Article the God of Small Things Essays

Article the God of Small Things Essays Article the God of Small Things Essay Article the God of Small Things Essay Essay Topic: The God Of Small Things When the tragic news, of a young British child dying when visiting her distant family in Ayemenem, Kerala, reached London I took the first possible flight to investigate the story. When arriving in Ayemenem I discovered a much deeper story, a much more interesting one. At first a love story between two people may not seem so exciting. But when this relationship broke all laws and all foundations of the Indian society, a beautiful and tragic new world opened in front of me. Something that no one outside their culture will ever really understand, something so different from our own standards and morals. I arrived here a few days ago with my mind set on the story of the young girl who drowned in the river here in Ayemenem. When living amongst the Indians I realized how different their lives were compared to ours. It was fascinating to just watch them, watch the children play or the old man playing the tabla. Sitting there wondering about the death of the child â€Å" not yet knowing how closely related it was to the story that could be my breakthrough. I could clearly see that the people of Ayemenem was upset about something â€Å" slowly I realized that it wasnâ„ ¢t about the story I had thought it was. The caste system in India is probably well known to everyone. But do we really understand it at the individual and at the personal level Yes, the story I discovered here in Ayemenem is a love story. But it is so much more interesting than that. What happens when a Paravan has a love affair with a higher-class woman The Paravan was accused of molesting the women. He was blamed and almost beaten to death. And all this just because of whom he was â€Å" an Untouchable. In the caste system, the Paravans are seen as polluted, they are not worthy to touch anything that the touchables touched. The Paravans could not change their position in the society â€Å" they were who they were born to be. It is said that being a Paravan was the punishment for having been bad in a former life. The Paravan, whose name was Velutha, was also held responsible for the murder of the British girl, which turned out to be completely wrong when I investigated the matter. When further in, in my investigation I started hearing rumors that said that the women had run into the Police station claiming that the Paravan was innocent. That it had been a love affair. I actually believe the women since why would she claim this if it wasnâ„ ¢t true, what could she have gained on it Nothing! The womanâ„ ¢s family took this whole incident very seriously. Especially the womanâ„ ¢s aunt. She went, by herself, to the police to tell them of how a Paravan was abusing their niece. She had gotten this information from the Paravans dad the police report said. Obviously the Paravans are well aware of their position in India since he was ready to tell on his own son. Though, my reliable sources here in Ayemenem tell me that the aunt knew about the love affair and locked the women in her room to prevent them from meeting. The secret and forbidden, intersexual relationship between this man and woman caused a big stir in the Ayemenem community. We can never really understand the thoughts and opinions of the people living here â€Å" both touchables and untouchables. I canâ„ ¢t understand why Velutha had this tragic destiny only because he was a Paravan. Still people, such as the police, truly believe that it was Velutha who had caused this mess. And they clearly never listened to the woman when she confessed of having an affair with an Untouchable. Now I have been living in Kerala for just about a month â€Å" I couldnâ„ ¢t leave without learning more about the culture. It is very clear to me now that cultural clashes in Ayemenem can cause minor conflicts or major trouble and violence â€Å" such as the night when Velutha was brutally beaten. Something like this, two people from two different classes being together, would never have mattered as much in England. In India it is a sin worth dying for.

10 Facts About Chongqing, China

10 Facts About Chongqing, China Chongqing is one of Chinas four direct-controlled municipalities (the others are Beijing, Shanghai, and Tianjin). It is the largest of the municipalities by area and it is the only one that is located far away from the coast. Chongqing is located in southwestern China within Sichuan Province and shares borders with Shaanxi, Hunan, and Guizhou provinces. The city is known as being an important economic center along the Yangtze River as well as a historical and cultural center for the country of China. Population: 31,442,300 (2007 estimate)Land area: 31,766 square miles (82,300 sq km)Average elevation: 1,312 feet (400 m)Date of creation: March 14, 1997 10 Must-Know Facts Chongqing has a long history and historical evidence shows that the region was originally a state belonging to the Ba People and that it was established in the 11th century B.C.E. In 316 B.C.E., the area was taken over by the Qin and at that time a city called Jiang was built there and the region the city was in was known as the Chu Prefecture. The area was then renamed two more times in 581 and 1102 C.E.In 1189 C.E. Chongqing got its current name. In 1362 during Chinas Yuan Dynasty, a peasant rebel named Ming Yuzhen formed the Daxia Kingdom in the region. In 1621 Chongqing became the capital of the kingdom of Daliang (during Chinas Ming Dynasty). From 1627 to 1645, much of China was unstable as the Ming Dynasty began to lose its power and during that time, Chongqing and Sichuan Province were taken over by the rebels overthrowing the dynasty. Shortly thereafter the Qing Dynasty took control of China and immigration to the Chongqing area increased.In 1891 Chongqing became an important economic center in China as it became the first inland open to trade from outside China. In 1929 it became a municipality of the Republic of China and during the Second Sino-Japanese War from 1937 to 1945, it was attacked heavily by the Japanese Air Force. However much of the city was protected from damage because of its rugged, mountainous terrain. As a result of this natural protection, many of Chinas factories were moved to Chongqing and it quickly grew into an important industrial city. In 1954 the city became a sub-provincial city within Sichuan Province under the Peoples Republic of China. On March 14, 1997, however, the city was merged with the neighboring districts of Fuling, Wanxian, and Qianjiang and it was separated from Sichuan to form Chongqing Municipality, one of Chinas four direct-controlled municipalities.Today Chongqing is one of the most important economic centers in western China. It also has a diversified economy with major industries in processed food, automobile manufacturing, chemicals, textiles, machinery, and electronics. The city is also the largest area for the manufacture of motorcycles in China.As of 2007, Chongqing had a total population of 31,442,300 people. 3.9 million of these people live and work in the urban areas of the city while the majority of the people are farmers working in areas outside the urban core. In addition, there is a large number of people who are registered as residents of Chongqing with Chinas National Bureau of Sta tistics of China, but they have not yet officially moved into the city. Chongqing is located in western China at the end of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. The region of Chongqing also includes several mountain ranges. These are the Daba Mountains in the north, the Wu Mountains in the east, the Wuling Mountains in the southeast and the Dalou Mountains in the south. Because of all of these mountain ranges, Chongqing has a hilly, varied topography and the average elevation of the city is 1,312 feet (400 m).Part of Chongqings early development as an economic center of China is due to its geographic location on large rivers. The city is intersected by the Jialing River as well as the Yangtze River. This location allowed the city to develop into an easily accessible manufacturing and trading center.The municipality of Chongqing is divided into several different subdivisions for local administrations. There are for example 19 districts, 17 counties and four autonomous counties within Chongqing. The total area of the city is 31,766 square miles (82,300 sq km) and m ost of it consists of rural farmland outside of the urban core. The climate of Chongqing is considered humid subtropical and it has four distinct seasons. Summers are very hot and humid while winters are short and mild. The average August high temperature for Chongqing is 92.5ËšF (33.6ËšC) and the average January low temperature is 43ËšF (6ËšC). Most of the citys precipitation falls during the summer and since it is located Sichuan Basin along the Yangtze River cloudy or foggy conditions are not uncommon. The city is nicknamed the Fog Capital of China. Reference Wikipedia.org. (23 May 2011). Chongqing - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia.