We discovered that a snake charmer had plopped himself down in the middle of the street and started plying his trade. He had 3 cobra, a boa constrictor, a generic snake, and 2 scorpions. He happily let anyone and everyone put the generic snake and the boa around their necks, including one of my former English students, the 4 year old Ishu. 2 cobras stayed in the pots, but one was let loose to strike and wander at will. The cobras all had their teeth removed, reportedly just by pulling them right out, so they posed no great risk. We watched until the snakes got too cold to be entertaining and then I finally got to hit the showers. And to think I miss lounging around reading the NYT and drinking lattes!
3 comments:
This picture reminds me of one of my first days in India with Chris. A boy with a Cobra was hustling at one of the tourist sites and suggested some outlandish price for showing his Cobra. Chris exclaimed, "What do you think you are, a medical doctor!!?" The price was adjusted as I remember. Chris may remember this differently (memory of senior citizens not always reliable).
Here's another cross-national comparison thought--somewhat repetitive of my earlier ideas. As I think of White Tiger and the exploitation of the working class, I wonder if many American workers would feel similarly exploited. I'm reading the 2006/07 edition of the State of Working America and noting that wage growth for the bottom 60% of the labor force has been minimal for all and negative for male workers (10-60th percentile of all male workers!!!)
Americans are often told that we should remember that small business is the engine of job growth, but we could ask how workers in small businesses are faring. I think some might feel the same way lower caste workers in India feel--stuck with being subservient and vacillating between gratitude at having a job (today) to angry that their job has limited opportunity for advancement.
I will look forward to discussing this further and hearing your observations over the next 9 months.
Much Love
GrampaG
BTW, time period for statistics in last post is 1979-2005
Post a Comment