9-Month Anniversary: Sometimes, I Don't Know Why I Like India So
 Autorickshaw |  Fish stall |  Girls in Sunday best |  Riding sidesaddle |
Sometimes, I don't know why I like India so.
It's messy and chaotic. It has smelly open sewers and a billion people, most of whom stare at me as I walk down the street. It has beggars who tug at my arm and grown men who pee and spit their way through the city. It has autorickshaw drivers who drive me insane (pun intended) and pushy shopkeepers who insist "madam, madam, I will show you beautiful pashminas" as I walk by their stores. It has breathtakingly beautiful beaches defiled with human waste. It has enticing mountains of fruits and vegetables, crawling with flies. Its plastic-bag garbage breaks my heart.
And yet.
It moves me. Bright-eyed schoolchildren, in colorful uniforms and with hair neatly braided, who giggle and cover their smiles shyly with their hands. Inquisitive strangers who say hello on the street. Generous, caring friends who treat me like family. Intelligent, passionate, and vibrant work colleagues who make me look forward to each work day. |  |
And it mesmerizes me.
Autorickshaws squeezing into spaces barely big enough for a bicycle. I catch my breath in wonder as motorcycles, pedestrians, and bicycles dart in and out of traffic. The thousands of people who gather at the beach every Sunday afternoon, staring off into the ocean. They stare at the ocean, and I stare at them: what are they all thinking/seeing? The soothing sound of the waves that lulls me to sleep each night. Lovely women in colorful saris who manage to look graceful riding sidesaddle on a motorcycle. The throngs of devotees congregating at temples each day.
And it makes me smile.
Where else would I see a goat squeezed in between two humans on a motorcycle? Or have a security guard at work greet me each morning with a snappy salute? Or see cows ambling down the street in between the cars, motorcycles, and pedestrians? Or have an entrepreneuring young man with a bubbly smile who delivers water, the newspaper, and my favorite pound cake to my door at 7 am every day, ask cheerfully each morning, when he sees me set off for work: "You are off to duty, then?"
Maybe this is what having a child is like? They're messy, and unruly, and they drive you crazy. They make you scream with frustration and wear you out. But every parent says they wouldn't have it any other way.
At this 9-month milestone (hmmm...there's that child theme again?) this is the India that is under my skin.
 Temple |  Beach vendor |  Element K rowers |
Being a chennaiite(thats what we call ourselves) since birth, I could
actually correlate you observation (Autorickshaws squeezing into spaces
barely big enough for a bicycle) with a tamil slang "Cycle gapla auto
ooturathu" which literally means "Trying to drive an autorickshaw through
the gap given for a cycle". Through this piece, you have captured the
spirit of chennai and indeed the spirit of India !! :-) Something that even
we as Indians take for granted..Brilliant piece basia...has stirred a
lurker like me to comment!! :-)
- Ramadas
Ramadas S [ramadas_sh@yahoo.com]
Basia, I understand what u mean. Because 99% of Chennai people doesnt know
how clean Rochester,NY is. We started our life with this and living with
this as it is what granted.
We do have all rules and laws about keeping public place neatly. But we are following the rules what our parents, neighbours followed (becuase they never followed any). That is the reason why it is so messy. If you alone following those rules and cleaning the street and all.. we usually call them as MAD, lost his mind.
Another reason.. Every day chennai's population increase like anything. But no improvements in facilities. They are way behind it.
Simply.. YES, We got used to it. and Enjoying it (???!!!!!)
Shan
Hello Shan,
hI Basia, feels really good to read your posts and know how much you love
india. I was born and raised in India and have been living in Canada for
the past two years. I can really connect with everything you are saying.
India is like an uncut diamond. To recognize and see its beauty, you have
to travel all over the world....Keep up the good work !!
I've been living in India (Hyderabad) for 18 months and writing my own
blog. It's been a hard year and a half and I've struggled, both on paper
and in my heart, to understand and say exactly what you have here. THANK
YOU. It's a beautiful post. I'm printing this and taping it to my
refrigerator so on days when I'm literally tearing out my hair, I'll be
able to get a little perspective. Hope you don't mind, but I've linked
another of your posts on my blog, www.karmainthecity.blogspot.com. I'd like
more people to read what you have to say!
Jenny: Hi Jenny, welcome to the blog. I'm glad to hear that my
thoughts resonate with you. I'll be sure and check out your blog-
Basia, I've read much of your blog today, but this post in particular was
beautiful. You have captured so many of the contradictions that are India,
and these are the reasons that made me fall in love with it .