Name Association

Paris- Eiffel Tower

New York- Statue of Liberty

London- Big Ben, the grand old lady (the queen)

India- A congested road with dilapidated cars, honking at the cow insouciantly chewing cud and the humble stray dog resting on the sidelines.

Stereotypes and name association have confidently propagated such an image for the simple reason that it’s true. The more cosmopolitan among us would scream murder and try to disassociate themselves, while the “intellectuals” would propose wild Chindogus that are just that and the nonchalant would just sigh it away. The stray dog however has recently been the cause of a bit of black humour among these circles.

The recent opening of the Delhi Airport was a matter of National pride. The state-of-the-art facility was commended all over. Emirates was kind enough to send their big-boy jet -the A380 to mark the occasion. The new retractable ramp was waiting for its esteemed guest to dock while officials and the usual soiree of airs and accents were waiting to greet the dignitaries. However, the humble stray decided to make its appearance, delectably on the approach road to the ramp. What ensued was a comical ruckus of officials running around the dog, trying to shoo it away, while a hierarchy of screaming took place starting from the CEO to the groundskeepers.

Another pleasant appearance of the stray dog was when a bunch of officials for the Commonwealth Games discovered that their living areas were not exactly empty. It seems that the previous tenants ‘the strays’ were not given their appropriate notice periods. But as they were good upstanding Indian strays they heeded to the shooing away and moved out.

The reality that our thundering economy is not inclusive and our neglect of the little things would somehow wreak havoc on our grandiose plans seems to be symbolically represented in these scenes.