Postcard From the Land of Surreality!

Yes, that’s a thatched hut in the middle of nowhere. Yes, that’s a satellite dish mounted on the side-post of said hut. “Why would they need a satellite dish?”, you might be asking (we did!)? Well, to get them cable to their government-sponsored television set, of course! Apparently, a new initiative by the Indian government is supplying both free television sets and free satellite TV dishes (only specific channels, mind you) to all Indian citizens. When I asked why, Raj cocked an eyebrow and said, “So that the government can keep people well-informed about what it wants them to think.” Allrighty then. So we people living in significant poverty, children with orange hair from malnutrition, and thatched huts in remote villages… but at least we have TV! It became an exercise in total surreality as we moved from door to door, house to house in the villages, each of which had a faint blue glow coming from inside. When we looked in, sure enough, there were families glued to a small box usually propped up on branches or makeshift tables watching everything from news to what looked like an Indian version of Soul Train. Unreal!