Daily Headlines

I was never one for reading the newspaper daily back home.  Mostly because I don’t usually have time, so I end up getting my news from BBC updates on Twitter.  Sad, I know.  Anyways, I’ve become very fond of spending a few minutes every morning, or later in the day, sipping my chai and reading the Indian newspaper(s).  I usually read The Indian Express, Sakal Times, and DNA (Daily News & Analysis) of Pune.  I’ll admit I’ve felt proud of myself for becoming a more educated citizen of the world.

Usually, I enjoy learning about the world around me, and trying to understand Indian society, its priorities, its culture, its politics, its tragedies.  Unfortunately, the latter sticks out to me the most.  It’s hard to stomach my 730am cup of chai when the first headline I read tells me that a man just committed suicide after his daughter was gang-raped.  Not the best start to the day.

Here are today’s headlines:

Mumbai: 14-yr-old boy falls into ditch, dies

South Mumbai Senior Citizen was Murdered

Gunmen Loot Rs 5 crore from Cash Van, Kill Guard in Delhi

FTII Student Drowns in Swimming Pool

Man Found Hanging

9-yr-old Delhi Girl Dies of Dengue

CMO Sachan’s Death was Suicide, says CBI Report

6-yr-old Sexually Abused, Beaten to Death by Foster Parents in MP

Protests at Shimla School over Class VI Girls’ Deaths

19 Killed in Latest Nepal Air Crash, Growing Concerns Over Safety Record

12 Die as Iraq Convicts Riot, Bolt from Prison

US Man Kills Masked Teen, Finds it’s his Son

To be fair, I didn’t read the newspaper that often in the States, so maybe American news is just as disturbing and that’s just the state of the world today.  Okay, I’ll stop being so cynical.

I know you want to hear about my adventures and how much fun I’m having, but I would be lying if I didn’t say I’m surrounded by a certain level of tragedy every day.  The woman and her babies living on the sidewalk that I walk by every day to go to school, the stray dogs with chunks of flesh missing and their eyes a little crazy, the beggar children that I’d love to help but I know I have to sternly turn away, and the tiny little kitten who wandered into our conversation yesterday at the program center.  She was no longer than the length between my thumb and pinky, shaking, wet, big ears on her tiny little head, and so skinny you could see her bones.  I’ve no idea where she came from but she wandered right in to warm herself by our feet and mewed until one of the program girls was brave enough to touch her.  I’m more apt to touch a stray cat than stray dog, but I still have to wonder what she’s carrying.  The guard noticed her and while we weren’t paying attention, he grabbed her like she was a big rat, and shoved her under the fence to go away.  She was persistent and made it back to our patio to keep us company, but I had to wonder what would happen to her.  This poor little kitten received our sympathy, but I doubt the girl who cradled her would do the same for a street child.  Many people are just as bad off as this kitten in India, and they’re often thrown out, like the guard tried to toss the kitten, because no one wants to deal with them.  They’re not worth the time of day.