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World tunes in to Chandigarh
Chandigarh, February 6 They did not try either. In what turned out to be a delightful live radio show, 25 persons from Chandigarh became part of a global conversation that celebrated India all the way. At the heart of an hour-long exchange was the country that’s has captured the world’s imagination for ages. Never has it been ignored. “And hence the programme,” said Ros Atkins, a first time visitor to India, where he will host four global shows out of Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai. “Chandigarh was chosen for its special place. It represents the rich India and also an India where development is still a concern, so is disparity between the rich and the poor,” said Anu Anand, Atkins’s Indian counterpart, now settled in London. As for the show, it seeks to discover India through Indians. Today was just a beginning and a rocking one at that. Where to some like Vijay, India is a land of missed opportunities, for others like Gunjan it’s an economic juggernaut. No wonder he kept steering a pessimistic audience back to shining India. But he was not spared for taking a different route than most others who mirrored the darker side of India.A perfect mediator was Neelam Mansingh, whose rustic theatre served as a perfect backdrop for the show that spoke of India, which occupies two worlds at the same time. As Anuradha, a teacher said, “In the first world, economic development has impacted people. In the second, people appear to have been left behind by prosperity.” And everyone agreed. A range of issues from poverty and illiteracy to caste and class distinctions dominated the frenzied discussion that even had people from Kashmir and Switzerland tune in. The high point of the show was that the “world listened as Indians spoke.” And therefore, they spoke more and more, with Madhu, an NRI hammering on gender disparity as the root of evil. Pushy Chowdhary, however, disagreed, bringing the debate back to the issue of booming economy. The booming middle class (there are 250 million now) was projected as the hero in the discussion that seemed to lose focus at times before finally finding home. It had every shade of India – from lack of roads, education and food to 8 per cent economic growth, the interaction actually swayed in different directions. It rested on the issue pf caste for far too long. And interestingly, the issue was raised by a caller from Switzerland who asked the audience if they would be ready to marry a low-caste individual. Well, a global answer to the question was– “Matrimony is about love and love has no caste.” Just as the world has no caste. No wonder at the end of the day, the show was all about being part of a rising India while still being part of a beautiful world.
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