Joyashree took me to a poor neighborhood where there was an ongoing experiment in daylighting, which is a way to provide light to people living in dark homes. It is done by cutting a hole in the roof and sticking into it a plastic bottle that refracts sunlight into the home. Daylighting has received widespread positive publicity in Western nations. Joyashree asked me what I thought of it and I told her I found it offensive that Western NGOs viewed sticking a plastic bottle in the roof of a shack as something to celebrate. She seemed to agree.
