Yatra, Zimbly Zouth

My cousin recently hinted that I needed to blog a lot more on my travels than wax eloquent on the state of the nation. S, I'll oblige, quite happily! Work took me to Andhra Pradesh (AP) and Tamil Nadu (TN) last month - yes, yes, I know, *not* the best time. But heat and humidity notwithstanding, it was a very 'warm' visit.

Traveling across India is a fairly unique experience: its at once overwhelming, overcrowded  (for the most part) and at times overbearing. However, what's omnipresent is a sense of genuine hospitality and belonging; right from the humble village lady who offered us a home-cooked meal to the luxury hotel staff who went out of their way to make us comfortable. It didn't matter that I had not visited those regions earlier or that I spoke neither of the local languages...there's a familiarity in the everyday surroundings and happenings: from the ubiquitous chaiwallah to the coconut seller to the barber in his makeshift workspace on the pavement to the utterly unproductive task of a municipal corporation employee sweeping away at a busy street intersection (the Rozgar Yojana on display, if you will) to the numerous street dogs who just know the perfect spot to catch a nap on a hot and dusty afternoon to mothers everywhere hurriedly ferrying their children to the school auto / bus and back home.

Then there's comfort food. As much as I adore my ceviche, injeras, sushi and prosciutto with melon, this I will confess: bad Indian food is still way better than bad food anywhere else. Maybe its the intoxicating aroma of the cooking oil and ghee or the fact that most of us live to eat. Or just the fact that for a vast majority of the population, there is still no substitute to actually cooking a meal from scratch. It unites strangers (picture a roadside dhaba where truckers congregate to break bread after a long day), it brings family together, even provides fodder for budding romance! Even I, who do not normally enjoy a meal of rice, tucked into the Hyderabadi biryani, the bisi bele bhaath and curd rice with gusto on this trip. I suppose, in India, there's comfort in food.

Although we didn't spend much time in either of the metros Hyderabad or Chennai, I liked what little I saw. Hyderabad has a spectacular new airport with a very efficient connector toll road to take you right into the city. For years, most roads in South India have been better than those in other states and the newer highways are built like international roadways. Now if we could only find a way and a reason to clear the filth and garbage at a macro level, our cities would look so much more presentable and would definitely be more 'livable'. Chennai feels like an older city, with a stronger colonial hangover than Hyderabad and quite different from the Rajdhani with its brashness and over-the-top show-and-pomp requirements. In many ways it reminded me of Pune - the traditional stronghold that one senses and sees - mogra gajraas, silk sarees (yes, indeed, even in 40c+ weather), the many old (Anglo) colleges and educational institutions, lots of female drivers on the roads and sadly, horrendous traffic patterns.  Disclaimer: I do not wish to imply that there is any correlation whatsoever between the gender of the driver and the utter lack of traffic structure :-)

I need to write more about my visits to the rural areas in the states...next post on this for sure!

Each One Teach One

We've all probably heard these before....each one, teach one / when you educate a man, you educate a person; when you educate a woman, you educate a family. Well, after seeing so many rural women in India get trained on basic writing and math skills and in turn getting more empowered and self-confident and taking charge of their household finances and other key decisions in the past few months, I've been meaning to attempt the same within my own little community. Yesterday, out of the blue, my cleaning lady asked me simply, is today the 30th? I replied in the affirmative and then asked her if she knew whether this month had 31 days or not. She didn't have a clue! So I decided that this was the moment for me. My moment to teach one and I thought I should get her started with reading numbers and interpreting a calendar.

As an aside, I refrain from calling her my "maid" because she is so much more..she's one of the first persons I meet most mornings: a hardworking young Bengali lady, unfailingly punctual, honest and trustworthy, with a smile on her face and genuine affection for our cats (yes, that is very important :-)), ready to start her job, sadly, for not a whole lot of money. In spite of paying her  'significantly above-market' fees, praising her for her work and offering her paid leave (much to the chagrin of some of my neighbours, who chided me for 'spoiling' her), I still think we vastly underpay our hired help. Too much supply? Perhaps. That's only because of the lack of opportunities in the regions of their origins. I suspect I learn a little bit from her everyday - about tolerance, humility and living within one's means. About being calm in the face of adversity and sharing joys and sorrows. Maybe she's actually the teacher and I the student.
Back to my role as the teacher. Why the humble calendar? Its a ready reckoner for so many possibilities. I would like her to keep track of her own monthly activities, income and expenses, important dates and events. I want her to create milestones for herself and her family, which she can then record. I wish I could get her to remember her birthday, but that, unfortunately, is not a day worth taking note of for her or countless others like her. She tells me she's probably around 35 and already a grandmother of an 18-month old boy. That's right, its the same old story: she was married off at 14, became a mother at 16 and has repeated the cycle with her own daughter. I want her to eventually manage her own time and not be a slave to the demands of everybody else on her time.

Today is May 1st and its celebrated as Labour Day in India. So I will dedicate this post to all our hired help who make life so very easy for us and to hired help everywhere. May they get all the dignity they deserve.