Smoke And Mirrors

by Pallavi Aiyar

Wildlife has traditionally been consumed in China for both food and medicinal purposes. It was thus no coincidence that many of the diseases that have jumped from animals to humans have originated in China, in particular its wet markets in the south, where live animals are sold and slaughtered in densely packed bazaars.

The systematic denial of an education to women or those of certain castes was one of the most insidious atrocities that a society could commit against its own people. Perpetuated over generations it robbed those discriminated against of a belief in their own worth as human beings.

What I had learnt then was that it was deeply wrong to be put off by the unknown. Even when something appeared alien and daunting on the surface, familiarity lay closer than imagined. You only needed to turn a corner to find it.