Smakebit på søndag: The White Tiger

Bild lånad från bokus,
finns även på svenska

Fars dag, men först en smakbit. Det blir inte boken jag läser just nu, Days of Blood and Starlight, det är fortsättningen på förra veckans smakbit, men tyckte det var roligare att ta något helt annat så dagens smakbit kommer från boken jag läst under veckan, The White Tiger. Den handlar om Belram, en självlärd entrepenör som skriver brev till den kinesiske presidenten inför hans besök i Indien.

Your Excellency, I am proud to inform you that Laxmangarh is your typical Indian village paradise, adequately supplied with electricity, running water, and working telephones; and that the children of my village, raised on a nutritious diet of meat, eggs, vegetables, and lentils, will be found, when examined with tape measure and scales, to match up to the minimum height and weight standards set by the United Nations and other organizations whose treaties our prime minister has signed and whose forums he so regularly and pompously attends.
    Ha!
    Electricity poles - defunct.
    Water tap - broken.
    Children - too lean and short for their age, and with oversized heads from which vivid eyes shine, like the guilty conscience of the government of India.
    Yes, a typical Indian village paradise, Mr. Jiabao. One day I'll have to come to China and see if your village paradises are any better.
    Down the middle of the main road, families of hogs are sniffing through sewage - the upper body of each animal is dry, with long hairs that are matted together into spines; the lower half of the body is peat-black and glistening from sewage. Vivid red and brown flashes of feather - roosters fly up and down the roofs of the house. Past the hogs and roosters, you'll get to my house - if it still exists.
    At the doorway to my house, you'll see the most important member of my family.
    The water buffalo.

Senare idag blir det middag med föräldrar och syster med familj, och efter det kommer jag läsa fler smakbitar på Maris blogg :)