When I said I had travelled 20 countries somebody had said yours is a dog's life. It was interesting to be down under last week - another street to roam and another culture to see.
Meeting people of different cultures is a privilege in my opinion. There are so many variations in cultures and what is considered acceptable. Each culture has something unique that they would want to show off almost in variance at what is generally accepted.
It is also true that true Globalization has set in. We can book hotels every where, my friends can find watering holes wherever they go, meeting etiquette are getting standardized, in most places living and getting back is not an issue if they have access to technology. Technology seems to be come a great leveller and the Business houses that are forming the vehicle that routes them to far away places.
Sydney is a beautiful place and Australians open and frank. I met an interesting Australian who had tried out many worlds the dark and the bright, East and West. It is always nice for an Indian to hear good things about the Indian heritage and culture particularly from a foreigner. A question that always bothered me was why is it that - despite the thousands of years of civilization - an Indian lifestyle is more difficult than a typical western like culture.
Our rituals are elaborate, our cooking is elaborate, our dressing (traditional) is elaborate, our prayers are elaborate, our festivals are elaborate, our travel to office is elaborate and so many others. For a civilization that wears simplicity as a virtue (have you seen Mahatma Gandhi's loin clothes) this is a major irony. These Western like cultures are in fact more direct and many a times up to the point - almost like there are no strings attached (don't get me wrong - I did not mean that). Even a dog is privileged in the western like cultures almost a substitute to kids. There are no rituals and a dog can get to the sofa and sit on it, I know of a pet dog in India that has to follow rituals.
The answer may lie in some Karma. Whether one has the legs of dogs or not, all have to face the consequence of Karma - it is a dog's life after all - that of a street dog or a kid like pet.
