O'Mahanta,
I totally agree with your words. The middle class forms the backbone of USA. Please note my use of the word USA. The south americans get offended if the word America is used to mean USA.
Dilip
========================================================
Chan Mahanta <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Chan Mahanta <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>As for the middle class intellectual base, is there>indeed a middle class intellectual base in America?>Not by a wide margin, I would think!*** That depends entirely on one's exposure. The entire US intellectual base, by a wide margin, is from the middle class; not the Brahmins, Boston's or from elsewhere! And it is this class that has provided America's soul. They come from obscure places, nondescript public schools, from far flung corners of a vast land, raised by folks from modest backgrounds.Oh yes there are those who are the scions of the privileged. But that is NOT a disqualification. It merely adds to their strength as a group. I would have no complaints about positive contributions to desi-society from scions of the desi-upper-crust, if it were to be visible, if it were to be found.*** Those who live for material progress alone as the sole purpose of one's existence, will have little more to show for their civilization than consuming their way into glory that isn't.At 11:31 PM -0700 9/11/06, Rajib Das wrote:This discussion begets a question - why should indeed
being "ruly" be a desirable trait? Pulling out your
cellphones when the plane lands, pulling your seat
back, being noisy - why is it so bad afterall? That is
just the way Indians are. As opposed to the
meaningless hello you keep getting here in America,
the polite antiseptic distance when that distance is
not required in many Indians opinions. Does this noisy
habit in any way inhibit India's ability to make
progress? I don't think so. There are other reasons
for sure.As for the middle class intellectual base, is thereindeed a middle class intellectual base in America?Not by a wide margin, I would think! Not if an average
American has no clue what the world thinks and is very
surprised when told Fox News is not news after all.
That absence of the middle class intellectual base was
indeed one of the causes of America's material
progress. The caricature of Butter Chicken in Ludhiana
would expand manifold in the towns and cities of
middle America.
Finally to the question of airports. The Hongkong
airport before the new gleaming one was a mess. Now
they outdo the Singapore Airport. Compared to either
Heathrow is a mess. I am sure the Shanghai airport
gleams harder in comparison though I have never yet
been there. In another 5 to 7 years, when India does
indeed have those new airports in the major cities,
many of these same comments would probably come full
circle. That really does not stop one from lamenting
the sorry state right now.
--- Chan Mahanta <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Ram and mm, both point here to a major deficiency in
> desi-society: An
> absence of
> an intellectual base in the middle-class. Several
> years ago, I
> remember reading Pankaj Mishra's Butter Chicken in
> Ludhiana, where he
> put his finger, very astutely, on this issue. And it
> shows!
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> At 9:23 PM -0500 9/11/06, Ram Sarangapani wrote:
> > >Can you also imagine some Deshi to pull out a
> book and read it
> >
> >Hehehe Mukul da,
> >
> >What did you expect? That the desi will calmly pull
> out Milton's
> >'Paradise Lost' . No pun intended, given the good
> possibility that
> >his flight may eventually be cancelled. :)
> >
> >--Ram
> >
> >
> >On 9/10/06, mc mahant
>
><<mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> wrote:
> >
> >Can you imagine a Deshi waiting for the Fasten
> Seat Belt Sign
> >switched off -after the exit door was opened - to
> get up and open
> >the overhead luggage rack and SLOWLY, help the next
> lady bring down
> >her heavy bag -- and finally take out HIS light
> one?.
> >
> >Can you also imagine some Deshi to pull out a book
> and read it
> >quietly ,seriously through -- after he learnt that
> his flight is
> >going to be delayed by 1 hour?> >
> >Can you imagine one just getting seated-not to push
> the call button
> >and shout for water?
> >
> >Can you imagine the same after his thirst was
> quenched - not to
> >suddenly recline back as much as possible
> -crushing the knees of
> >the passenger behind?
> >
> >Rarely if at all-Right?
> >
> >mm
> >
> >
> >From: "Ram Sarangapani"
> <<mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> >To: "mc mahant" <
>
<mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> >CC: <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected]
> >Subject: Re: [Assam] Indians are unruly passengers
> - TOI
> >Date: Sun, 10 Sep 2006 10:27:01 -0500
> >
> >
> >Mukul da,
> >
> >A few years ago (a little after 9/11), a group of
> Bollywood flim
> >actors were subjected to intense interrogation at
> JFK after landing.
> >Why - because they were making a big racket,
> singing, exchanging
> >cell phones, blackberries, and walking up/down the
> asiles like
> >nobody's business.
> >
> >They were let go later - at the intervention of
> Indian consulate offocials.
> >
> >--Ram
> >
> >
> >
> >On 9/10/06, mc mahant
>
><<mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> > wrote:
> >
> >Raam,
> >
> >Your assessment is so correct.
> >
> >It persists in -Econmy-Business-First classes.
> >
> >mm
> >
> >
> >From: "Ram Sarangapani"
> <<mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> >To: AssamNet <<mailto:[email protected]>
> >[email protected]>
> >Subject: [Assam] Indians are unruly passengers -
> TOI
> >Date: Sun, 10 Sep 2006 10:08:03 -0500
> >
> >
> >
> >Though it is difficult to generalize, I have often
> found this to be
> >true, at least in many instances. Many passengers
> treat the plane
> >are their ancestral property.
> >
> >One of the biggest complaints I have is of the
> condition of the
> >restrooms after about 10 minutes into flight.
> >My experience with India bound flights (specially
> Air India), is the
> >utter disregard for cleanliness of restrooms during
> long flights.
> >The restrooms are usually strewn with toilet paper,
> are wet,
> >stenchy and unflushed.
> >
> >But I hear, its is the same situation with PIA and
> Bangladesh Biman.
> >One can hear stewardesses being yelled at as 'ai
> mem sahib, mero ko
> >khanna naih diya abhi thak' (translated roughly -
> ai lady (who
> >speaks Ingrazi), why haven't you given me any food
> yet)).
> >
> >But this is not just on flights. Last evening, we
> went out to a
> >recommended restaurant called 'Mayuri' for a quiet
> evening. To our
> >dismay, it was one of the noisiest Desi restaurant
> ever. As our luck
> >would have it, there was a birthday bash in the
> 'party room' - loud,
> >lousy music, and a compere shouting at the top of
> his voice in a bad
> >desi accent topped it off.
> >
> >In the restaurant dining area, desi kids (those
> precious kids) were
> >running all over the place, while their doting
> parents assumed that
> >the rest of the diners would obviously be so
> gratified if the brats
> >kept coming at you. There was one guy, with a huge
> (proud) smile on
> >his face, watching his bratty kid visit all the
> tables. Add all this
> >to the usually high decibel level when desis gather
> around, and you
> >can kiss you quiet evening goodbye. So, I thought,
> well, might as
> >well make my pilgrimage to the restroom - but the
> Gods wern't kind -
> >should've known - it was a desi restaurant, why on
> earth would the
> >restroom be clean - it defies logic? This restroom
> was worse than
> >the one in an Air India flight.
> >
> >Most desi restaurants in the Houston are loud and
> garish. It is
> >quite possible that desis equate loud, noisy places
> as 'good, cheap,
> >food' - ambience be damned.
> >
> >It is possible, though, I was just having a lousy
> evening to begin with:-)
> >
> >--Ram
> >______________________
> >MUMBAI: While the debate rages on whether the 12
> Indian detained by
> >the Dutch police on Wednesday were victims of
> racial profiling,
> >flight attendants feel Indian passengers habitually
> ignore
> >instructions of the cabin crew while on board.
> >
> >
> >An Indian Airlines attendant who flies on the> Kolkata-Bangkok sector
> >says, "These so-called educated passengers do not
> switch off their
>
=== message truncated ===>
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