Editor's Note

Fighting and Fun

Since rural areas lag behind urban settings in terms of technological advances such as cable TV or computers, different art forms have developed there over the decades which many city dwellers are largely ignorant of. It takes a village setting to do this sort of thing too. Consider the fact that when the entertainers arrive, they make loud noises and sing to announce their arrival. Villagers then know that the show is in town and then they come rushing to see it. They all gather round in some big outdoor setting and watch the fights, the lathi khela, listen to the music and have a laugh during the comedy skits. Would this be possible in an urban setting? This is a fading art of course, and some forms of it are already extinct. Check out the cover story to see a description of this curious event.

There are also a couple of stories about entrepreneurs who have pulled themselves out of deep poverty. One is a woman selling milk products and another is a man who decided to grow vegetables. Although these stories focus on these specific individuals, these should be seen in a larger context, because there are thousands of others with the exact same story.

Abak Hussain
From the Insight Desk

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