Around the time when I first heard about Maxine and her school I was also reading The Cost of Living by Arundhati Roy for a "Religion, Politics, and Culture of South Asia" course. Her writing is uniformly stunning, but one particular moment stuck with me.
While trying to explain her concept of success to a business-oriented friend, she jots down her ideas on a paper napkin. This is what she writes:"To love. To be loved. To never forget your own insignificance. To never get used to the unspeakable violence and the vulgar disparity of life around you. To seek joy in the saddest places. To pursue beauty to its lair. To never simplify what is complicated or complicate what is simple. To respect strength, never power. Above all, to watch. To try and understand. To never look away. And never, never, to forget."
Her friend isn't impressed.
7 comments:
good luck, and have a safe flight! Love you Rachel!!
BEST OF LUCK WITH THE FLIGHT! Roy also wrote "The God of Small Things," which is a beautiful (if a bit slow) novel about South India. Someday you should check it out.
I found a BBC article that made me think of you.
You know how much you missed pub food? Apparently there's a chef Working to bring bland British food to India. Hooray! Mushy peas for all!
Call (507) 646-5223 for a good time...
Have fun in India, Rachel!
Have fun in India!
Arundhati Roy is AMAZING. Everyone should go read The God of Small Things. I hope you're enjoying Maharashta!
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