Survival of the Heartless
This year alone, I have spent about 700$ on concert tickets. About a 1,000$ on travel within the US. 300$ on alcohol.
I contributed a 100$ to tsunami relief.
When I am in India I see people on trains, on the sides of the road, begging for money. Sick people, little kids.
And sometimes I refuse to give them any. Because I was told not to when I was a kid. Why? I never bothered to ask.
I have heard about Africa's debt. I now know that the poorest countries in the world pay back more towards old debt than they get in aid.
It took Floyd coming together after 20 years for me to read about it.
A child dies every 3 seconds in Africa because of poverty. That is 30,000 kids - 10 IITs a day.
I have the nerve to feel sorry for myself.
I have spent all but 9 months of my life in India.
Poverty is alien to me.
It's all wrong.
And I write blog entries.
I had great friends, incredible family. Yet, this is me. Am I a bad person?
I think I am.
How can I go on existing like this? How am I so individualistic? In 2 weeks, I will forget that I had these thoughts.
I am an animal.
I hope some day I read this and change.
I contributed a 100$ to tsunami relief.
When I am in India I see people on trains, on the sides of the road, begging for money. Sick people, little kids.
And sometimes I refuse to give them any. Because I was told not to when I was a kid. Why? I never bothered to ask.
I have heard about Africa's debt. I now know that the poorest countries in the world pay back more towards old debt than they get in aid.
It took Floyd coming together after 20 years for me to read about it.
A child dies every 3 seconds in Africa because of poverty. That is 30,000 kids - 10 IITs a day.
I have the nerve to feel sorry for myself.
I have spent all but 9 months of my life in India.
Poverty is alien to me.
It's all wrong.
And I write blog entries.
I had great friends, incredible family. Yet, this is me. Am I a bad person?
I think I am.
How can I go on existing like this? How am I so individualistic? In 2 weeks, I will forget that I had these thoughts.
I am an animal.
I hope some day I read this and change.
posted by Karthik at 6:04 PM
8 Comments:
oyeee
you don't accuse animals of heartlessness.
for the remaining blog, i guess its not an individual who changes everything on his/her own. The thoughts are good, but we need many more of us to implement them than let them remain as i-will-forget-them-in-2-weeks thoughts.
cudnt agree more with viral....
its not about charity and how you haven't done your bit to help around. you should be glad you sort of realised this what others learn the hard way what it is to go hungry to bed.
go today and teach a man how to fish and forget about not giving a man a fish one day. there are a million ways to help, the best gift of them all education. depart all that you know to some one today that could put to use in some way or the other :-)
I wish to remain anonymous, but I think you do a marvellous job blogging. keep it going.
I sometimes feel seeing a lot of poverty has made me insensitive to those people..I dont get moved by their sight..
Even if I help some people its because I hope if someday I get into such a situation, I will get help..
Hey Duh,
I was looking forward to your first post after getting back home. I guess I knew it would take precisely the tone it eventually took. In some way, I started to develop the same views just before I left India, and to some extent that may have affected how critically I looked forward to life here before getting here, and continued to look at it after getting here.
And perhaps that is what makes it an even longer wait for me - because I already have a pretty good idea in my head about how it's going to feel when I do go back, and because what I think I shall cherish about the moment (whether it's good or plain depressing) is more the verification than the discovery of that view. It's been discovery for you, and you must cherish it nonetheless.
The fact is plain and simple - something is terribly wrong with the world. I agree with all the comments that preceded this - especially in that I think we should pigheadedly believe that we can change it, and that education is where to begin. I believe we should refuse to acknowledge these things that other people have cynically come to call hopelessness and definite failure for anyone who tries.
We have to change things, foremost, by accepting that they will not come through in our lifetimes and, therefore, that cannot be our excuse to stop trying. And we have to believe that we can outsmart (a word I carefully choose) any potential obstacle. Maybe being IITians helps us be as ridiculously arrogant as we need to be, in order to totally disregard failure.
In the end it is clear that if enough of us just apply ourselves enough, without relenting in the face or 'reality' or 'practicality' or 'objectivity' or anything else that sobers passionate and charged minds, things will change. They had better.
Rahul.
i wont add anything 'senti' to the obviously senti issue... wud just like to say tht ur blog reminded me of a course i have to mug, and well I better go do tht! :)
I am currently reading this book "The End of Poverty: Economic Possiblities for Our Time".
Written by Jeffrey Sachs, a brillaint Harvard-Columbia economist (with a forward by Bono from U2 ), he gaves quite an interesting insight into not just how entrenched this problem is, but more importantly, how it cries for urgent attention.
A couple of useful links :
http://www.earthinstitute.columbia.edu/endofpoverty/
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/news/media/05/349_the_end_of_poverty/
After reading your post, I dare say, have a great time back home !
Hey KRam,
just stumbled across your blog :) well written da....but try not to make me feel so guilty :(
~lakesidey
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