--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Often, during my stay in your country…" description: "\"“Often, during my stay in your country, such comparisons troubled me. In fact, they did more than trouble me: they made me resentful. Four thousand yea..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/122/mohsin-hamid-798_thousand-years_often-during-my-stay-in-your-country-suc_46203.jpg" --- # Often, during my stay in your country, such comparisons… ![“Often, during my stay in your country, such comparisons troubled me. In fact, they did more than trouble me: they made me resentful. Four thousand years ago, we, the people of the Indus River basin, had cities that were laid out on grids and boasted underground sewers, while the ancestors of those…” quote by Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/122/mohsin-hamid-798_thousand-years_often-during-my-stay-in-your-country-suc_46203.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/122/mohsin-hamid-798_thousand-years_often-during-my-stay-in-your-country-suc_46203.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/122/mohsin-hamid-798_thousand-years_often-during-my-stay-in-your-country-suc_46203.jpg) > ““Often, during my stay in your country, such comparisons troubled me. In fact, they did more than trouble me: they made me resentful. Four thousand years ago, we, the people of the Indus River basin, had cities that were laid out on grids and boasted underground sewers, while the ancestors of those who would invade and colonize America were illiterate barbarians. Now our cities were largely unplanned, unsanitary affairs, and America had universities with individual endowments greater than our national budget for education. To be reminded of this vast disparity was, for me, to be ashamed.”” [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker reflects on feeling shame and resentment when comparing the advanced ancient civilization of the Indus Valley with the perceived backwardness of early American societies, highlighting stark historical and educational disparities. **In simple terms:** Contrast between ancient Indus achievements and early American conditions. Key Takeaway Historical inequities can provoke personal shame. Themes historical comparison civilizational pride colonial critique educational disparity cultural identity humility Mood reflective critical melancholic Type personal reflection historical commentary When to use this quote - academic lecture on world history - personal journal entry about travel - discussion on post‑colonial identity - analysis of development trajectories Key Concepts ancient urban planning colonialism education funding national self‑image Practical Applications - educational curriculum design - cultural sensitivity training Questions to Reflect On - How do historical narratives shape modern self‑perception? - What responsibilities do we have when confronting past inequities? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Thousand years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thousand-years/) ## Related quotes > [America is also the nameless foreigner, the homeless refugee, the hungry boy begging for a job and the black body dangling on a tree.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-bulosan/america-is-also-the-nameless-foreigner-the-homeless-refugee-the/) [Carlos Bulosan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-bulosan/) > [“Compare with such a one the common rabble of mankind, stupid and mean-spirited, servile, instable, and continually floating with the tempest of various passions,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/compare-with-such-a-one-the-common-rabble-of-mankind-stupid-and-mean/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [The germs of existence contained in this spot of earth, with ample food, and ample room to expand in, would fill millions of worlds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-malthus/the-germs-of-existence-contained-in-this-spot-of-earth-with-ample/) [Thomas Malthus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-malthus/) > [“Revelation Chapter 18 details the many goods which are sold through the Daughter of Babylon’s ports. 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Kendall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-t-kendall/) > [Ring out false pride in place and blood, The civic slander and the spite; Ring in the love of truth and right, Ring in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-the-great/ring-out-false-pride-in-place-and-blood-the-civic-slander-and-the/) [Alfred the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-the-great/) > [A thousand years may scare form a state. An hour may lay it in ruins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/a-thousand-years-may-scare-form-a-state-an-hour-may-lay-it-in-ruins/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [Memory revises me. Even now a letter comes from a place I don’t know, from someone with my name and postmarked years ago, while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-young-lee/memory-revises-me-even-now-a-letter-comes-from-a-place-i-don-t-know/) [Li-Young Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-young-lee/) ## More by Mohsin Hamid > [Pakistan now is like a horror film franchise. You know, it's 'Friday the 13th, Episode 63: The Terrorist from Pakistan.' And each time we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/pakistan-now-is-like-a-horror-film-franchise-you-know-it-s-friday-the/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [A beard is something that is almost like a mirror to the viewer. 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And they need to play a more active…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/americans-need-to-educate-themselves-from-elementary-school-onward/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [I'm not a representative of Pakistan; I'm just an example that Pakistanis are different from each other. I believe it in my fiction and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/i-m-not-a-representative-of-pakistan-i-m-just-an-example-that/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [“end of a couple is like a death, and the notion of death, of temporariness, can remind us of the value of things,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/end-of-a-couple-is-like-a-death-and-the-notion-of-death-of/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [NYC doesn't have a big sign saying "You must love diversity and the rights of all people." 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