Into Another Year
This little chap who is sleeping in the shade of our sun-bed is
- Dreaming of the future.
Nicholas. He is Paru’s second son. When we were here last he was not yet born, she is now carrying a third child which she knows is a girl and she says she will definitely be her last.
What does the future hold for young Nicholas and over a billion of his fellow countrymen and women? From the headlines in the newspapers here it seems very uncertain. Both India and Pakistan are making, then denying bellicose statements about the possibility of a ‘surgical nuclear strike’ (a ghastly ridiculous phrase) if required. The population continues to expand at an alarming rate and the infrastructure is creaking ever louder with the increase in wealth of the middle classes. The roads are becoming more congested with the increase in car ownership, particularly four-wheeled drives and the basic necessities like water are in ever limited supply due to the construction of bigger and better homes and hotels. Life for Nicholas will be hard. His mum can neither read nor write but she is extremely bright and hard-working. Paru is 27, she can speak reasonable English, and Russian & German well enough to make a living from selling sarongs and cheap jewelry on the beach. She is determined to make enough money to send all her kids (including the yet unborn daughter) to school so they can have a better life than hers. India’s main asset is her people, who like Paru, are very resourceful. Let’s hope that the politicians who lead this intriguing and diverse country harness the talent of its populace and put it to good use rather than destroy it in an un-winnable needles conflict with Pakistan.
As for us in the UK, the credit crunch continues. Since our last visit to India the pound has fallen by 12.5% against the Indian rupee – a third world currency – I think that says it all!!
