"If there is one place on the face of earth where all the dreams of living men have found a home from the very earliest days when man began the dream of existence, it is India." --Romain Rolland, French Scholar
It has now officially been two weeks since my first day in India, and it feels like I have lived about twelve lifetimes in that time. I have visited breathtaking monuments that attest to enormous wealth and influence while also living in the midst of the distinctly opposite. Nothing is to be expected around here, and yet I feel a familiarity with everything, as if I knew this place once. I can say with complete certainty that these have been two of the most important weeks of my life!
In India, tradition is king. It is what preserves the country's noble soul but at the same time also hinders its growth, to an extent. It also affects daily life, for example, wherein men and women are expected to cover up outside of the house as a sign of respect and yet the temperatures routinely climb to fifty degrees! You see young men wearing shoes, socks, pants, an undershirt, and a dress shirt, while women traditionally wear pants and kurtas (long shirt, typically with long or midlength sleeve) and pants. Although I do believe some of the western summer wear gets a little bit out of hand in terms of how little clothing people adopt, I must say it seems almost equally out of hand to be completely covered in fifty above. But then I can't help but continually admire the dedication to tradition, and of course it will be interesting to see what happens in the coming years with the continued pervasiveness of globalization.
One thing globalization does not seem likely to affect is Indian driving. I must say, I think my experiences on the roads here in Delhi (even as a passenger) have been some of my most exhilarating to date! Basically there are no lanes apart from the ones dividing the traffic directions (and even then, the Main Bazaar road in Paharganj doesn't have that) so cars are free to occupy every nook and cranny of a road. One is also free to change lanes whenever, wherever which means drivers must pay absolute attention, as they are frequently cut off by other drivers. Then factor in motorbikes, cyclists, and pedestrians that can weave in and out of the spaces that cars cannot fit and you have a very lively trip to work in the morning! It has become somewhat of a joke between myself and my driver that one day he is going to have me drive, and I always make sure to remind him that if that is the case, I do hope he has paid his last respects. I know I wouldn't last more than five minutes on these streets! And Saskatchewanians complain about potholes...
Another thing one must quickly become accustomed to in India, in the major cities, is what are commonly referred to as "touts". Touts are basically people who attempt to convince you to go to a certain place, be it a shopping centre, tourist information office, hotel, restaurant, etc. without disclosing that they will make commission off of you if you go. Sounds harmless enough, but touts are extremely persistent and also like to think they're quite clever. Many will open the conversation with something non-business related and walk along with you or, if they are in a rickshaw, follow you as far as they can attempting to convince you to go. Harmless, but definitely an annoyance that we are rather unfamiliar with where I'm from! Anyone back home who gets bothered by someone asking for spare change ought to know that there are worse ways to be solicited!
Though this blog is already quite lengthy, I must mention what I've been spending most of my time doing. A portion of my days has been spent at an amazing organization called Salaam Baalak Trust, where I have been teaching English to a group of boys who have grown up in the trust and now work as City Walk Guides with the SBT City Walk Program. The boys, in a nutshell, are the most inspiring people I have ever met. Though they would laugh and shake their heads at this, it's true. Each of them spent their childhood on the streets of New Delhi before coming to the trust, where they completed their education and now are beginning college or in the process of applying to college. They are freakishly focused and driven and have a passion for acquiring knowledge that is unparalleled by anything I've seen up until this point. They all speak English better than many people I know at home, and yet are adamant that they are terrible at it. One in particular chose to take his college courses in English over Hindi just so he would could master the language, and all of them are working at another language in addition to English. Many of them already speak three languages! I consistently feel inadequate, but in the best way. Every second I'm with them, I'm learning, and learning to see the world from their perspective has been one of those life lessons that I am blessed to have come across.
Though this is hardly everything, I don't want to saddle anyone with War and Peace at the moment, so I will update again within the week!
