While having dinner with a few friends in Rome, I spoke optimistically about India's future and its great economic prospects. The Italians didn't have anything close to that optimism for their own country. "Ours is a civilization on the decline," said a writer from Naples. Post-war reconstruction was done with by the 1960s, political reconciliation by the late-1980s and unprecedented wealth came in with the European Union. They said that India was "fortunate enough" to have so much left to be done in...
There are still a few things that can be done in Europe, and Italy in particular. Yes, it is a rich country, but you do see beggars and homeless people. And no, not all of them are from Eastern Europe. Being homeless or living in a cardboard shack in tropical Bombay is one thing but facing similar conditions in the cold is another.
I do believe that the right policies can revive the economy in Italy and bring about some more optimism. We'll just have to see whether Signor Monti can think beyond the "cuts, cuts, cuts" that the Germans want.
It wasn't without sadness that I took that flight to Vienna from Florence. Italy is a country I fell in love with at first sight. It was so easy to fit in, blend in and just be me...
There are still a few things that can be done in Europe, and Italy in particular. Yes, it is a rich country, but you do see beggars and homeless people. And no, not all of them are from Eastern Europe. Being homeless or living in a cardboard shack in tropical Bombay is one thing but facing similar conditions in the cold is another.
I do believe that the right policies can revive the economy in Italy and bring about some more optimism. We'll just have to see whether Signor Monti can think beyond the "cuts, cuts, cuts" that the Germans want.
It wasn't without sadness that I took that flight to Vienna from Florence. Italy is a country I fell in love with at first sight. It was so easy to fit in, blend in and just be me...
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