I think it was Jasmine that so demonized the characteristics of “old India”. It spoke of superstition, of futile pursuits, and of a lack of agency. The “old India”, the recently postcolonial India lacked a motivation to it. The “new India” as it were, thought to be prime for a younger generation of rationalists, working in “productive”, timely jobs like tech and medicine. It was believed that the two were incompatible and one could not exist without the vanquish of the other. But I would argue that Dharma’s Love and Longing in Bombay , from what we have read views the India of old in a much more romantic light. Can it be no wonder that the very solution to Jago’s problem is an embrace of the ancient and spiritual? Jago’s apparent conversion then seems to be the driving force of this excerpt and, in turn, an attempt at blending or at least fostering a camaraderie between the “new” and “old” India’s. ...
Thank you for the space :)
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