Playing with Fire
Hug RP when you are in India
By Gonzalo Duque
WE missed the deadline for our column last week due to a hectic schedule that brought us to the mystic country of India.
You must have heard a lot about that big country, which is second only to the People’s Republic of China in population. China has l. 6 billion, while India has l.2 billion. The Philippines has close to 100 million. Walang sinabi.
Walang sinabi? Well, no, not in the sense of where is the more ideal place to live in.
Fact of the matter is, with apologies to our good friend, Ashok Vasandani of the Rotary and Conquerors clubs, our dear embattled country, ballyhooed pearl of the orient, is much sweeter, cleaner and very, very kissable. Well, Ashok, in your now global standard of what is beautiful, we know you agree with us.
We told Jun Velasco who has visited India that our two Vicks Vaporub bottles were not enough in light of the smell wafting all around us. Even the streets in New Delhi oozed with cow dung, eh, papano, cows are sacred animals in that country.
But India’s history and cultural wealth are simply unbeatable. Let’s not forget Mahatma Gandhi who brought England to her knees with his non-violent pacification campaign. The great literary giant, Rabindranath Tagore, is from India.
No one can beat the famous Taj Majal for its grandeur and beauty. It was built by a king as a symbol of his love for his 2nd wife. Filipinos who have gone there swear the word “mahal” means sweetheart. In our interviews there, we were told it meant “palace.” Because as Jun will tell you, Taj Majal is a colossal edifice, and it would take you more than an hour to reach it when you are in a queue of tourists and visitors to reach it.
India has very awe-inspiring and breathtaking temples. Very courteous, handsome and beautiful people. What only worries Pinoy visitors is the smell. It really sucks. It must be due to their food, spicy and the smelly goaty menu. We’ve wondered how they are able to live and even kiss and make love amidst the unromantic scent. One guy we asked who is familiar with life in India says “it’s due to their being immuned to the peculiar smell, finding it good and even aphrodisiac (ugh! Sorry, Ashok!) to their skin.
And so on the way home, our plane companions who took a visit there as part of Lyceum Northwestern University’s global learning program were noisy about our unsinkable love of country, yes, in spite of its faults — self-serving politicians, lousy policemen, unprincipled businessmen — because here, we have clean, sweet scented women and beautiful isles. Our delegation was of one opinion, if you want to love and be proud of your country, the embattled Philippines, go to India.
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What’s the fuss about the Sangguniang Panlungsod‘s endorsement of Vice Mayor Belen Fernandez’s modern hotel project along the De Venecia Diversion road?
That’s good for tourism-thirsty Dagupan.
The proposed hotel is only one of the many structures that have arisen in the area. Even the legality of Mayor Benjie Lim’s earlier stand that buildings are not allowed to rise on the right side of the river (coming from Dawel) is now under question.
As to its environmental implication, what, may we ask, can one building do to avert flood, since, the entire area is now a mecca of constructions! So, ok na tayo diyan, mga pare and mare ng Sanggunian. Magblow out ka la sirin Belen!
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