Q8 Counseling

Writing about my recent trip to India has proven difficult.

The country is a vast array of clashing colour and diversity. Several religions intermingle as if their basic beliefs do not contradict each other. The religions here have impacted culture so deeply that it would be impossible to function harmoniously without some degree of tolerance for other people’s religious habits. People here are predominately Indian, of course, but the diversity in appearance, class and wealth creates another kaleidoscope for the newcomer to attempt to absorb.

Derelict buildings are cheek by jowl with elegant edifices of the New Millennium, of which, India claims it will be the new leader. On the roads the clashes continue with cars, scooters, buses, rickshaws and horse drawn carts all compete for each others space. I got the feeling that I was in a live exhibition of transport history rather than making my way down a city thoroughfare. There are probably more two wheeled modes of motion than any other means and their small size and manoeuvrability definitely give the advantage.

The area around New Delhi is flat and covered with many tiny farms of corn, sugar cane and rice. On the train moving north the land changes in the forest laden foothills of the Himalaya Mountains.  There is a density in the forest which is also evident in all other aspects of India that as Westerner is strange to me. Crowded places, roads, and housing squeeze the body and mind into a corner. After being in the desert of Kuwait the ever present greenery is refreshing. Many fruits and vegetables grow easily in this soil and climate which makes life (barely) sustainable for many very poor people, however pollution and ‘big business are both crowding out the land’s capacity to provide for its inhabitants.

The poverty of some is heart wrenching. Seeing people live, cook, and sleep on the side of the road or on the platform of the railway station causes me to take a reality check about my own wealth. People here are friendly but in crowded places do not seem to see each other as people but rather as obstacles to be negotiated in order to get to the next place.

The British Colonial influence is still evident. It is slightly humorous to hear the Indians use ‘proper’ English terms and grammar – proper for the colonial era, that is.

Indian food is delicious; eating with your hands is the only way to ‘take the proper taste’ but can be quite messy for a rookie. Using a fork to load your hand feels akin to the impracticality of carrying your bicycle.

Like many other resource rich countries in the world India’s social and political structures enhance the wealth of a few and deepens the abject poverty of the poor. There probably is enough wealth here for everyone but it is just not available to the disenfranchised, and outcast. India’s monetary and intellectual wealth, cultural and religious diversity and immense landscape have not yet been woven together into a fabric which adequately provides for herself. Her servitude to others for many years has perhaps hindered her progress. I do not think we have yet seen what India can do in the world. Maybe the diversity is preventing the unity or community ethos needed to care for her children. I hope that the ‘Brave New India’ which is growing economically will also grow inwards towards caring for the less fortunate.