India - A Study In Contrasts

I had occasion to read two posts recently - posts written by two friends , one on how Indians compare to the western 'developed' world , the other on the tragic happenings in our underbelly , something all of us conveniently prefer to ignore. The two posts provide the perfect answer to why India can never be uniformly developed , why the gap is just too great - between a middle class looking to the west , criticising the poverty , the dirt , all that we *know* is wrong with our country - and the truly under privileged , whose story we just dont bother to hear.

We ( I count myself amongst the cursing middle class ) , prefer to gripe about the system , about why the buses dont run on time, how the garbage is never collected, why the politicians are so corrupt, how the whole system is wrong etc etc. And the rationale for all this criticism ? We are tax paying citizens, and have a right to determine how our hard earned money is spent. Spare a thought for our fellow citizens, who never had a decent meal , no proper health care facilities, in fact arent even educated enough to protest , like the rest of us civilized folks.

Next time you see that potholed road and open your mouth to complain, spare a thought for this gentleman. His breed proves the saying, 'Hands that serve are holier than hands that pray' (or complain!!!).

Sachin Ko Gussa Kyon Aata Hai?

I hold myself to be a very liberal person - I can take any kind of criticism ( I usually give as good as I get ). What I dont like is anonymous comments which ridicule others on my blog. One rotten comment can spoil the whole blog atmosphere.
Most of the people who comment on this blog are those who I do not know personally ( my personal friends usually let me know their opinions on the post through emails. The more tolerant of these start with eda , poda , thendi etc )

I dont mind any such. More are welcome. Only condition - they are directed at me or my post. What I wont accept is the cloak of anonymity being used to make degrading remarks of a personal nature.

And so I have decided to go in for comment moderation.

What is acceptable:
Any criticism as long as its not personal ( and believe me , I give a whole lot of leeway here eg "Your blog sucks" *will* get posted).

What is NOT acceptable:
Comments of a personal nature, lewd/degrading remarks, sweeping statements about race/religion etc . You get the idea.