It's Raining Men. Hallelujah?
Yesterday, I was waiting for my bus and made two observations.
Observation #1
Firstly, there are a lot of people in India. This may seem obvious since there are more than a billion people in the country, with a population density of 386 people per a square kilometre (compare this with Canada's 3.3 people per square kilometre), but the reality of these numbers only hit you when you're actually living in an Indian city. Sure, Toronto has its crowds: Bloor-Yonge station at 5PM, or Nathan Phillips Square on New Year's, but here it's Bloor-Yonge station multiplied by two all the time. Everywhere. In every building, on every bus, and on every street. People, cars, motorcycles, honking, pushing, shoving, bargaining, yelling (in ten different dialects), gesticulating (so they can understand each other), and/or rushing off to god-knows-where at least twenty minutes late (otherwise known as Indian Standard Time). It's truly amazing.
Observation #2
Secondly, there are men everywhere. At first I thought that this was a product of my overactive imagination, so on my way home yesterday I did a rough headcount of everyone on the bus. The results? 40 males and 16 females.
Now, you may ask "Why are there 56 people on a bus? Isn't that kind of unsafe?" And I would answer: It's India, okay?
Or, you may wonder, "Does Anshula really have nothing better to do?" and I would assume the answer is self evident (obviously not).
But, back to my census...40 males and 16 females...that's a 5:2 ratio of males to females! So, when I got home, I asked my aunt about it, and she told me that because of generational female infanticide the national ratio of males to females is 5:4! The disparity is even more evident because many woman are housewives, so you don't really see them out of the house.
Conclusion: It's raining men, all the way from Goa to Calcutta.
Observation #1
Firstly, there are a lot of people in India. This may seem obvious since there are more than a billion people in the country, with a population density of 386 people per a square kilometre (compare this with Canada's 3.3 people per square kilometre), but the reality of these numbers only hit you when you're actually living in an Indian city. Sure, Toronto has its crowds: Bloor-Yonge station at 5PM, or Nathan Phillips Square on New Year's, but here it's Bloor-Yonge station multiplied by two all the time. Everywhere. In every building, on every bus, and on every street. People, cars, motorcycles, honking, pushing, shoving, bargaining, yelling (in ten different dialects), gesticulating (so they can understand each other), and/or rushing off to god-knows-where at least twenty minutes late (otherwise known as Indian Standard Time). It's truly amazing.
Observation #2
Secondly, there are men everywhere. At first I thought that this was a product of my overactive imagination, so on my way home yesterday I did a rough headcount of everyone on the bus. The results? 40 males and 16 females.
Now, you may ask "Why are there 56 people on a bus? Isn't that kind of unsafe?" And I would answer: It's India, okay?
Or, you may wonder, "Does Anshula really have nothing better to do?" and I would assume the answer is self evident (obviously not).
But, back to my census...40 males and 16 females...that's a 5:2 ratio of males to females! So, when I got home, I asked my aunt about it, and she told me that because of generational female infanticide the national ratio of males to females is 5:4! The disparity is even more evident because many woman are housewives, so you don't really see them out of the house.
Conclusion: It's raining men, all the way from Goa to Calcutta.
Have you heard of the writer/cook/TV's travel channel host of the show "No Reservations," Anthony Bourdain? Priyanka and I have decided that that would be the IDEAL career path for you. Here are the reasons why:
ReplyDelete1. You sound JUST like him when you write.
2. You LOVE to travel the world.
3. He is always drinking and loves to drink, you are always drinking and love to drink.
4. He has a "who gives a fuck" attitude, as do you.
5. He travels the world only to be a part of different cultures and EAT and Priyanka tells me you are quite the cuisine connoisseur as well.
6. He also has no boundaries as to what he'll do...which...pretty much describes how you lead every hour of your life! :)
In fact, after realizing how similar you two are, I'm not sure if you should find where he is going on his next adventure to seduce him, or steal his job....or maybe you could just do both.
We miss you,
Priyanka & Shashi