My India, After 10 Years (Part 2)

By Jorge Freyer, Guest Author

India is not operating in chaos, but has a social fiber that allows it to function in what would seem chaos to us. What would be intolerable to us is accepted in India. There are social rules, especially when it comes to couples in public places, but leave to the movies to come within millimeters of violating these rules, and still remain “safe”.

Just like traffic. In the two weeks I spent in traffic, I did not hear a single harsh word between drivers. In the West we tend to approach life with high expectations, and if something does not happen, well “we are not going to take it”. The only time I heard a harsh word is when I was about to leave for the UK. The plane boarding procedures were complicated to say the least. But no one complained nor followed the procedures, except for a few Britons that would not tolerate that sort of inefficiency. The locals just smiled and moved on.

There is also certain innocence in India that hopefully will never go away. When the taxi driver asks for a little more than the standard fair, he does it with a smile as if saying, “I know it is a bit more than what I charge but I think you can afford it and I can surely use a bit more money”.

The respect for the elder is also a deep Indian tradition that I hope will never change. At the tarmac in Mangalore, an older gentleman was struggling with his carry on. It must have been 40 degrees C. A ground crew lady grabbed the bag from the gentleman and with a big smile carried it 200 meters to the plane. These experiences make it hard to leave India and return to the somewhat socially sterile conditions of the US.

India is not an idyllic place. The weather is harsh, inefficiencies abound, and examples of intolerance and injustice can be seen from time to time. However, India operates in what I would describe as an externally hectic and unruly, but internally peaceful state. The value is in the interaction with other people rather than material objects. It is as if India made a choice between the outside and the inside. It is a cultural characteristic that has survived for centuries in spite of multiple invasions and decades of British occupation. Will it survive as India transitions over the next 20 years?

(to be continued) [Part 1]

This segment is part 2 in the series : My India, After 10 Years
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