Sep
8
Pacific Sunset
September 8, 2007 | 20 Comments


Weekend Reading
Which plastic water bottles don’t leach chemicals?
Eating local may not always be environmentally friendly
India’s fearless ‘untouchable’ paper

Filed Under: MUSINGS, Photo Essays
20 Comments
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SIGH!!! I would never want to get up from that place!!
the sun goes down pretty quick….
–jai
Beautiful!!
Lovely! I stay at a place that overlooks the lagoon – it’s a treat to the eye to look at the cooling waters!
Awesome photgraphy
Wonderful Picture
i love that band of light amidst the darkness..beautiful
I am happy I went back to using glass bottles…not everything is labeled in this country of mine!
That should be on a postcard.
lovely
This is about one of the links at the end of your post. It surprises me that websites like BBC use the word “untouchable” without any qualms. Untouchability is outlawed in India ever since the constitution was made, and the word is not even used in common parlance. Why then, do international news agencies use the word without anyone objecting to it?
P.S: This is my first comment on your website and I enjoy reading your posts. I especially look forward to the photographs. Please keep up the great work.
Thanks,
Soniya
good point, soniya. however, untouchability exists in day to day life. i think we should use this word instead of making it sound prettier with something else, so that people realise it is alive and well. it is especially alive and well in rural uttar pradesh, bihar, jharkhand, etc. where this man comes from. they won’t even allow a dalit’s shadow to touch them. i have seen instances from just a few years ago where a dalit has been beaten up for going to a village temple, so it exists. and we keep reading about women or men being burnt and killed because of their caste, and whole villages being destroyed. it may be outlawed, but it is practised. i think it needs to be used more often so that people can be shaken out of their complacency.
i understand why it may appear insensitive to some people, especially to dalits. therefore, i think when it is used, it should always be in inverted commas.
- b.
Beautiful picture.
Bee, thank you for visiting my blog and adding me to your blog roll. I love the way you write too….so the feeling’s entirely mutual. Thank you.
B, I agree that we should acknowledge this fact, and take steps for redressal, but what moral right does BBC, as a British news source have to pass judgment on Indians? I mean, the class structure was just as restrictive in Britain, if not worse. And America, where blacks could not even eat with whites is no model for egalitatianism either.
Thanks for responding!
Soniya
not to forget, colonialism is as pernicious as casteism, so we’re in agreement there. – b.
the BBC is very biased, no doubt about that. this is true in many things that they cover about india (not the least their obsession with sonia gandhi as if she is the savior of the indian populace). however, the question to be asked (IMHO) is not whether a “foreign” media outlet has the right to pass judgement or highlight these things. Would it make a difference if the Dalai Lama or the tibetan monks said so? Would it make a difference if a totally private transnational organization (not affiliated to any nation) said the same thing? the idea of a national identity is notional at best when it comes to the redressal of the human condition and the manifestation of exploitation and discrimination. The real question that we need to ask (IMHO) is, what we are doing about it. If one believes that the “indian” national identity is important then what are the media outlets of the “indian” nation focussing on? can we direct them to help us eradicate this scourge not just in law but also in spirit? this gentleman started his newspaper precisely because the indian media did not think it was worthwhile to focus on the issues that he wanted to focus on. -jai
lovely photograph
Beautifully captured.
What a breathtaking photo that is!
Grogeous!
wow i am just speechless, it was just in time you clicked right!wonderfull
lovely photography!
Lovely photo!
Long time viewer / first time poster. Really enjoy reading the blog, keep up the good work. Will definitely start posting more oftenin the near future.