Brief 1b (1)

Name : Liz Benson
Subject : I bought this book for $40. But since I’ve finished reading it, it’s cost me $30,000!!!!
Postcode : 6122
Visit Time : 13/11/2004 1:30 AM

Remark :

“I insist that you guys stop doing interviews with such intriguing people!!!
Who would have thought that listening to an ABC radio interview could be so harmful to your bank balance?

One day whilst innocently doing my dishes, I tuned into ABC when Gregory David Roberts, author of “Shantaaram” being interviewed. I was fascinated by his story and quickly purchased his book so that I could find out more about his experiences.

It was the most expensive, and fattest book that I have ever purchased!
But what a story it was! The picture that he painted of India and all it’s contradictions fascinated me. As soon as I had finished reading the book, I decided that I had to go to India to see and experience this gem for myself.

But how could I justify going there and leaving my husband and three daughters behind in WA? I couldn’t, so I decided that they would have to come too! They had no choice in the matter, I had decided on the destination and that was all there was too it!

O’K, so I had a destination, but no plan. Where will we go, how will we get there, what will we do? I began researching in earnest like someone obsessed. Travel brochures, the lonely planet guide, and articles from the weekend newspapers began to clog up my table at home. Before dinner the dining table would have to be cleared of “Mum’s India stuff”! I was a woman on a mission! Obstacle number one. There didn’t seem to be many tour companies that would include families with kids on their group tours. The packages that are designed for families, seem to have limited itineraries. Maybe they think that kids get tired and irritable when travelling? Why would they think that!

Out of frustration, I decided to design our own tour. Thats when I realised that India, like Australia, is a pretty big country. You just cant see it all in two weeks. O’K, so we’ll have to go for four! Every time my husband asked “how much is this trip going to cost”, I just added another couple of thousand $ to the last figure, hoping that he wouldn’t notice! He did, but played along with my crazy idea anyway.

With the tour plan finalised, now all I had to do was get quotes from different companies to see who we would go with. I selected a company and we are now on the countdown dor 21st December departure, 17th January return.
I am beginning to wish that I had never read that damned book.

We recently had our needles and walked out $1100 poorer! I am worried that one of my animal loving daughters will be bitten by a rabid dog! I have bought a medical kit with enough anti biotics to bind up an elephant with diarrhoea, but still wonder if it’s enough! How will we all cope with the confronting experiences that India is likely to poke in our faces at every turn? Maybe we should we have gone with the family tour with the boring itinerary!

I blame you ABC, this is all your fault! If my kids hate me after this holiday, I’ll hold you responsible!

Tell your producers, no more interesting interviews! Just stick with boring old farts like Wally Foreman. At least he’s harmless enough to not inspire anyone to do anything, except turn the tele on to watch sport!

So there you have it, “Shantaram”, the $30,000 book. I thought that listening to the ABC was a pretty harmless occupation, what a big assumption that was!
Who can say how my family will feel after our holiday in India. Will we thank you or curse you? Who knows, but somehow I think that the real journey has only just begun.”

Mario’s Response

Such a long story, isn’t it? Hope you’re not bored reading it =P Anyway..the way I see it, media is becoming a powerful tool that influences people’s mind strongly. Although everything depends on each person’s interpretations and perceptions, it may lead to bad things. And the remark above is just an example of it.

This person didn’t have that intention to spend that much when she first bought the book. But no matter what (and she blamed ABC too), in the end she DID spend that much money and efforts on her crazy idea. And the way I look at it, she does regret it in the end. So are those really worth it?

In my own perspective, books should be able to encourage people to being sustainable. But this remark proves that it can go the other way. I reckon..with those $30,000, there are many many things could be done in terms of sustainability. And on those efforts, she tried hard on her crazy idea (WANT). Would she do as hard for the Earth? (NEED). Not being harsh, but we all contribute to the damage to the Earth.

Therefore, my point is that I think we need to direct our “wants” and “needs” more. There are lots that we could offer to help. We all should take the call.