Not all things make sense to you when they first happen. They hit you but their significance is perhaps lost on you till something dawns on you and makes sense of it all.
Today, something happened that made some sense to me in more ways than one.
I met a stranger today and had an interesting conversation about India with her.
She is a German, who lived in Boston for a long time and then has moved to India. She sat there talking about her experiences in India (after we had finished a technical discussion). She had a harrowing time in India - running for papers, stamps and certificates, from pillar to post trying to build her life from the scratch. She had met people from all walks of life in her two years in India. She has had her share of problems and bad experiences but still when she spoke of India, I could see a warmth spreading over her face, a certain joy became visible, her face lit up and there was happiness there !!
All this, when I was cursing the Indian bureaucracy, the mentality of the people and the problems we all face all the time. She made me wonder what it is that she liked so much about this country of mine and I only needed to refer to my stay outside to realize the things that made India what it is.
To my mind, India is a little child in the world. She is growing. She has her tantrums, tempers and her problems but then once in while she does something so adorable that it makes it all worth it.
I mean where else in the world can you find people asking you if you were married or if you had kids or what your salary is within the first 5 minutes of your meeting them. It seems intrusive and crude but then these are the very people who inquire of your well being, offer you an umbrella in the rain or give you a kind smile on a bad day. The paperwork gets to you, so does the bureaucracy and the lackadaisical attitude of the people. The tendency to please people, the bribing, the lack of punctuality, the "chalta-hai" attitude.... these are all things I have cribbed about so many times. But then there are also these wonderful things that make you feel at home. The neighbor's stories, the incessant questions, the friendly smiles, the polite replies, the curious aunties, the naughty kids, the overflowing garbage cans, the sights and smells, the roaming cattle, the people on the streets, the colors and the ordinariness - there is something about it all that stays with you.
Far from the clean, cold, silent, dust free corridors of the western world, the activity and the people here stay with you. There is a sense of unpredictability which makes life irritating at times and exciting at others... rushing for the train, getting stuck at a traffic jam, getting caught by the police only to be let off with an apology... something that makes life in India closer to living on the edge. Instead of a world where you wont know your neighbor for the last few months, here we have people coming knocking on your doorstep with food and supplies to help you settle in (the innumerable questions also follow you but still...) !
India is like a little child! Innocent and adorable at times and irritatingly adamant at others. The people make up its soul. But she is growing up fast. Cities are nothing but brick, concrete and glass put together. The sense of community is getting worn away. Its mystic tales and old stories that have held the past woven into the present. But the this richly hued fabric is seemingly coming apart at the seams as the past is being replaced by glimpses of the future. I fear that the child will grow up soon and the innocence which makes it so special will soon be lost forever. After all, while the big guys are appreciated for their wealth, sophistication, calmness and elegance, they are also cold and it is still the charm of a eight year old that stays with you.
I hope as she enters into teens, India doesn't lose that warmth and innocence which makes her so special... I hope India remains in spirit what she always has been...
Today, something happened that made some sense to me in more ways than one.
I met a stranger today and had an interesting conversation about India with her.
She is a German, who lived in Boston for a long time and then has moved to India. She sat there talking about her experiences in India (after we had finished a technical discussion). She had a harrowing time in India - running for papers, stamps and certificates, from pillar to post trying to build her life from the scratch. She had met people from all walks of life in her two years in India. She has had her share of problems and bad experiences but still when she spoke of India, I could see a warmth spreading over her face, a certain joy became visible, her face lit up and there was happiness there !!
All this, when I was cursing the Indian bureaucracy, the mentality of the people and the problems we all face all the time. She made me wonder what it is that she liked so much about this country of mine and I only needed to refer to my stay outside to realize the things that made India what it is.
To my mind, India is a little child in the world. She is growing. She has her tantrums, tempers and her problems but then once in while she does something so adorable that it makes it all worth it.
I mean where else in the world can you find people asking you if you were married or if you had kids or what your salary is within the first 5 minutes of your meeting them. It seems intrusive and crude but then these are the very people who inquire of your well being, offer you an umbrella in the rain or give you a kind smile on a bad day. The paperwork gets to you, so does the bureaucracy and the lackadaisical attitude of the people. The tendency to please people, the bribing, the lack of punctuality, the "chalta-hai" attitude.... these are all things I have cribbed about so many times. But then there are also these wonderful things that make you feel at home. The neighbor's stories, the incessant questions, the friendly smiles, the polite replies, the curious aunties, the naughty kids, the overflowing garbage cans, the sights and smells, the roaming cattle, the people on the streets, the colors and the ordinariness - there is something about it all that stays with you.
Far from the clean, cold, silent, dust free corridors of the western world, the activity and the people here stay with you. There is a sense of unpredictability which makes life irritating at times and exciting at others... rushing for the train, getting stuck at a traffic jam, getting caught by the police only to be let off with an apology... something that makes life in India closer to living on the edge. Instead of a world where you wont know your neighbor for the last few months, here we have people coming knocking on your doorstep with food and supplies to help you settle in (the innumerable questions also follow you but still...) !
India is like a little child! Innocent and adorable at times and irritatingly adamant at others. The people make up its soul. But she is growing up fast. Cities are nothing but brick, concrete and glass put together. The sense of community is getting worn away. Its mystic tales and old stories that have held the past woven into the present. But the this richly hued fabric is seemingly coming apart at the seams as the past is being replaced by glimpses of the future. I fear that the child will grow up soon and the innocence which makes it so special will soon be lost forever. After all, while the big guys are appreciated for their wealth, sophistication, calmness and elegance, they are also cold and it is still the charm of a eight year old that stays with you.
I hope as she enters into teens, India doesn't lose that warmth and innocence which makes her so special... I hope India remains in spirit what she always has been...
1 comment:
What a beautiful metaphor for some of my favorite things about India :)
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