On The Way Back To Delhi...

February 14, 2014
New Delhi, India

After a relaxed morning at the hotel, we boarded the motor coach for a long ride back to New Delhi. Eleven of us would be flying to Nepal the next day, one couple was going to Amman, and the rest had flights back to the USA. While in route, an hour or two outside of Delhi, the bus had a flat tire which resulted in its hobbling to the side of the road to be fixed. This turned out to be a major project as the tire-changing equipment on board was limited and one couldn't pick up the phone to call AAA. Some locals, seeing our distress, jumped into the fray to help out our driver, his assistant, and Ajay, our glorious tour guide.

Why do I include a blog posting about this unexpected adventure...because it provided another eye-opening experience about the reality...about the paradox...that is India. As vehicles continued to whiz by while our motor coach sat out-of-commission, all of us were aghast at what we saw beyond the area along the side of the road. There was an enormous mound of trash..rather like an extended island of trash of anything and everything...and just across from this was a community of people living in make-shift huts. Actually, I wouldn't even call them huts; such was the decrepit sight in the near-distance in front of us. A group of children who lived somewhere in the heap came to stand outside of the bus..smiling, waving, and shouting hello. They were filthy and barefoot and one little girl carried a half-dressed infant in her arms who was snatched from her by an older boy; the baby to be retrieved by a shouting mother. We all watched this scene play out, fearful that the baby would be dropped, and when the infant was safe once again, there was a collective sigh of relief in the bus...and the band of children returned to wave and smile at us.

I arrived in India knowing nothing; only that I felt a need and a curiosity to visit and to learn. I left India knowing that this is a country of magic...its history, culture, traditions, and the absolute beauty of its palaces and religious monuments leave one in awe. I also left India knowing that it is a tragic place. Yes, I know this is coming from someone who has the privilege of being an American and living well, but the depth of squalor that I saw was beyond comprehension. I do not support the outsourcing of jobs and cannot count how many times my phone calls to companies have gone by way of India and the frustration I have felt when the communication was misunderstood. After this trip, have my feelings changed? Not really...and yet...perhaps these jobs are helping to strengthen a middle class that will be educated and moral enough to help eradicate the squalor...It's a daunting task that only educational programs, perseverance, dedication, and integrity will have a chance at fixing.

The images of grandeur and its sheer opposite are in my memory bank. I am not the same person I was when I arrived in India, but what I know for sure is that I want to go back. And when I do, it will be with the hope that some of those children whose beautiful smiles touched all of us will somehow have found a way out of the heap...