January 16, 2023
Dispatches from The Tail End of Week Two
We’re two weeks in India now, settling in to our first expedition outside Bangalore. Thursday played out as most days have so far: early start, late finish and many hours bouncing, weaving and honking our way up and down chaotic Indian roads in a trusty Tempo Traveler. It was another long day and as the sun sank below the horizon, I sensed the sunny disposition of our cohort sink along with it as the van chugged through the hazy darkness towards our home for the night. Nevertheless upon arriving to the hotel, we cast aside the day’s frustrations, threw some tables together and commenced breaking bread while sharing our experiences from the day. It is good to be traveling with good people.
Friday, however, promised something different. We had a late start and a lazy breakfast at our hotel situated on a beautiful stretch of the Kaveri River. The schedule was light: a small jaggery production facility, a temple, lunch, a group discussion and finally the sweet, sweet weekend. I love the weekend. Back home, I have an almost religious devotion conducting no work or school during the most precious time of my week. But this week, I broke my own rule. Or perhaps should I say India broke my own rule?
The final moments of discussion on Friday kicked off a weekend-long reflection on my experience with India thus far. Some reflection focused on the tangible, “What have I seen/heard/smelled? What have I done? Who have I met?”, while some reflection waded into questions I don’t think I’m qualified to answer. “Why are things the way they are? Is that question even answerable? Who am I to think I can achieve even a tiny fraction of the understanding necessary to make an impact here?” Rather than make a fool of myself producing sweeping generalizations and uninformed theories in the pursuit of answering the harder questions, I’ll stick with my major ‘whats’ so far.
India is bursting with life and is sensory chaos. Visually it is extremely stimulating. Vibrant colors and adornments cover almost every square inch of the urban fabric. Buildings, vehicles, sidewalks, walls, hand-carts all sport colorful and technical visual customizations. Vegetation shoots out from any available crack, crevice or opening. A nearly endless array of animals occupy both urban and rural spaces. The streets are teeming with people going about their day. The air is pungent. Cooking food, incense, wood fires, flowers, gas fumes and waste make up just a fraction of the kaleidoscope of scents wafting through the air everyday. It is rarely quiet: horns, motors, yelling, barking, whistles (oh the whistles), sirens come from every direction. Traffic is disorganized and chaotic. People are just doing what they’re doing, everywhere, all the time.
Every item occupying the public space seems to be just a little bit broken. Everywhere you look, sidewalks, buildings, cars, trucks, buses, light poles, retaining walls, roads, fences, bathrooms, street signs, handrails, civil infrastructure and more show signs of damage or deferred maintenance. It’s no wonder the Indian people seem to favor concrete and steel for nearly everything in the built environment. Things get broken and not always is someone coming to fix it. The solutions that you see working are often simple and durable and serve their purpose even when just a little bit broken: the auto rickshaw, the concrete electric pole, the stone sidewalk.
And finally, as Parikrma founder, Shukla Bose, stated during our visit, India is a very promising place. The BMS students, our NGO partners, the small business owners and many other individuals we’ve met in our travels have all been generous with their time and eager to engage with us. The pride they exude in their work, studies, way of life and their country has been inspiring. Sure, India may face a dizzying array of complex challenges. It also seems like there are a lot of obstacles in the way of addressing those challenges. But at the end of the day, people are making it happen here everyday. Rules and regulations don’t seem to make a difference. It’s the people who make the difference in India. And so far, the people I’ve met and the things I’ve seen give me great optimism about India’s future.
So what? Now what? Have my observations gotten me closer to my goals? How can I expect to have an impact on such an overwhelmingly complex place? How can I find a solution simple and durable enough to last? How can I enlist the power of the Indian people to guide me towards a solution that makes sense to India? To be determined.
