Spectators to Calamities

Some people have the habit of perpetually criticizing Indians for anything and everything. They argue that India has not produced enough thinkers, intellectuals, inventors, discoverers, path-breaking scientists, sports personalities etc. commensurate with its long history, culture, heritage and the size of the population, not to mention the unity in diversity it has! These critics also claim that most of those who are someone in some field have invariably worked, lived, got recognition and even naturalized elsewhere.

Tarantula is always against any unfair criticism of Indians and condemns these critics where it is necessary.

Indians are the world’s best followers of celebrities and spectators of the calamities. I guess this calls for some elaboration.

Can any other country boast of the ardent fans of politicians, film personalities, god men/god women and cricketers as India? Have not you seen the sea of humanity following these categories of celebrities both during election campaigns, film shootings, cricket matches and other occasions? Is there any spectacle of human expression of sorrow surpassing the ones India has when a politician or a film star or a star-turned-politician dies? No wonder few parents in India want their child to have Amartya Sen or Mother Teressa or Ramanujan or Viswanathan Anand as role model as they find any number of role models amongst the aforesaid categories of celebrities.

Wherever and whenever a tragedy takes place in the form of fire, flood, earth-quake, tsunami, train accident, road accident, flyover collapse etc., have not you noticed the same humanity engulfing the space oblivious of the urgent needs of the victims or impediment to the disaster management? It is a different matter that few of these spectators get away with whatever they can and see an opportunity in a calamity.