Akbar Padamsee
Akbar Padamsee, the
celebrated Indian painter, once told us an interesting story.
Many years ago when he was travelling in south
of France for a lecture tour and during one of his lectures in a
university there a professor who had travelled to India earlier asked him a question.
The professor said that during his visit to India he had observed that
generally people in India looked happy in spite of so many problems
India was facing. He wanted to know why it was so while people in France looked sullen and unhappy in spite of the fact that France was a prosperous state.
To that Akbar gave an
interesting answer. He said that what people in France take for granted as
a routine is a miracle in India. For example Akbar explained if one gets up in
the morning and finds the water running in the tap one says, “Ah, the water is
running!” If someone presses the button of
the lift in a building and the lift comes up that person would be delighted. And if you are waiting on a platform for a train and if the train arrives on time
then you would say “Oh thank God the train has come on time!” So Akbar
explained that what seems to be routine and boring event in France seems like a
miracle in India That is why people seem happier India as compared to people in
France. “In
India we feel life itself is a miracle” said Akbar Padamsee to an audience enthralled by his explanation.
Vishnu Mathur.
July 27th, 2013.
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