Bollywood Movie: My Name is Kahn
I would have cried had I seen it in the USA (Ok, I admit I cry during Hallmark commercials) but seeing it here having passed a mosque where many Muslins were praying, tore us both up. Roger wanted to stand up and say he was sorry, something like that could and did happen in the USA. In short, the movie was about an autistic, Muslin Indian man who had moved to San Fransico where his son was killed in the backlash of 9/11. After much diversity, he finally got to tell Obama (note not Bush) face to face, " My name is Kahn and I am not a terrorist." It was in Bengali but the facial expresions told the story clearly. Looking at the exiting crowd of Indians, we were overwhelmed with the realization that the prejudices many of us Americans have against the Muslims (and it also showed our prejudices against the blacks), is felt even here--half way around the world. The movie has been a major box office hit here for over two weeks so many of the people we've met in the streets lately have see it and yet still treated us so kindly. I hope many Americans--especially Obama--see the movie and also let Kahn's message sink deep in their hearts--as it did ours.
Add on to our Sunderban trip:
How could I have forgotten to write about my visit to the local elementary school??? As I walked by a tiny building wit
h no outside walls, I saw about ten small children sitting on a weaved mat with slates in front of them. I stopped and smiled. The teacher smiled back and soon she had the children singing to me and reciting probably poems. I in turn, had them join hands and taught them Ring around the Rosie and then Head/Shoulder/Knees and Toes. We were all laughing--the common language between us. They were so precious I could have stayed there all day!!
Kids Playing in the Streets:
Every time I walk down a street, there they are: kicking balls or rocks, swinging sticks, flying homemade kites (over 6 lanes of traffic and electrical lines), making small fires, throwing stones at dogs, rolling tires between the traffic, begging--in other words doing everything we don't let our kids do and with no supervision in sight!! They would be so bored living in Dexter!
Building:
Amidst all the commotion, there is building going on. Next door, a 7 story building is going up. All the scaffolding is bamboo and twine. They carry the bricks and cement up one load at a time in large baskets on their heads. Manual labor is every where. Where they are putting in tile, men and women are digging the holes with shovels and picks. Where they are tarring, men and women are building fires to heat the tar, using buckets to spread it and finally, a roller to smooth it. We have seen one large rolling machine so guess they don't do it all by hand.
Gotta run. Take Care.
