Himalayan Times (1956)

Eight

February 19, 195C

taxi-cabs or washing di-
she* for part-time employ-
ment. Every American
waitress considers herself
as good as the millionaire
who has reserved the ta-
ble and every Amerioan
mother looks upon her
son a3 a potential Presi-
dent of the United States
of America.

And, too, we are al-
ways so curious and jea-
lous of our neighbours
that we negleci our own
welfare and better inte
rests We cannot mind
our own business. In
India, one cannot be ut-
terly irresponsible and
abandon himself for his
own or his companions'
amusement; even things
said or done as a joke
are often held against
one. We have never re-
lented in the matter of
saying or writing some-
thing-just for the heck
of it—we behave like an
i old lady who refuses to
take off her corset even
in bed. Thus the pleaaure
of being seen with a
young lady without pro-
voking rumours about
matrimonial probabilities
or having one's morals
condemned is not to be
enjoyed in India. We
carry the belief too far
that nothing but Bex can
exist between a man and
a woman. Consequently
our social life often lacks
the colour, inspiration
and originality that can

only aiise from an unin-
hibited and pure social
intercourse between the
two ^Bexes. Is it any
wonder that some have
said that India is more
starved sexually than
nutritionally.

India boasts of many
sparkling stars in her
literary firmament, but,
the conntry as a whole
lacks intellectual scintilla-
tion Tn America one can
strike up chance acquain-
tances of both sexes at
wayside oafes and spend
hours discussing any sub-
ject under the sun, or
deciding the fate of the
world. A Public Library
of some small American
town i*, I think, more
exhaustive than many of
our college libraries. Ours
ii a traditional culture
that taken everything for
granted. We never bother,
nor have we been' trained,
to think out the why
and how of things. From
simple busliwallfih, consul-
ting a witch doctor, to
the college student, we-
are governed by the motto:
'The Ouru is always rights'.
American civilization, on
the other hand, is a cons-
cious one. The "sky is
the limit and everything
is the largest and the
best. This is considered
a.s colossal vanity by many,
but, it is the secret of
American ambition and
thoroughness. The guiding
prinoiple is that, if yon

want to get somewhere
you must aim a little
higher. And though, at
times, American thought
veeis off towards extreme
rationalism nothing is
done , without justifiable
research. One of the
greatest American ■ inven
tion during World War
II is said to be the trans-
parent wrapper that keeps
potato chips crisp!

In India, one misses
the sense of sanitary se-
curity; one is not quite
sure if dysentry or chol. ra
germs are not also
included in the tempting
presentation of the bhooja-
wrillah: In such an op-
pressive atmosphere a*
that of pre-moneoons Cal-
cutta one must have re-
course to iced drinks, yet
the public have been war-
ned against the use of
ice because many manu-
facture it from filthy and
germ-infested gutter waters.
Our temples and places
of worship are often
among the dirtiest of
-places and many of our
gods are found wallowing
in dirt.

I like my entertain- '
ments to come easy, but,
in India, they sometime
become chores. Take the
cinema for example. In
America, continuous cycles
of performances go on, so
that one can enter a show
at any time and leave
when one's cycle is com-
pleted. Besides, except