There are Indians that claim that India has no homeless. As if they're a rare species,
homo erectus worthlis.
Seeing the man on the street,
dirty bones matted hair glassy eyes,
they tell me that he isn't homeless. They say that no one goes hungry. No one dies from it, (at least).
They don't Give when asked by the homeless, the hungry. Contemptuous looks given to untouchable people. People who beg for money abandoned their pride, the one thing to which humans cling more tenaciously than life. Liar and Lazy, the ones that live at the busstop, have a child.
The baby's rented. She's not
really
starving,
heard from the same People, who give generously to
Others,
Whose maids bring guests coffee
and tea
on shiny trays in shiny cups with regally engraved initials. Who drive past the hungry in their shiny, regally engraved cars, with their coffees in Insulated mugs, buying bananas for elephants. Generous though they may be, a wall has been erected
to keep us in our place.
Can't give to the hungry, naive you are,
or else you'll be
Unworthy
of all that you've
Earned.
You are absolutely right, and have every right to be indignant. And wow, is your writing amazing. It reminds me of . . . is it audre lord I'm thinking of?
I have a question - do you think you had expectations of what India would be like before you came, subconsciously? I think it's hard, if not impossible not to. Could some of this anger be coming from unmet expectations? Disappointment?
I was plenty aware that I could not prepare for India, and I knew that I didn't know what it would be like. I wasn't prepared for the Westernization of India, yes, but what did I really expect: Gambia. Mendon and I have been calling India Gambia for months and I have a line from Mendon that comes to mind often. He'd said that no one in Gambia starves, really, because everyone is hungry, but people look out for eachother. The Westernization of Chennai (a BIG city, unlike Gambia) prevents a lot of what is needed, and that hurts me. I was also prepared for a greater acceptance of science, as India is known for its advancements in technology. In spite of that, "the people are wandering in the paths of delusion." India is redefining what depth means when it comes to that prayer.
I'm glad you like my writing. I don't know of this was Audre Lordish of me, but it wasn't typical. I usually require structure from myself (as a means of bettering myself as a writer-it's harder for me, so I do it). Thus, I'm usually less spoken wordy, more wordy. Before I got to your comment, as I was brushing my teeth, I was feeling guilty for not writing about the beautiful things of India and being pissed instead. But, I suppose that being pissed is a good thing, sometimes, as well.