it's higher population density. The Indian government failed it's people and adopted socialism right when the population was growing fastest, hence the mess today. However, the Indian people are very entrepreneurial and since the reforms of 1991, India is progressing very well. BTW, I have pictures of New York City from early 1900's and also of European cities, they are not a very pretty picture either.
I think India has a bright future, literacy rates went from 12% in 1947 (wonderful job those Brit's did) to 75% now. India will achieve 95% literacy in 10-15 years. Life expectancy in India is 70 years (CIA world factbook). In Cambodia it's 62.1 years. I trust their analysis more than your statements.
What makes India "look" worse than other 3rd world countries is it's higher population density. The Indian government failed it's people and adopted socialism right when the population was growing fastest, hence the mess today. However, the Indian people are very entrepreneurial and since the reforms of 1991, India is progressing very well. BTW, I have pictures of New York City from early 1900's and also of European cities, they are not a very pretty picture either.
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"I said before i have lived in many countries but only here in india do i see tremendous suffering"
I have been in many countries too (over 20), India is poor no doubt, and the per capita GDP numbers show that. I have seen tremondous suffering everywhere. I also have an in depth knowledge of history.
I actually think there is a lot more hope and upward mobility in India than other 3rd world countries, it's really quite evident that it's the 2nd fastest growing economy in the world. Insult it all you can now, because I think in 20 years you wont' have that priviledge. Infant mortality and life expectancy are much better in India than other countries of the same per capita GDP (just look up the CIA world factbook).
The Indian private will make it a 1st world country, not the lethargic socialists. Seems to me rather than badmouthing them, I would be supportive of the tremendous change and Industrial growth happening in India and take joy in the fact that hundreds of millions are being pulled out of poverty. Their future is truly very bright.
I have been in many countries too (over 20), India is poor no doubt, and the per capita GDP numbers show that. I have seen tremondous suffering everywhere. I also have an in depth knowledge of history.
I actually think there is a lot more hope and upward mobility in India than other 3rd world countries, it's really quite evident that it's the 2nd fastest growing economy in the world. Insult it all you can now, because I think in 20 years you wont' have that priviledge. Infant mortality and life expectancy are much better in India than other countries of the same per capita GDP (just look up the CIA world factbook).
The Indian private will make it a 1st world country, not the lethargic socialists. Seems to me rather than badmouthing them, I would be supportive of the tremendous change and Industrial growth happening in India and take joy in the fact that hundreds of millions are being pulled out of poverty. Their future is truly very bright.
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you know classicart, i fully agree with your points in the last post. it does go to show a reluctance by the nation as a whole to address issues.
Edited to delete foul language.
Duck
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Edited to delete foul language.
Duck
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thanks for your cuncurrance rdr and I am sure that itsbrokenagain will forgive the 4 letter words that were directed to him/her...because in fact he is right, this thread was put up here to have a bit of a laugh about the absurdities in this subcontinent and he too is dreaming about a return to civilisation...inshallah...
so in a discussion with my neighbor the other day, the (only) supermarket in town comes up..."oh you mean the one opposite the courthouse" ... no no, he says "the one courthouse opposite..."
so in a discussion with my neighbor the other day, the (only) supermarket in town comes up..."oh you mean the one opposite the courthouse" ... no no, he says "the one courthouse opposite..."