Gold rush

Had borrowed a few old issues of National Geographic from Adda last weekend. The January 2009 issue had the most absorbing cover story titled "Gold Rush." It fascinated me immensely and in context, the excellent photographs became all the more poignant.

It started with the dark story of gold mining in La Rinconada in Peru, the highest city in the world at 17,000 feet above sea level and how extensive gold mining has destroyed the natural beauty of the place.

At the end of each month's toil, exposing themselves to great risks, the miners are given a large block of gold ore, which, if contains gold at all, does so in very small quantities. This large block is ground into very small pieces after days of toil and then reacted with Mercury. Repeated exposure to fumes from this reaction cause permanent neurological damage as well as genetic disorders. If any gold is found on the rock, it forms a mercury-coated sphere with a diameter smaller than a finger-nail. At the gold merchant's, the mercury coating is lifted to produce gold close to a meagre 1 gram. The toxic waste from the reaction is dumped into the river, which not only feeds crops, but is also a source of drinking water. There is death all around. The average life expectancy is about 50 years.

In Indonesia, gold mining has led to severe deforestation, deposition of poisonous waste both on land and under the sea, caused riots among the local villagers and despite having created jobs and even contributing towards economic growth has damaged the environment severely. The quantities of gold dug out of the largest mines is so small, that there's a perpetual need to dig further and in the process destroy the environment.

India is the world's largest consumer of gold. Its consumption is more than the combined consumption of both China and the United States who come second and third in the list. Gold is a sign of prosperity and pride, and according to legend, immortality. It is the language in which wealth is flaunted in marriages; it's often even a subtle modern substitute for dowry. In India, gold is treated as a stable investment. There are religious occasions when it is even considered "auspicious" to buy gold. Ironically, India hardly produces any gold at all.

The article begins with a photo taken in the mine in Peru where a tired, almost despondent looking miner with bloodshot eyes, sweaty and shrouded in mud struggles to carry his monthly wage on his shoulder, which is nothing but a large rock in a sack. Behind him, several miners still dig in darkness. Night has almost fallen. On the next page is another photo taken in Chennai, India showing a large billboard featuring a famous South Indian actress drenched in gold jewellery. One can almost feel the weight of the garish necklaces, the earrings and even some heavy gold on her hair(not sure what that is called). Below the huge billboard there's a mother and daughter duo, the mother wearing a heavy gold necklace herself. On the other side, there's more buying and selling going on.

Just by a mere twist of fate one human being struggles with life and death in the thin air of a gold mine high up in the mountains while the other bargains in the comfort of a posh jewellery shop, haggling over designs and prices, believing (if billboards and advertisements are to be trusted) that the stylish jewellery might somehow redefine her and bring her joy.