East And West

East and west –classical terminals of the journey of Sun, have become symbols of two rich and varied groups of civilizations. Can we compare them on some terrain? Let’s give it a try. Contemporary literature is an important aspect of comparison between east and west. While several Asian writers have made a foray into English literature, authors in local languages are no less talented. While the west boasts of excellent writers like Henning merkell, and Dan Brown, several other western writers like khalied hosseni are actually émigrés from the east. Writers from the east include prominent names like Aravinda Adiga and Arundhati Roy. The style and content of writing in the east varies from the west on several counts. Let us take some examples. Several successful writers from the East like Khalid hosseini, Arundhati Roy and Aravinda adiga are acclaimed for their portrayal of the sorrows, oppression and tragedies of the East. In contrast, themes of heinous crimes, cutting edge technology and latest methods of medical and criminal diagnosis are the themes preferred by several popular contemporary writers of the west like Henning merkell and Dan brown. Sports is probably the only area where several eastern countries like china give a tough competition to Western behemoths like the United States and several European nations. Although the Indian sub-continent is far behind in sports, China and Korea more than make up for it. Education is an equally important issue. Several Eastern countries abound in talent, yet, due to lack of proper infrastructure and opportunities or political scenarios, such talent is wasted on a large scale. Other option for such talented people is to immigrate to countries with more favourable environment. However, the inclination towards learning is seen more in the east like in India, China and Japan. Spiritually, the East has always led the West. Buddha, Confucius, Swami Vivekananda and several others have trod the path of enlightenment and shown the way to others. In stark contrast, the West, although blessed with several spiritual leaders, continues to struggle to find some spiritual guidance in this era of mindless violence. This brings us to terrorism. The East and the West perceive terrorism in entirely different lights. Several Eastern and Middle-Eastern countries continue to terrorise their neighbours over territories, religion or resources. Religion or ethnicity is the cloak for most of them. However, the west does not see much terrorism based on territories. Rather, the main culprits are religious differences and political or monetary gains. So, what do you think? Isn’t there some beauty in the diversity of the human

race? Aren’t we so different, yet, very similar?