"I Liked It"

I’m trying to savor my last few days in India; returning smiles and giving my best “Nemaste” to the dozens of strangers who greet me each day, indulging in the amazing flavors concocted by the food stalls that line every street, and attempting to capture in pictures the unique blend of modernity and tradition found on every corner. I’ve been in India for almost five months, but in some ways I’m not ready to go – there are still large regions of the country that I have yet to visit and countless foods and activities that I have yet to try. Of course that just gives me an excuse to return. The polluted and frenzied streets of Bhopal will not be missed, but overall I would be very happy to spend another five months in India, especially if I could travel north to the Himalayas. Next time . . .

Of all the destinations on my itinerary, I think India caused my family and friends the most anxiety, and it’s no mystery why. India doesn’t get into the news unless 1) they are on the brink of nuclear war with Pakistan 2) there was a major natural disaster 3) a famine or disease kills thousands. Positive information about India rarely makes it into the headlines, but despite its many problems and ever-present poverty, India is a wonderful, and safe, place to travel.

The perfect example of India's relative safety is my nightly outing to the vegetable market here in Bhopal. For the past few weeks it has been stupid-hot (40 degrees C = 104 degrees F), so during the day I try to stay in the shade, preferably with a fan nearby. I don’t venture out into the streets until after dark, around 7 or 8, when the unforgiving sun has disappeared and the air has cooled to a tolerable temperature. To get to the fruit and vegetable market, I walk through the surrounding “bustees” (a.k.a. slum, but that term seems like a really insulting way to refer to people’s homes and neighborhoods). I walk alone, obviously a rich foreigner, through some of the most economically depressed areas of the city. I feel very safe because I have been reassured by many locals that there is no threat of random or violent crime in the area and because the streets ARE safe. This lack of crime isn’t due to any police presence actually I’ve never seen a single policeman in the neighborhood (which puts me more at ease because the police are notoriously corrupt). The area is safe because the streets are not controlled by criminals, but by the community as a whole. They don’t have a formal neighborhood watch program like in American suburbs, but that is exactly what they do to the same effect. If someone was to attempt to mug or attack me, people wouldn’t shut themselves in their homes and call the police, they would take matters into their own hands. Of course would-be criminals know this, which is why they don’t even try. While I’m walking around at night, I see old ladies and children walking alone – a sure sign that things are safe. I can’t imagine walking alone in most economically depressed inner-city neighborhoods in the US. Even driving through some of these neighborhoods at night is a dangerous proposition because the streets are controlled not by families or the community leaders, but by youth who are predisposed to crime. I don’t mean to sound prejudiced against American inner-city youth, but rather to make the point that inner-city poverty does not necessarily equate crime.

The most poignant aspect of this distinction between inner-cities in the US and “slums” in India is that the poor Indians who ensure my safety on the streets are suffering due to an American company which poisoned them and then refused to provide compensation, not the mention the suffering caused by the incessant economic exploitation that I’ve already railed on in numerous posts. They have every right to be angry at a rich white guy walking down their streets, but I have not once encountered even a hint of rudeness or confrontation. Also, unbelievably, in five months here I have only been noticeably overcharged ONCE – and this is out of countless daily transactions all over the country. Of course more people tried to get some extra out of me, but a little bargaining always brought the price down to a fair level. The rest of the world, especially the ‘developed’ world of the West, can learn a great deal from India about hospitality, honesty, and forgiveness.

Another reason why I love India can be summed up in one word – diversity. Few other countries have the diversity of landscapes found in India; vast deserts in Rajasthan, dense jungles in Tamil Nadu, majestic mountains in the North, the unique backwaters of Kerala, and impeccable beaches in Goa. The US may have a comparable amount of geographic diversity, but it is no match for India’s cultural, linguistic, and religious diversity. It is only through the history of colonization by the British that India exists as one country – within India are hundreds of regional cultures with their distinct religion, language, and traditions. There are literally hundreds of different languages spoken here and only English, and to some extent Hindi, operate as a national language. India is better thought of as a continent, such as Europe, with diverse languages and distinct cultures, except Europeans probably have more in common with one another than Indians do, especially in regard to religion. In fact, all major world religions have a major presence in India – Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Christianity, and Islam – and three out of those five began here. For someone who spent the first 20+ years of his life in a mono-cultural, racially homogenous, Christian dominated region of US, India is simultaneously fascinating and overwhelming.

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I have already been asked, and expect to get asked more in the future, the obvious question, “what do you think of India – did you like it?” My answers up to this point been evasive because I thought it was presumptuous to give a thumbs-up or thumbs-down on an entire continent – there are things about India I like and things I don’t like. Now, as reflect on how incredible it is that a country containing a billion diverse and mostly impoverished people continues to function as a democracy, I feel confident giving a much more simple answer: “I liked it”.