I was reminded today of the trailer for Borat - Cultural leanings of America.... Towards the beginning, Borat is seen in his car waving to an adoring crowd. Only as the camera pans away do you realise that the vehicle is being dragged through his village by a horse.
This morning on my way into work we were stopped in our tracks by a road sweeper which was partially blocking our way. Common in the west, they're still a bit of a novelty in India; at least I don't recall seeing that many in the time that I've been here. It may be that the driver of the vehicle this morning didn't know how to operate the brushes correctly, or perhaps the brush that is meant to run alongside the kerb (in those odd pockets of thoroughfare where there is actually a kerb), wasn't working. In any event, walking in front of the mechanical road sweeper was one of the good old fashioned non mechanical versions; one of the green-jacketed varieties who normally insist on having their palms greased with a few rupees if you ever want them to do the job they've already been paid to do, and clean up the muck in front of your house. She was bent over, sweeping the papers and leaves away from the kerb, into the path of the mechanical version which followed her at a snail's pace. Talk about life imitating art.
Originally published on Blogger on 7th February 2008.
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