Philantrophic dreams

A few weeks ago I discovered splendid India. Never before I saw a country in which such a big contrast between prosperous citizens and the penniless people. It sounds like a cliché, but I truly did not expect to see kilometres of slums alongside long roads. How humiliating it must be - if you are sick and you are taken care of laying literally on the road. No trace of dignity when the rich organise their parties in the most expensive hotels just next to these slums.

Maybe it is therefore that many tourists return back to their countries wearing orange sari's, carrying a stray gaze in their eyes. India is one of the most literate places in the world- and book prices are astonishing cheap. Hence I found my escape from the painful reality in reading Gandhi's auto-biography, and learning in another about how a new generation of philantrophists now spends its time on social entrepreneuring in countries such as India. It made me think how high time it is for our societies to start developing lists of top philantrophists, instead of the longlists of how prosperous a small amount of people is. Philantrophy should become the new social criterion for wellbeing.

The holiday was a real break - nothing only learning about the Indian culture, but also enjoying beautiful beaches and drinking fresh coconut milk. But still I haven't forgotten about the slums, and wonder whether if it's fair to blame the rich in India for the poverty in their country instead of blaming myself.