so many faces-1

one person who deeply impressed me was abu abraham ,the cartoonist.my interaction with him was for a few hours only.the year was 1976. he came to visakhapatnam to cover the science congress. indira gandhi inagurated it. it was the height of emergency. the level of security was never seen in andhra university. we were barred from going near our daily haunts. i also remember the occassion for our first taste of satellite television. me and my friend bhaskar were assigned to keep mr abu abraham company for the one day he stayed in vizag.we were awe struck being so near a personality whom we adored.conversation--what can i say ? we managed to mumble some platitudes and inanities about the lectures we heard . most of them were about the garibi of bharat and what was being or to be done.abu smiled and asked us whether we really thought india is poor. how can someone ask even. the whole world knows that. he said the whole world wants you to believe that. dont go by the gdp comparisons. see what that amount buys. 10 rupees in india can buy alot more than what a dollar can in india. what does a spare meal cost? pao bhaji for example. those words changed the way we looked at our poverty forever. i am reminded of this incident now because recently i saw a news item on how india is a very costly place. the comparison was the price of a mcdonald burger in the U.S. and in india. who cares for mcdonalds in india except for fattened calves