I was getting ready to leave for the field a couple of days ago and popped down to the pharmacy to buy some allergy medicines...So, in India, things generally get reused--newspapers, magazines, milk cartons, syringes...
But seriously, we have an awesome recycling culture here. So when the dude at the pharmacy handed me a little packet made out of a page from some magazine, I thought little of it. On the drive to the station, I happened to glance down at this little receptacle, when Lo! I saw that it had the question "Is it fair to compare Muslims with terrorism?" followed by the resulting statistics for various Indian cities on it! I immediately noted down the details I could read from the snippet of this magazine, as my mum-in-law's suspicions that her son had married a loon were reaffirmed. And then it happened again! I bought some pakodas on the train and there, wrapping these oily confections was an article on Sufism. I have a whole new appreciation for wrappers and packets.
In other news: A moment of dissonance resulted in what I now consider an altogether improper greeting on my part. I called the head of the local shrine to ask for an appointment. The voice that popped up on the other end spoke English in an accent almost identical to mine. I was so taken aback, I said, "Hi!"... I said "Hi!" to someone with the title of Hazrat! I cringe at the very thought. He's really kind and gentle, so it's all ok...but cringe-worthy nonetheless.
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