--- On Mon, 3/2/09, Gilbert Lawrence <[email protected]> wrote: > I noticed there were no responses on Goanet to the recent post, > reprinted from the London tabloid, referring to Scarlett's death. > Reading the article carefully, the Englishman, who was an on-site > factual witness, claims that evidence for murder and specifically the > method of murder / homicide is still uncertain.
Mario observes: Gilbert, I think Goanetters may have Scarlett-fatigue and corruption-fatigue and the chilling realization that life is pretty cheap in the second most populous country in the world, just as it is in the most populous as well. Date: Mon, 2 Mar 2009 16:41:18 -0800 (PST) From: George Pinto <[email protected]> If Goa were a country, it would be termed a "failed state". There is no law and order, and the rot starts at the top (the latest Cidade de Goa case being one case in a long line of illegal activities). The building, mining, and real estate lobbies through their servants (Goan politicians) have sold Goa to the highest bidder with the acquiesce of the Goan voter. Mario observes: George, I will agree with you, and only add for the sake of context and perspective, that one can also say the same about the rest of India. I have just returned from a trip that included Mumbai, Pune and Jabalpur as well, and this stuff is going on everywhere. One reason that Slumdog Millionaire, which would probably have never seen the light of day if not for the Brits who were involved, raised so many hackles and resentment in India was that it showed so many disparate and conflicting images and facets of India, from the awesome beauty of the Taj Mahal at one end, to the grinding poverty and desperation in the slums, to the survival skills of the "slumdogs", to the corruption, communal hatred, gangsterism and police brutality, all co-existing with the booming middle-class as well as some ostentatious and incredible wealth, as some sort of peculiar laboratory experiment in functional anarchy. I am one of those who insists on driving myself wherever I am in India, to experience for myself the amazing impatience, self-centeredness for its own sake and disregard for anyone else, the national attitude synthesized on India's teeming streets, as well as to test and sharpen my own patience and survival skills and ability to control a machine under challenging conditions and acknowledge that this is the crucible in which I, too, was formed. Dealing with the rest of the world seems simple by comparison. We can only watch in bemusement, sometimes horror, sometimes despair, as it all unfolds with no clue as to where it will all lead. On the other hand, I would be remiss if I failed to add that the hospitality is incomparable and to bask for a few days in the unconditional warmth of friends and family is an uplifting and rejuvenating experience.
