What Kind of an Indian are You?

Having lived in the US and India, I've meet quite an array of Indian people.

I've met Indians in the US who were born and brought up there. Some have never visited India. and don't really care for anything Indian. They're happy being as American as they can.

Then there's others who visit India every so often. They love the Indian movies, clothes, etc. but would never move to India. There enjoyment of India stops at visiting and being as Indian as they can outside India.

I've met Indian who've pretty much spent most of their lives in the US but came back to India to work. Some hated it, some liked it. Of the ones who like it, maybe they'll stay, maybe they'll move back a couple of years down the road. But as long as they're living in India, they're enjoying it.

I've met Indians who were born and brought up in India and then went to the US to study or work. Some of them continue to stay there and would never want to come back to live in India - they would just come to visit their family. Some came back to India to live because they wanted to be closer to family or they just like it better back in India.

Then I've met Indians who, for some reason like the recent economic downturn, were forced to come back to India because they got laid off or something. And they absolutely hate being in India. All they want is to figure out how they get back to the US. In the meantime. all they do in India is complain about India and it's many issues (I.e., pollution, population, inefficiency, etc.).

Of all the kinds of Indians, this type of Indian bugs me the most.

A person definitely has the right to not like India and prefer the US or another country . But whether they like it or not, they were born and raised here. And whether they like it or not, they're Indian.They don't have to like it. They don''t even for a second have to pretend that they would even consider living here. But at least respect and accept it.

Improving by Comparing to the Worst

In the apartment I'm living at right now, we have a care-taker who stays there. She old - at least 70. She used to live in one of the rooms in the house. It was a small room, but she had privacy. A couple of months ago our landlord decided to renovate that room and use it for other things. So the old caretaker was given a new place to sleep - the hallway. Her bed was moved there. A divider was put between the door entrance and her new "room" -so she would have some privacy.

Once when a couple of friends were over, I made a comment on the recent shift in her "room" and how it sucked for her.

One of my friends commented "Well she has it better than a lot of other people. She could be sleeping on the streets".

Made sense... but if you only look at the worst as a sign of comparison, then how do you ever improve?

Continent Pride

As I look around at hotel names, restaurant names, bill boards, etc. in Tanzania, I noticed that there's relatively very little reference to Tanzania, and a lot more to Africa. So for example, there is a hotel called New Africa Hotel. And a lot of products when they advertise say 'Africa's Best' or 'Made for Africa', etc. Below is one example.

I was only able to get this one picture but there were lots of them for different products. In most other countries you don't see such an affiliation to the whole continent. I hardly ever see signs in India that say's "Asia's best..." or in the US that says "North America's ...". Advertising has become so local.

Not sure if this sort of a 'Continent Pride' happens in other African countries - but would love to find out!

Understading Ones Culture

They say that to sometimes understand your own surroundings or culture better you have to immerse yourself into another surrounding or culture that's not yours.

(Not sure who 'They' is here... but I think it makes sense) :)

Secret of Happiness

As I've mentioned before, people here in Tanzania are extremely nice! And it's so genuine. Everyone is always smiling and saying Karibu (Welcome) - you get a very warm feeling. I see them and wish that I could be so happy and cheerful ALL the time. So I started wondering what it is that makes them this way?

As I've been meeting people for work, the one thing that more than one person said was that overall people are very content here and they only strive enough to survive. So for example if a farmer needs 10 bags of maize for him and his family to survive for the year, he will grow that much and sit back. (There are obviously always exceptions). Then I started thinking if not having competition and ambition is the secret to happiness.

When I went to UK earlier, I went to a small town about 2 hours outside London called Wolverhampton. I met some of the nicest people as well. Small town people who were very content and happy with their life. And you could tell they were genuinely happy. Again, you got such a warm welcoming feeling from them. It was such a great change from being in Mumbai - where sometimes finding that warmth is difficult (as it is in many big cities).

So does happiness lie in simplicity? Simplicity in the way one lives and in what one strives for?

Sorry, Only for Foreigners!

I went on a safari recently in Tanzania to the Manyara National Park and to Ngorongoro Crater. Both of them were awesome but VERY expensive!
A safari for two people for say 5 days is easily $2500 (including hotel and transportation and guide for the safari) - but this doesn't include any flight tickets to get to Tanzania or inland transportation. So a trip for two could easily amount to $6000 for about 5 days or so, which I think is quite pricey. There's a lot of places one can go vacationing and find cheap alternatives but definitely not on a safari. Even if you can find cheap hotels, the jeep rental and driver is expensive (at about $200-300/day).

After the safari I started wondering, what about average local Tanzanian? Do they ever go on a safari? I doubt that they can afford it so I decided to ask our driver in Dar es Salaam, Jonas. He said that overall, the locals would like to go on a safari but it is too expensive. But during low tourist seasons, the government does have 'free' days where locals can go and enjoy the safari. But that just takes care of the entrance fees - I'm not sure about the jeep and driver. Some of the safari's require a registered car and driver (including the Serengeti if I'm not mistaken).

I'm not sure how I feel about locals not being able to enjoy their own land - but there's definitely something wrong there.

Hakuna Matata!

I think most of us know what that means because of Lion King... (and for those uneducated few who don't - it means No Problem in Swahili). Swahili is the official language of Tanzania (and Kenya).

I thought I'd write about the whole 5 swahili words I have learnt during my 2 week trip so far!
Jambo, which means Hello
Karibu, which means Welcome
Dala Dala, which I've mentioned before is the Bus
Pole Pole (pronounced Pollay Pollay) means Slow Down
Twende, which means Let's Go

People don't really say Jambo here much (except in the tourist areas!). haha. People seem to greet each other by saying Karibu. You enter a shop or even the hotel, and usually people say Karibu. They also say Karibu Sana after you say thank you. It's a word they seem to use quite freely.

And oh, that reminds me of another word I know... Asante (which means Thank You). (So that's a total of 6 now)

Asante for reading my blog!

Magnitude of a Crowd

I think you just have to be in India to really know and understand the meaning of the word. Okay, so maybe not only India, maybe Mexico City, parts of China, and a handful of other cities - but honestly, not that many places will make the cut.

As I go through Tanzania, I find it almost strange how there's no people anywhere (relative to India). I went to an apparently really busy market in Dar es Salaam, and I was like - this is what they think crowded means? They need to come to India, especially Mumbai.

I was telling our Arusha driver (Thomas) the population of India and of Mumbai, and his jaws dropped.

I guess everything in life is relative. And someone who's never been to India (or another close equivalent), will just not know what the maginitude of crowd really means.

GOOOOO Indians!

Okay, there are Indians EVERYWHERE in Tanzania. Actually not just in Tanzania, its really an East Africa phenomana. While we're going on our meetings for work, 1/2 the people we meet are Indians. We walked into this fertilizer importer company, and 90% of the employees were Indian. The women there were wearing salwar suit, bindi, etc.

Even our driver, Jonas, told us how most of the businesses in Dar es Salaam are owned by Indians.

And this is not just in Dar es Salaam; even in Arusha, At the hotel, the were playing (really bad) hindi music in the restaurant! Even our driver in Arusha (Thomas) was telling us how many of the businesses are owned by Indians.

And this is not just about the businsess. They have the following in Tanzania that I thought was interesting:
- Bank of Baroda
- Delhi Public School + other Indian Schools
- Umm... there's more... will update list as I can think of it... it's been a long day!

More on the Master and Slave Culture

Earlier I had written about how people aren't as heirachical and there isn't such a 'master and servant' culture.

Over the past couple of days I have seen so many instances that just confirms my belief in that.

Example Number 1
We met with the Director of the Ministry of Exttension Services. As he pulled up in his car, he was sitting in the front of the car on the passenger seat, while the driver was driving. In India, 99% of the people never sit in the front passenger seat with the driver (unless the back seats are taken).

Example Number 2
As we landed in Arusha (about XXX miles from Dar es Salaam and a population of about 1.5 million people), the hotel car came to pick us up from the airport. The driver's name was Thomas. He took us to the hotel and we checked-in. As I was just wandering around the hotel I noticed that Thomas, the driver, was sitting in the restaurant and chilling. Drivers in India would never be allowed to do that!

Example Number 3
Again, in Arusha at the hotel, I was chilling in the garden with my coworker and our sales agent (Jonathan) who was organizing our safari, came over. He pulled a chair, ordered wine, and sat down and chatted with us for a good hours. Travel agents in India don't do that - not because they don't want to, but more because it's not acceptable. Johnathan was also very friendly with the waiters. There just didn't seem to be an air around anyone because they were poorer, or richer, or a manager versus a waiter. Very refreshing.

I'm sure I will see more examples, but for now, this is good. :)

Another Blog

A friend of mine blogged about my proj on his blog...So thought I'd put a link here!

http://bhavito.blogspot.com/2009/09/fertilizer-in-africa-dear-friend-of.html

Early Start

People start office here at 8 am! Basically early - at least compared to India standards! I found that a little surprising to be honest. I just always thought developing countries just started later... around 9:30 am or later. I know that's a HUGE stereotype... but that's what I thought! Clearly, i was wrong.

As a sidenote- people are very friendly here, it's awesome! EVERYone says hi/hello to you and smiles. It's really nice. I like!

The Sweetest Things

I HAVE to tell you about naturally sweet the carrots and watermelons are here! It's like someone put a spoon full of sugar in it. Its absolutely yummy! I have it for breakfast every day! (Yes, carrots too!)

New Hobby!

First of all, Happy October! :)

i decided to try the local beer of Tanzania so decided to order one of them (they have a couple). And while I was fidgeting with the beer cap, a brilliant idea struck me! (Or I thought it was brilliant anyways!) :o) Why don't I start collecting beer caps from places I visit from now onwards - and only beer cap of local beer (so having Heineken here doesn't count)!

I just started yesterday... and have 2 beer caps so far: Serengeti and Kilimanjaro. For those who care to know, I prefer Serengeti over Kilimanjaro. :)

I found it!!!

What did I find?

PEPSI!!!

I was coming out of a meeting and looked to the right and there it was - a Pepsi vending machine!!! So it does exist in Tanzania! haha... I have yet to find it served in any hotel or restaurants, but a vending machine will do as proof of it's existence in Tanzania!

Where are the Two-Wheelers?

Again, comparing it to India, Dar es Salaam doesn't have a 2 wheeler culture. I don't see that many motorcycles, cycles, scooters, etc. on the road. Makes me wonder how people travel. There are of course cabs, and autos (which they by the way call 'Bajaj' here!). They also have these 'Dala dalas' which are mini-buses which most of the people take. But as far as personal transportation... not sure. I would think 2-wheelers would be the obvious cheap alternative to a car (which most people can't buy). Our driver, Jonas, told us that now the Chinese have introduced a cheap motorcycle, and many people are starting to buy it.

And the other thing I don't see here are Coffee Shops!
Sometimes between meeting we really want to grab a coffee or latte or something and we don't know where to go. There's no equivalent of a Starbucks or Barista or Costa Coffee here.

Master and Slave Culture

My coworker brought up something quite interesting, which I found to be true... We noticed that the 'poor' people here are not subservient. There seems to be a certain amount of dignity - no matter how poor or rich, there's more equality and respect. I don't think that exists in India. In India, the servants, drivers, waiters, etc. seem to think they're inferior and hence bow their head down and live. There's a very 'master and servant' culture in India...We hire people for the elevators to push the floor we want to go to, we have waiters keeping an eye on our plates so they can serve us more food as our plates get empty, etc. This is not the case here. There's no 'lift-man', waiters don't constantly fill up our plates, etc.

Also - there's more of a civic sense here. This place is not really.polluted. You don't really find trash on the road or on the beaches. Not to say that Dar es Salaam this developed city... it's not. You definitely know you're in an underdeveloped country - and one that is far more underdeveloped than even India. But, some there just seems to be a greater respect for one's surrounding (which includes other people).

I'm quite curious as to what it is in our culture that makes us so 'uncaring' where as the Tanzanian's not.

An Experiment!

I'm conducting an experiment here. My hypothesis is that Pepsi doesn't exist in Dar es Salaam (and probably all of Tanzania)!!! Everywhere I go, they only have Coke and coke products like their bottled water, Dasani. No Aquafina anywhere (Pepsi's bottled water). So for the next 2 weeks, I'm going to ask all the restaurants for Pepsi explicitly to see if they have it or not. I find it quite surprising that Pepsi doesn't exist here but... let's see!

Oh and another interesting thing. When I got a local sim card when I got there and remember asking him outgoing and incoming charges. He gave me that information in seconds! (not minutes!). So he's like it's 5 shillings per second. I was caught off guard for a min! hehe... anyways, I thought that was worth sharing!

Mud Houses and Blue Waters

Today we did sight seeing. We first went to this Village Museum. It was quite cool. It showcased the different houses of different tribes from all over Tanzania.




Then we went to this place called Sea Cliff. It was ok. It was a place where the expats in the city go for groceries... and bookstore. The view of the sea from there was stunning!

Looking out at the sea I realized that Mumbai and Dar es Salaam are both by the the Indian Ocean... but the difference in the water and beauty is at the opposite ends... Mumbai water is brown, eeky... basically, nasty! And here... it's beautiful...and pollution free! (1st picture is Mumbai, 2nd is Dar es Salaam)

I'm in Dar es Salaam!

Saturday, 26 September 2009

I landed in Dar es Salaam around 3:30pm... was at the hotel a little before 5. So as you can see, the immigration process was fast! But I would hardly say inefficient! The international airport was small... with maybe 4 or 5 terminals! Ours was the only plane there that I saw. So basically, there really wasn't much going on at the airport.

We stepped out and met our driver, who was standing outside with our names on a placard. The weather is great! It's like 31 C (90 F) but not humid... just the way I like it! :)

One of the first things that hits me when I compare to my experience of coming out of the international airport in India (Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, etc.) is how its not crowded and how its so much cleaner outside.

Just so you know, Tanzania's population is about 40 million and Dar es Salaam's is about 3-4 million. So compare it to India, that's quite small (though I find it interesting that 10% of the country's population lives in one city in the country - Dar es Salaam)

We leave the airport and head to our hotel. Some faces of poverty I guess are the same everywhere. At every light, there were children and young adolescents selling things or just plain begging (just like in India). I didn't see any deformed people though (people with limbs cut off, distorted features, etc. - you know what I mean) as you see in India... but it's only been 1 hour. Will see if that holds true.

What Country is THAT?

Saturday, 26 September 2009

I'm on my flight from Dubai to Dar es Salaam. I look outside and look down and see barren land. As far as I can see, I see barren land... no trees, no water... just dry brown land. I look 30 mins later... same thing. An hour later.. same thing. Then I wonder which country I'm over. I turn to the in-flight system and go to the map page where they show you the route and where you are. There I see which country I'm flying over: Somalia... Interesting.

For those interested, Somalia has not had a central government since 1991, so has been a state of anarchy for 18 years! You can read more about it on... where else but Wiki! Very interesting...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_Somalia

On my way to Tanzania!

Friday, 25 September 2009

I'm going to Tanzania! I'm so excited. I'll be going to Dar es Salaam, Arusha, a Safari, hopefully Zanzibar, and other places to do farmer visits, etc. I'm really looking forward to it! One of the things I'm MOST excited about is just to see what poverty looks like in Tanzania (at least from the outside and use it as a benchmark for Africa I guess) :P hehe... ya ya... i know Africa is a HUGE continent. Anyways, being from India and living there, for me it's really exciting to see what the face of poverty is like in Africa. I was in Kenya years and years ago... hardly remember it. So... lets see how this goes!

Lifetime Savings for One = A Gadget for Another

My maid, Lata, loooooooves, i mean LOVES, to talk... so in her usual chatter she told me that she's been working at this one lady's house for the past 10 - 15 years. A couple of years ago, that lady opened up a bank account for Lata and takes about Rs. 100 from her salary every month and automatically puts it in the bank account. So now Lata has savings worth Rs. 15,000. I could tell that Lata was feeling very proud while telling me that.

A couple of weeks later I bought myself a Blackberry for over Rs. 17,000. It just struck me that her life times savings is less than one transaction that I just made.

The BIG 'M' Word!

"A woman's greatest fear is giving up her identity in a marriage; all she wants is a man to share her life with, not change it..."

TOTALLY AGREE!!!

With the marriage questions looming over my head and practically over the heads of everyone I know... and as I hear what people have to stay.. .I think we all can agree that marriage asks a woman to compromise more than it does a man...

Women are expected to be everything: a good wife, a good daughter-in-law, a good daughter, someone who works but at the same time someone who's at home taking care of dinner and other household chores... The roles are unlimited...

A man just has to be that... a man...

No matter how modern, forward thinking, educated, etc. women are, we are expected to balance everything. It doesn't matter what our ambitions are... as long as we can keep it in line with our family... its ok... otherwise it's a rocky marriage... (of course you can always choose not to get married)... and no matter how modern, forward thinking, educated, etc. a man is... he expects a wife to be a wife above everything...

In the whole process... a woman is scared of losing her identity... because unfortunately it almost seems certain...

gosh that sounds depressing! but on the flip side... i do think if one finds the right partner... who understands the other's identity and can fully accept it... then everything is ok... i guess the keyword here is IF... :)

Cheers to that!

Why you shouldn't fear ghosts?

Read this on some website and thought it was quite funny! It makes so much sense!

The guy who wrote the excerpt below actually did a research paper on this! Amazing what people research...

"The idea of ghosts and spiritual beings often automatically instill fear in some people, but this need not be the case. If ghosts do indeed exist then there would still be no need to fear them, at least not any more than any living entity. If ghosts are rational economic actors then ghosts would have no incentive to severely disturb the living population as it is likely that the costs to the ghost of killing an individual outweigh the benefits. When a ghost kills an individual then that individual could then conceivably turn into a ghost and, as a ghost, annoy its phantom killer for an even longer time period than if left alive. A ghost would be much better off being annoyed by a living entity for the comparably short period of time of that person’s lifespan rather then to kill that individual and, by doing so, inducing that person to seek retribution in the afterlife. "

So... there goes my fear of ghosts! Thought I'd share this to help others deal with their fear of ghosts!

Segregation in Cuffe Parade

We all know discrimination exists. I've heard stories of how lower caste people can't enter a higher-caste temple in some parts of our wonderful country. But I've never seen or experienced segregation. That is, until I moved to Mumbai. And that too in one of the more expensive parts of town: Cuffe Parade in South Mumbai.

I had gone to check out an apartment in Cuffe Parade with a friend. He wanted a second opinion on a place he was thinking of getting. We entered the apartment complex and it was really nice. The cars parked there ranged from from Honda City to Mercedes Benz. So it was clearly a well-to-do building. We entered the building and there were 3 elevators (there's a reason I'm mentioning the number of elevators! Read on to find out...). We got into an elevator and took it to the 20th floor, where the apartment was. The apartment was huge with the most amazing sea view. I'm not sure how much it would cost to buy the apartment, but my best guess would be at least $1 million (Rs. 4 Crore). And renting it would be anywhere between $2500-5000 (Rs. 1-2 Lakhs). So CLEARLY an upscale apartment.

After we saw the apartment, we pushed the elevator button and waited for it to come so we could go down. The broker's agent was with us too. The elevator door opened and we walked in. Suddenly the elevator man stopped the broker's agent to come in. The elevator man told the agent to take the elevator to the right of us. My friend and I told the elevator man that the agent was with us and convinced him to let the agent get in our "not-for-poor-people" elevator.

On the way down, the elevator stopped on the 12th floor, and a maid was standing there waiting for the "poor-people" elevator!!! She knew she couldn't get into the same elevator as us so she just stood there while the door to our elevator shut and we continued to go down.

The whole way down I was a little shocked and was trying to figure out the stupidness that just happened.

Since then I have been trying to understand the logic and still haven't figured it out. The "poor" maid can go inside the "rich" people's houses and clean and cook and touch things around the house but she can't get in the same elevator as the "rich" people?! The driver can drive the Mercedes around and the "rich" people can be sitting right in the back seat but the "poor" driver can't get into the same elevator as the "rich" people?! The "poor" laundry man can iron the "rich" man's clothes, but can't get into the same elevator as the "rich" people?!

I thought education was a way to a more just society. I"m guessing the tenants of this apartment are educated considering its one of the most expensive locations in Mumbai, there's such outright discrimination. Have we just forgotten to notice these things?

What kind of a message are we sending the children that are growing up in that building? What kind of a psychological toll does it take on the "poor" people who are subjected to the segregation?

On this note, there's a must-watch video called A Class Divided. It is about an Iowa schoolteacher who, the day after Martin Luther King Jr. was murdered in 1968, gave her third-grade students a first-hand experience in the meaning of discrimination. It's the story of what she taught the children, and the impact that lesson had on their lives.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/divided/etc/view.html

Enjoy!