Saturday, June 9, 2012

Transit


The great Greek philosopher Pythagoras of Samos said almost 26 centuries ago “A thought is an idea in transit.”
True enough; the symbol of modern industrialization has been the steam machine, where it moves the world a lot faster, more efficiently.  Such symbol still carries its significance today as the efficiency of trains; the wait between transits sort of translating to each country operates her own system.
In February, 20111 I spent a good 10 days in Myanmar, good part of 2 of those days spent in the Yangon train station, and you see a lot. 
Here in Myanmar, life is slow for most, not that time does not matter, it does, it just matters less. And you see that in trains, in transits.  You see a small life developing inside a train station, a small world there, and one may say that is beautiful because there is nothing to rush.  It is not wrong, but then the countries that move fast and efficiently are not wrong either, they spent the time they save in transits for something else.

Yangon, Myanmar, 2011

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