My India Trip - II

I was in India during February 2011 to attend my nephew’s marriage.  It was a truly modern yet traditional union between two beautiful young people and their families.  The groom and the bride “met” on Internet, their mutual interest and attraction grew, they met, the families met, priests were engaged, venues were booked, transportation arrangements were made, and the result:  a wonderful wedding spread over two States, attended by family from the U.S., Australia, and Singapore. 

While taking a break from the euphoria of this wedding and all the reunions, I managed to take some side-trips from Hyderabad.  These are some thoughts regarding my forays in and out of Hyderabad.  You will probably notice immediately that most of it is griping.  But then all trips to India are like that; Yin and Yang, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, black and white, fun and frustration.  Happy and fun to see the family and friends, visit places either you didn’t know existed or couldn’t afford to visit when you were growing up in India, depressed and angry because nothing ever seems to change, especially the bad and depressing things like the political goondaism, corruption, dust, the garbage, open sewer lines, the depressing banks and post-offices, and the nothing-ever-works syndrome.  Sure there are more designer Malls, fast-food restaurants, and expensive cars.  But basically, nothing ever seems to change.  Another way to put it is: the more things change, the more they stay the same.

If nothing ever changes, then why am I bitching about it, you may ask.  First of all, Indians in India are probably resigned to the fact that nothing will ever change in their life time, so they learn to live with it, kind of go with the flow.  However, when I visit, I am there only for about a month, during which I enjoy, suffer, and feel entitled to bitch about a lot of things, knowing it doesn’t do any good, but after living 43 years in the U.S.A. you sort of hope that may be things will change a little.  But mostly it feels good to get things off my chest.

GREAT NEWS!  After years of research and a few million dollars spent on experimental models, a team of Civil Engineers and Transportation experts discovered the causes and the cure for DUST in Indian towns, cities, and highways.  It turned out the cause and the fix is very simple.  PAVE THE WHOLE DAMN ROAD!!!  Does anybody understand why we leave 3-feet unpaved on each side of the tarred or paved roads?.  At first I thought it is part of the built-in Indian graft / bribery / and black money scheme, where when you get the contract to build a paved road, it is customary you leave 3-feet unpaved on both sides to pocket that money.  But I don’t think anybody would complain if 3-feet on each side of the roads in included in this scheme.  I get the feeling that nobody actually thinks about it or concerned about it.  We have done it this way for as long as anybody can remember, so it has to be right.  This dust is like an uncontrolled cancer; you know it is there but nobody seems to be able to do anything about it.  Millions of Indians are breathing this pathogen borne dust everyday of their lives, every time they go out.    It makes me sick just thinking about it.   Apart from health concerns, a psychological downer associated with this dust is to see trees and beautiful lush green leaves covered with dust, except may be for a day after a rain.  When you go to any western country or advanced Asian countries like Singapore you see no dust because they PAVE THE WHOLE DAMN ROAD!!! 

Random Thoughts on Ajeebi Hyderabad

My trip to India – 2011

Part - 1

Random Thoughts on Ajeebi Hyderabad

The more things change, the more they stay the same, it seems.  Except in Hyderabad, where they seem to slide backwards. It seems like one continuous downhill ride since Mr. Naidu’s regime.  Shopping Malls, Schools, and colleges without adequate parking facilities, garbage, ruts and dust everywhere, unruly traffic with hapless traffic police, daredevil two-wheeler drivers carrying families, nobody wearing helmets.  But a couple of things particularly grind on me.

Khairatabad Flyover:  The fact that transportation and mobility is one of the primary requirements for a country’s progress, as is evident in all the western nations, is indisputable; except, may be in India.  When consummate idiots design flyovers and total morons approve them (understood, there are factors other than functionality involved, but there is no excuse for such gross disregard for the needs and convenience of the public), the result is a non-functional monstrosity such as the Khairatabad flyover.  You would think it is a given that the basic need and purpose for a flyover is to FLY OVER the busy traffic junctions to facilitate the movement of long distance traffic. But Noooooo! not in Hyderabad, and certainly not with the Khairatabad flyover, which descends and terminates at a major junction of five roads called the Khairatabad circle, among the busiest in the twin cities.  It would be amusing, if it were not for the fact that it is pathetic, to see traffic backed up and at a stand-still over the entire overpass. Enough said.

Hi-Tech City, Gatchibowli – Growth, commuting, and traffic:  Information Technology has brought economic boom and explosive growth to Hyderabad.  Development of the Hi-tech city / Madhapur, Gatchibowli and beyond, while I suppose is a matter of pride for the City and the State, have brought a plethora of woes to the working people.  While it is accepted that their work schedules are a little twisted due to fact that they have to be in touch via live communication with their counterparts in USA and other countries, and while most of these people consider themselves lucky to have jobs that provide decent salaries and benefits, the two-hour each way commute is inexcusable. It is highly disruptive of family life, and not conducive to any social life.  True, that area reminds one of South Bombay, but it comes with the same immobility of traffic and other woes as of Mumbai.

Enough of my griping.  Let me digress and talk about the 71^st Annual Industrial Exhibition here in Hyderabad.  It is a cornucopia of contrasts, a veritable combination of misery and treat at the same time.  Once you go past the “No Guns and Ammunition allowed beyond this point” warning, and pass the frisking by the security at the gate, you are suddenly faced with the overwhelming task of negotiating the mass of humanity in every direction.  Actually you don’t need to move.  Try to stand still and the people will kind of “carry you along” the countless narrow lanes, lined on both sides with shops, and gullies terminating in food stalls.  The merchandise offered is of mind boggling variety and quality; it is all overpriced and begs for haggling.  If you are adept at haggling and enjoy it, welcome to heaven.

Of course, it is not all paradise.  The dust and tons of trash on the ground is everywhere. Just don’t look down! You are OK if you are oblivious to what you are walking on.  Then, on the bright side, there is the customary must-have street food: spicy American Sweet Corn, Chilli Bajjis, Sugarcane Juice, and Lassi Falooda. 

But the most astonishing reality of this entire escapade is the Hindu – Muslim mix in the crowd, which is just about fifty-fifty.  Muslim families with women observing different levels of modesty reflected by their garb ranging from burqa or hijab to modern Salwar Kameez, mixing with Hindu families,  everybody eating the same food, everybody haggling and buying the same stuff.  Let me ask you:  Where in the world would you encounter an Iyengar Idly corner, right next to Bade Mian Halal kabab house?  Just think of the exciting possibility:  Steaming Iyengar Idlies on the same plate with Halal Chicken Tikka Kabab!  Best of the two worlds!!

The whole exercise suddenly gives you a rather tentative yet tantalizing view of the possibilities of

Co-existence.  A teasing and fleeting glimpse of what could be.  The motto “Live and Let Die” might have been a catchy James Bond Movie title, but a simple realization of “Live and Let Live” is in order today; judging from the exhibition, and what is happening all over the middle-east today, it need not be an impossible dream.

Aisee gujartee hai hayat-e-hyderabad!