Thought-provoking article. >> The confrontation between the two groups—between those disenchanted by modern civilization and those despairingly seek­ing a foot

Thought-provoking article. >> The confrontation between the two groups—between those disenchanted by modern civilization and those despairingly seek­ing a foothold in it—was not something I had seen described in any of the books I read. The many ironies of the situation, and the historical inequities behind them, should have alerted me to my material. But I kept waiting for a great subject, something com­mensurate with the great literature I read, to reveal itself to me. The contrast between these two groups (the disenchanted and the desperate let's call them) is something I recall seeing when I visited India in the 2000's (which is odd how long ago that seems now...) On one hand you have people who are born and raised in what are apparently these very holy and sacred cities (at least as the religious population considers them to be) and there are some who are doing everything they can do get out and live the American dream. On the other hand, there are those who do the opposite, wealthy heirs to tens and hundred million dollar estates who forsake everything to meditate in an Ashram on the banks of the Ganga. What a world to live in. And then you have others who live desperately straddling the two, never quite at home in one or the other.