Bhagawan Bharose

So here I am sitting at the Taipei airport enjoying uninterrupted net access after a long time :) Sounds spoiled eh? Bear with this message because a couple of my keys are not working for an unknown reason. The last two months were an amazing experience and far too much has happened for me to remember all of it. While this entire thing started off being for our public health practicum it turned into so much more. India never fails to entertain---never!!!

Sitting among the chaos at Delhi airport just some hours back (and I mean chaos-that too post-midnight) I realized that some things never change here. Absolutely no sense of discipline (people pushing and shoving for luggage carts)-no sense of professionalism (a poor family was told by Air India they would have to wait a day to fly for no apparent reason)-no sense of punctuality (at 11:00 flights that left at 10:00 still displayed on the massive departures board)---and yet everything just sort of falling into place and working out. A common joke across India is that the nation runs 'bhagawan bharose' a la 'at the mercy of the Lord' and boy is that true---be it the traffic or the million shops on the streets or the local buses which look like they will fall apart any minute (personally I feel even if the buses were to fall apart the people inside would still be sitting in mid-air because they are all so tightly packed in).

My time in Baroda was great as I got a chance to relax and spend time w/family---but even amidst all that I could not help but notice how quickly and drastically it is changing. Malls are springing up around every corner...grocery stores are taking over the vegetable/fruit markets (thank you Reliance)...and people are trying to be as western as they can possibly afford---or in some cases people don't even seem to care whether they can afford it or not. And interestingly---even after being a fairly conservative smaller city (though it is well on it's way to becoming a metro city in a matter of years) one can spot more and more CSW's on the streets. These women work between cities to meet client needs---e.g. Baroda-Mumbai or Baroda-Delhi or Baroda-Ahmedabad. The rates that CSW's earned in Delhi sounded low---but not after I heard the rates here---around 5-10 Rs. to provide services to one client and around 45-50 Rs. to provide services to 4-5 clients at ONCE. Cutting it short---will add on more later...

Bombay Dreams

Balcony Watching and Bombay-Mumbai Dreams...

One thing I have loved at Renu aunty's Mahim apartment has been her balcony from our bedroom....I could stand there for hours (in fact I spend my first few moments every morning just standing at the balcony watching the morning jam below) and just watch the cars pass by and India be India. I won't lie---my favorite part of balcony watching is spotting Mercedes', BMW's and yes even Lexus' though they are not as common here. I have almost spotted as many Benzes here as I used to see on the SoCal freeways. To me that says a lot about the current day India---it is booming!!! Well at least it is booming for some and not so much so for others. Right across from the balcony we can see an old disheveled trashed house (close to a slum in my opinion) and it amazes me to just think about the clear-cut contrast...w/Benzes rolling down the street and a house like that in the background w/trash strewn all over the front yard one cannot but help wonder if India really is booming after all? Or is it simply that the disparities are more apparent now then ever before and therefore just as we're managing to see the struggle of the poor more now then ever before we are also seeing the massive financial boost that others are experiencing?

Bombay in my opinion is truly a city of dreams in every form---it has this feel to it---a feeling that sets it aside from all the other (the few) cities that I have visited across India. I can truly understand now why every year thousands flock here from other cities or towns or villages to make their dreams come true---be it a dream to become the next Shahrukh or Amitabh or to become the next Dhirubhai Ambani (founder of Reliance Industries). I am sure there are millions like me who balcony watch and see these cars drive by and daydream about these bigshots...however we all too often are only interested in the present---when one is at the top...rarely do we take the time to look back and try to understand how Ambani became who he was...for the uninitiated here is the story...

http://www.rediff.com/money/2003/jul/05sld1.htm

Back to my speal-every time I am here I experience such an intense desire to just stay back here---FOREVER!!! Of course that's not to say Bombay is all pretty---with pretty also comes the harsh realities. More often then not people forget that out of a billion only one is lucky to emerge as an Ambani or Tata or what not. The amount of poverty in Bombay is also more then I have seen in any of the other cities. I leave here soon but I already know I will be back soon enough---I don't think a trip to India could ever be complete without a visit to Bombay and who knows maybe someday if I am lucky enough I may find myself living here :):):)

Unexpected Rains (or so it is called by some)

It is quite saddening to see the state of affairs in Bombay in terms of government and official response to the Bombay rains. One cannot help but notice the parallel to the extremely poor response to the crisis during Hurricane Katrina. Day after day newspapers publish stories reporting the struggles of Mumbai-ites and yet none of it seems to trigger any form of response from those who have been elected to deal with these very situations...one cannot but help think of Ray Nagin and Kathleen Blanco and who not. The story here is same as there---just as Nagin and the DC Black Suits are busy pointing fingers at each other same is the case here...actually it's an attitude of sheer ignorance. The mayor just in yesterday's paper has been criticized for lack of response and yet it is apparent that come the time she (the mayor is a female---interestingly she lives in the mayoral house a bit further down in the same row as we are staying) will dismiss the lack of response to unexpected amounts of rainfall...sounds just about right. The question then becomes---what can be done about it? Who are we to sit here and blame the Mumbai-ites for not doing anything??? The same is the case in the US no??? I cannot count how many times people here have brought up Georgie Boy and asked why we elected him in not once BUT twice...do we have an answer??? No!!! Just as we sit helplessly and wonder what exactly is going on---same is the case here...