Ladies Hostel...

The major news making the rounds in a Mangalorean website since yesterday was the apprehending of a young man clad in an Abaya or Burkha.
He was caught with his girlfriend, pants down, making out in the bathroom of the Ladies Hostel.
I occasionally check out the website for gossip on my hometown, the website is completely without class, cheap and downright proletarian. I love checking it out to see the pictures and greetings posted there. It makes me cringe and laugh, yeah yeah... cheap thrills.

The news that it carried though about the boy and the pictures featured, shocked me and has quite disturbed me, I have been thinking about it since yesterday. The pictures feature the boy, half naked with his jeans open and his underwear showin and one pic even has a cop yankin him with his jeans with the boy's bottom exposed.
All of this on a supposedly 'news worthy' website. It's disgusting. Ok, that in itself was bad, but they have many pictures of the boy and what's worse... comments galore, almost everyone condemning the boy, his religion, his upbringing, parents, society, internet even!

I can't describe how grossed out I feel. And very let down and cheated... I do know that the website isn't really an accurate description of Mangalorean people and culture, but the narrow mindedness and archaic thinking as evinced in the comments are totally demoralising.
"In order to judge properly, one must get away somewhat from what one is judging, after having loved it. That is true of countries, of persons, and of yourself". - Andre Gidé

I don't really appreciate passing judgements... I try not to most times... but this spate of nasty comments has really bothered me... What kind of people live in Mangalore now...? was I wrong in my pride in my hometown... it's my security blanket, a vital part of my identity. I plan to go back home to spend the dusk of my life there (If I dont kick the bucket before my grand plan that is) but peering into that society from the outside as it were, as I am doing now... I'm not very sure...

Is it me? Is the change internal... I dont want think so... I am trying very hard to understand, rationalise, assemble and structure my thoughts and feelings... I need to have a place I call home, one that I love and respect and have deep faith and pride in.... My friends back home haven't changed a bit, that I know... Life goes forward... why is Mangalore driving furiously on reverse gear...