Gratitude Challenge Day 6: Oh India! The closest thing to my kind of Anarchy!

in ecotrain •  6 years ago 


A couple of weeks ago we wrote for the @tribesteemup on the subject of Anarchy. It was a great question to answer, and initiated some pretty full on debates on Facebook with some friends who read it! Anarchy to me is much like what a real Matriarchy would be.. and it doesn’t really exist in its pure form in the world. What I really notice as I have just returned to India from the Netherlands is that India is the closest country to Anarchy, in the way I like it, that I have ever discovered!

The joys for me are found in the little things. On the surface India may appear quite similar to many other developing countries, and yet when you really look at her, she is so unique! The reason why I am SO grateful to India is for giving me a space in which life is enriched in each moment with things like honour, the presence of the people, openness, acceptance, spirituality and love! India has her rules, and her Government, but in India it is the people who 'own her', and who live a very intimate life with the land and the nature. The more Rural you get in India, the less that rules matter, and people are given a lot of space to do their own thing and live their lives the way they see fit.

In a short 3 hour drive from Madurai Airport to Rural India I noticed so many things that I think are just so simply wonderful.. and yet many of which would be punishable by prison time, or even having your child removed by CPS if you ever tried it in New York or London! People live and learn through their experience much more than by having to know the rules. WE are responsible for ourselves, and the State does not own you! In India you are Free!

Let me share a couple of cute photos that I snapped on the way that say it all really.

This was open in a very public space



No Helmets, Three on board, including a kid, and carrying a load ;-).. Its ALL good!




I just love how this country works.. even with the ubiquitous corruption and mismanagement.. It is real anarchy to me, and is nothing short of a miracle to witness how life happens here every day. To just be free to do as you want, any old time! India is always ready for you... but are you ready for it!?

I'd like to leave you with interesting facts about India:

#1
India has banned all captive dolphins, stating that dolphins should be viewed as non-human persons. Here's a good Samaritan! Surely PETA would be proud.

#2
The Golden Temple in India feeds a vegetarian meal to over 50,000 people a day regardless of race, religion and class. If that doesn't make you feel proud, nothing will.

#3
Adding another faucet to its incredibleness is the fact that it is illegal for a child in India to neglect their parents after their retirement.

#4
Cows must, by law, have a Photo ID Card in West Bengal, India. Say MOO!

#5
India is the only country in the world which has both tigers and lions in the wild.

#6
Where else in the world would you find an experimental township which welcomes citizens from all over the world and has no provisions of money or religion. You read it right, founded in 1968 it's called Auroville situated mostly in Tamil Nadu.

#7
Yet another statistic proving the incredibleness of this nation is that the Indian Railways has world's 4th largest rail network and it employs 1.6 million people. The number of people travelling in Indian Railways is roughly 25 million per day which is like shifting the entire population of Australia. Woaw!

#8
Did you know? Pizza Hut, KFC and McDonalds introduced vegetarian menu just to cater to the Indian population. That's the power of the Indian populace.

#9
India has more people using the internet than the entire population of the U.S. Make sure to use that as a solid rebuttal next time you're in an India v/s U.S. debate. You can thank us later.

#10
At an estimate, 25% of the total workforce of the world's population will be from India in the next year or so. GO INDIA!

#11
India has the largest number of news channel in the world. India has 5600 newspapers, magazines in over twenty-one different languages with a combined readership of over 120 million. Now those are some impressive figures!

#12
India's "Go Air" airline only hires female flight attendants because they are lighter, so they save up to US$500,000 per year in fuel. Bet you didn't know that!

#13
Indian housewives hold 11% of the World's Gold. That is more than the reserves of the U.S., IMF, Switzerland and Germany put together. OH MY GOLD!

#14
True to the cultural norm of sticking together, only about 1 in 100 marriages in India end in divorce, one of the lowest rates in the world.

#15
Proving our undying love for cinema, India sold 3.2 billion tickets last year. This makes India a bigger movie market than America and Canada combined.

#16
India's first rocket was brought on cycle and a satellite on bullock cart. After all, we are known for our 'jugaad' ;)

#17
Did you know? Martial Arts were first created in India, and later spread to Asia by Buddhist missionaries.

#18
World's largest school in terms of students is the City Montessori School in Lucknow. It has more than 45 thousand students. Now beat that.

#19
A fact every Indian should be proud of - India never invaded any country in her last 100000 years of history. Let's try o keep that up.

#20
The value of "pi" was first calculated by the Indian Mathematician Budhayana. He first explained the concept of what is known as the Pythagorean Theorem in the 6th century, long before the European mathematicians.

#21
Staying true to the ideals of secularism mentioned in its one-of-a-kind constitution, there are 300,000 active mosques in India, more than in any other country, including the Muslim world.

#22
Indians are known for their big hearts. The fact that India provides refuge to more than 300,000 refugees originating from Sri Lanka, Tibet, Bhutan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh; escaping religious and political persecution just goes to prove that.

#23
Sanskrit is considered as the mother of all higher languages. A Forbes magazine report from July 1987 states that it is the most precise and therefore suitable language for computer software. This ought to make every Indian proud of this cultural language.

#24
The healthy supplement Chyawanprash is known to be the oldest brand in the world. Originated since the Vedic period, it has been in continuous demand till date. Impressive, right?

#25
As soon as a person achieves moksa (liberation) and becomes a Hindu sadhu, he becomes legally dead and can thereafter, ride free of cost in trains. Who knew travelling would be so much easier when you're dead?

(source)

India has her priorities straight most of the time! Anyone who has been here knows what gifts of the divine are on offer, the warmth of the people, the depth of the culture and the presence of mind that so many are able to live with. I am so incredibly grateful to have discovered this amazing country because I don't think this world would ever have made sense to me otherwise!

Funny things that happen only in india 2018 must watch (1:24)


~ABOUT THIS CHALLENGE~
I was tagged by a few wonderful people to: Write a post about something you have to be positive about today - this could be anything from being thankful for your current situation, someone being nice to you, being thankful for your friends and family, or even being thankful for the opportunity you have been given here on Steemit - just keep it positive :)
✔ Do this for 7 days in a row if you get nominated.
( I WONT BE DOING THIS IN A ROW, BUT CLOSE TO IT!)
✔ Mention three people who should do this on each day.
(I GUESS IM JUST A RULE BREAKER, I WILL NOT BE NOMINATING ANYONE UNTIL THE END)
✔ Tag it with #positivitychallenge and include these rules at the bottom of your post
✔ Include a picture of something positive (related to your story if possible.)


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Thanks for this Alex - an excellent and revealing set of facts. That gives me a whole new perspective on India.


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happy to hear that.. yes these fact do illuminate some of the priorities that India does have straight..

I'm in Thailand (not touristy), and lived here for well over a decade in total, and it's exactly the same for me.
The feeling of freedom to be you, and no one bothers you if you don't bother anyone else..
When I visit Europe/UK, I feel really suffocated, nowadays..

I'm jealous now..Used to live in Thailand 2 weeks out of the month. I'd go back in a heartbeat. And I know exactly what you mean. I love the place.

I'm not sure I could live in 'the west', nowadays, tbh...

As I get older and calm down, I like my life simple, with no drama's - and that's what you can get here..
..and no feeling of government intruding in every part of your life!

I have the same. I am only still in the West because I have no way of moving right this moment, so I make do with what I have. But as soon as I can, I'm gone. Government agencies have intruded in our lives way too long now. It's time to move on. If I didn't have kids, I would have left Europe a long time ago, but now I have to actually plan things before I can go anywhere. But, the time will come, I'm sure :)

The 'kids gene' skipped me, so I don't have those issues..

😂

yes,, lucky huh! Im guessing your in chaing mai =) I love Thailand also.. defiantly the place to go get pampered and enjoy a radially different culture.. kappooonkah!

No, near Udon Thani.
Chang mai way too touristy!

Wow amazing facts of India..

I would like to join the @ecoTrain minnow support project. Would you advise on how to be a part of the project and if I can use the project's banner in my posts? Thanks. :)

thanks for asking.. if you tag ecotrain on your posts i will spot you and if its a goodun ill send some support.. also yes please do use our banner.. this is the one that is best for you.

Thanks @eco-alex :)

Nice post.

Hello @eco-alex. Despite the religious conflicts, India had, on cultural level, benefited from the diversity of religions it had for so long time. Such diversity can be a resourceful pool of ideas and concepts to the average person. People usually become more open minded and understanding when they are long exposed to different cultures especially when their basic concepts contradict each other. Thus people don’t seek to impose certain concepts to be adopted by others as well as the government.

Reading through the 25 facts about India, I have really sensed Indians pride of their country and what amazed me most are the scientific and spiritual breakthroughs delivered by Indians throughout history.

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So true and reao facts about India @eco-alex many alwsys under estimate Indians...but thanks for sharing so many valuablr inputs about India on Steem blockchain...resteeming.....Love India!

wow, thanks for making me even more proud of my country, India.
Jai Hind

Wow!! Lol hehe

Wow very impressive set of facts there, I can see why you are so grateful. really really interesting, I have never been to India but hope to go some day, especially now after reading these facts.
Apparently the old Irish language has similarities with Sanskrit xxx

Ah yes I heard that too. And ive never been either. Maybe we can all meet up there...

My youngest son has a Sanskrit and an Irish name :) Aryan Shae. I've heard that too about Irish. I have also found that some words are similar to Turkish. Which seemed pretty weird to me.

The second picture is from 'Nilakkottai'. I often used to go there. Although now I live in Kerala, my native place is a small village located near Batlagundu. I had spent some of my childhood years there and had studied in a government primary school. It was early 2000's. I didn't have chappals nor had a school bag. Noon time meal from school was a boon for us!

Even though India is unique in many ways as you have pointed out here, it is still underdeveloped. Since you have lived in Tamilnadu for long, you might be aware of various problems we face including the open defecation! Kerala is clean in that sense as the attitude of malayalees have been westernised over the years because most of them live in outside of India.

It is only after I got into steemit that I came to know about what westerners think about Indians. I even saw a comment thread wherein the word 'Indian' was used in place of some bad word! Those people don't understand that our skin tone and shape have a lot to do with the geographical specifications of this region! Anyway, I do believe that no ethnicity or race is superior or inferior to another. We are humans afterall!

Thanks for producing such a good content about India.

Love love love this post. The facts are awesome. Sanskrit is quite an amazing script all round. I love that cows need photo ID and that caring for your parents is mandatory. So pleased you are joy filled to be home. Xx

Great post @eco-alex! I had to laugh about the circuit board. I've seen this same kinda thing in Indonesia and Thailand... I have never been to India but always wanted to go. When I was in Asia it was very high on my list and somehow I never made it there. Those interesting facts are truly interesting. Never knew there were lions in India...That thing about women in India owning that much gold doesn't surprise me. When I lived in Singapore I used to (mainly) make my money by buying it in Thailand and selling in Singapore in little India. I always got rid of it within minutes. The jewellers in that place knew when I'd be coming and were arguing amongst each other who would be the lucky one LOL. Once I sold it to a man for his wife outside of a shop (he had gotten wind of it), for a higher price, but lower than what the shops sold it for. He bought $2000,- worth of gold of me and bought a few more times after that. Auroville is one of the places I've wanted to visit since I've heard of it. Have you been there?