Pardhi and Kanjarbhat

Sometimes I think I have a romantic notion of life in India. When I want to really just go back and adopt all these homeless children or empower the women folk or get the guys a job in a vast labor intensive firm that I would start up, I think it can all be solved. Partition the problem into smaller manageable chunks and you'll have a solution in no time. Take the Pardi community. Known and widely maligned for their criminal activities, their consequent isolation from mainstream society, they are one of the most backward class of people in India right now. The vicious cycle of crime and poverty does not cease; few seldom seem to get a break. Therefore, I was particularly happy to hear that a former police commissioner of B'bay had established a school just for kids from this community with able support from the CM of Maharashtra. I could just go back to India and hug these kids and, well, provide them a better path in life. I can also see my B&W picture of Indian society slowly blurring into a grayscaled one as I come to terms with life in desh.