sitting in a land cruiser with a driver as the director of a large NGO talks about the 85 lakh (850 000rs) apartment they're buying for their son, then complains about the gross materialism of the West.

It not simple enough to say that she's hypocritical. It isn't that; she has spent her life promoting a worthy cause, using her wealth and connections, pushing and pulling to change mindsets and help people.

But she has also distanced herself from her situation enough so that she can criticize the excess of the west without even a flicker of awareness of the irony of her statements.

I'm not trying to judge. Really. I'm just trying to understand.

7:25 p.m. - 2003-11-30