Time to say goodbye to India...
My time out here has been amazing - 6 weeks of work and pleasure. my fam out here has treated me like a king - or actually better than a king...india is one of those places where no matter where i am, i feel at home. sitting in the train, flying, being in Mumbai or being in Ujjain. Either place is home. Travelling to the villages and seeing the simpler side of life and living in the big cities where people move like they are in america - home. india is a place that will always be in my heart...even if i don't live out here...
so here you go - this is my last blog from here - india to me is many things. it is a cell phone and E-Chopal for the rural famers where they have access to market prices in order to sell their goods. it is a place where information technology and technology in general is booming and is everywhere. cell phones, portable phones, satellite phones, internet via satellite connections, etc - they have it all - but the roads, oh my the roads. you can call someone in a village, but during monsoon, you might as well forget about seeing them. as much as they have via technology infrastructure, they are lacking in basic infrastructure. roads, sewage systems, electricity, etc. are not constructed and people don't have full access to even the basic needs. you will see a local farmer going around with his BSNL or Reliance mobile phone - but when you look at his home he might not have running water and the road to get to his home might be a dirt (mud when the monsoon rains hit) road. india is a place where everything is governed by the religion and the politics. there is rich culture and heritage here. india is a place where i can go into a town, tell people my last name and they will recognize who i am. in indore, where most of my family is from i walked around the streets and if i mentioned who my grandparent's were, people would stop and stare and say "you are his grandson" then shake my hand and walk away with a smile. not before telling me more about my grandfather or grandmother...amazing...
india to me is a country that is rich in resources - there is so much going on out here that it blows your mind...people are everywhere - you can't throw a stone far without hitting someone, in any direction. on the streets you will see everything - not in mumbai as much, but in the smaller areas. in fact, in big headlines in Ujjain the news paper wrote, that they are finally placing a ban on elephants on the public streets - they say they cause traffic jams...what about the cows, water buffaloes, pedestrians, dogs, goats, and bicycles? don't they cause traffic jams. on the roads here you will find all walks of life - there is nothing that isn't allowed on the road - really. to drive out here is a test of patience and how alert you are. if you take your eyes off the road for one second, anything could happen. india is a country of organized chaos. i don't understand how they do things out here. someone how the country is moving forward...
i have come up with an appopriate analogy of india...here they have "bhel ghadi's" - which are cow driven carts - here india has place the cart in front of the cow and on the cart is a fully ACed room nicely built with internet, mobile, cable, etc. and you still have the same cow behind to cart, with the same ol' wheel...and some how this cow is able to move the cart forward - how, no one knows. like that statue in Ujjain who drinks alcohol - where it goes no one knows...remind me to tell you the story later, it is quite amazing...
india is a place where so much happens - the fluidity of this country is mind-blowing...don't plan out here, just go with the flow - you need patience...planners out here would be hurting...such is the country...
religion - oh my...the people here are spiritual - everyday is there is a festivity, there is always something going on. in Ujjain, the number one profession was being a pundhit or a priest - here there are mala's being sold on a daily basis and prasad is given everywhere...it is a big business here - so much that the Internal Tax department is now looking at big donor's for mandal's (religious associations) across mumbai - i tell you if you see some of the extravegences that they do for some of the festivals, you would be amazed - better than most weddings in the states...
india is family - it is my roots. it is the place where i have come from and will always be associated with. i have learned more about my background being here for the last 6 weeks than i could have ever learned - people shared stories about my parent's, grandparents and other family members...it is to me a place that i will always look to and know, that is where i am from...
india to me is a home away from home - the states is my home, that is where my immediate roots are...mom, dad, rahul and now the newest addition to our family tara (my sister-in-law) - india to me is no longer a forgein country that is just for my parents, india to me, is now me...
i leave for the states - where i will be thrown back into the mix of everyday life. i leave behind memories and established relationships. i leave behind smiles. i take with me everything and more. i wish i could give back to all those that have given to me while i have been out here. but i will be sure to pay back twice over...
thanks to sharad bhai and sujata bhabiji for putting up with me for a month. i can't forget choti rani - or jhini - at to the rest of my family for opening their doors, emptying my suitcases of american goods and filling them up with all that is india...
till later...
posted by ravi @ 11:24 PM
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