Blogging the WSF

Mumbai, Jan 17 - The events have begun. Five huge halls, about thrity smaller venues. It is hard to descibe briefly - but the main sense is large flowing crowds, of almost infinite iversity -- language, dress, approac to moving through the paths, and so on. There are many many many more people outside at any moment than in talks.

There are few schedules -- very few -- so most people know only where the main events are, and perhaps those they are somehow related to.

In other words, it is another WSF...more colorful, as energetic or a bit more so - but the communication of information in big halls, as in the past, is very spotty, shall we say. Smaller sessions are more prductive, I believe, and probably most productive are face to face chats, dinners and lunches people have together, actual meetings, etc.

As to content, it is early to say but it seems that the escalation of emphasis on the lead slogan - another world is possible - has continued. It is now a key feature if not the central focus over and over -- in talks, signs, chants, everything. This is very good, in my view, but the fact that there is still, so far, very little attention to what this other world ought to include or embody is not so good...and undercuts the value considerably.

Perhaps this next is a bit idiosyncratic to me - but I can't help but feel the "oddness" of speech after speech talking about how destructive globalization, capitalism, etc are -- in a society where you can walk a few minutres from the venues and have a person with no legs, sliding through the gutter, trying to beg the equivalent of pennies for some food. So what is the oddness -- travelling thousands of miles, at relatively immense expense, to give and hear talks which state something that is, even to the most insensitive souls, utterly obvious here.

Of course it is only the first day, just a few sessions -- and there is much more to come.