Fourteen hours and three stops from Cleveland — six hours in Mumbai before we caught our canceled flight to Bangalore and had our first four-hour visit with Mithra Foundation. We are in Bangalore ensconced in a spare guesthouse in the northern suburb of Lingarajapuram.
It has just rained and we are being treated to a cool Bangalore night. Some thoughts:
I have read and heard many a time that India is a nation of contrasts. Saying this is one thing, but experiencing is another. All your five senses and mind are numbed with contrast, dichotomy, and contradictions.
The most visible contrast is the commonly known juxtaposition of wealth and poverty: a beautiful airport, a swank car co-exists next to a father standing by his naked son as we drive by a slum in the light rain of a Bombay evening. Women and children beg for food as we drive up to a stop on a newly paved road in our fuel-efficient shiny car. Information technology, banking, and luxury goods ads are everywhere. So too are posters advertising English classes (more on this later).
The contrast between the finished and the unfinished: swank residences and five-star hotels pepper the muggy sky line; unfinished flybys, overpasses, and buildings.
Smells: mothballs, fried food, incense from the temples, burned rubber, sweat, wet concrete, mud, and putrid water all hit us as we speed by, run misled to a new terminal, or stand still.
Indians accommodate Nepalese, Japanese, Americans and Congolese tourists with stray cows, dogs, cats, chickens, autorickshaws, incessant beeping and general chaos.
Spicy dosas, buttery naans, the tart juice of an Indian lemon (unlike the lemons we get in the US), stiff but uninteresting instant coffee, fruits which beckon to us, and oily cutlets.
A substantial dinner for $2 and a linen suit for $120, 20 feet from each other.
Warm and generous hosts ready to offer a helping hand to weary travelers. A long and heartfelt conversation with people dedicated to breaking the vicious cycle of poverty through empowerment.
Such are the first impressions of a man ready to go to bed. More serious stuff to come.
Reading this really makes me wonder if you are an English professor in hiding. Hurray for liberal arts 🙂
You write so well Prof. Moledina! That was a brilliant description. Almost every foreigner that visits the country is first struck by the contrasts they see right outside an international airport, just as you described. What’s amazing is that I learn so much more about my country from foreigners, it gives me a chance to see it from multiple perspectives. I went camping for the 4th of July weekend, and seems like I’ve missed a chunk of your trip just being away from civilization for 3 days. I’m really excited to read the next few entries. Glad to know that first impressions were so profound (and good, it seems).
Already fascinated by the first post from India. I think about how the students will react to this dichotomy, living and working in it every day. Good luck with your busy schedule. I look forward to more posts.
great glimpse! i can’t wait for more!
laura