11/8/06
Anyone who has spoken to me knows that my speaking style involves a great deal of exaggeration, over-dramatization and hyperbole. I have such a fondness for this way of speaking, perhaps because I don’t often see my words in print. In this week’s Willamette Week article on this Saturday’s Atlas three year anniversary party I am quoted as saying that twenty to twenty-five US dollars is equal to “like a million dollars” in India. Obviously I am well aware that the exchange rate is nowhere near close to such a figure. Even when I was saying the words I was aware of how much I was stretching things, no doubt thinking, “I hope they don’t print this.” Well, they did. I was stretching things to make a point, that night club prices in places like Delhi put admission far beyond the reach of most Indians. For the majority of India the admission may as well be a million dollars if they are going to charge 1000 rupees. Yes, there is a growing middle class, but this is still a tiny part of the entire Indian society.
Anjali figures anyone that has ever talked to me will know it is straight hyperbole. I imagine a hyperbolic tone doesn’t always transfer to print with the intended meaning intact. Perhaps next interview I will remember the dangers of exaggeration in print.
IK