It is currently Navratri, a Hindu festival of worship lasting 9 nights and 10 days, celebrating the incarnations of Shakti. Shakti is meant to be the personification of divine feminine creative power, which is a cool idea...today was Rama Navami, the birthday of Lord Rama and a part of Navratri! People from work told me they couldn't sleep last night with all of the fireworks and celebrations, but it was quiet here in Jayanagar.
This morning was something like episode #980 in a long series of rickshaw drama. I hailed an auto early and gave the driver clear directions to my workplace. He insisted on taking me via a route I knew didn't make sense, and literally trailed me through the outskirts of Bengaluru, places that were beginning to look almost rural. I kept him on track, continually asking him to return to my route, and finally made him stop for directions. All in all, the journey that should have been 20 minutes costing 100 Rs, was 1.5 hours costing 250 Rs. I was not pleased when I arrived at work.
But then I was reflecting, and decided in the grand scheme of things, why does it matter? I got to see parts of Bangalore I haven't seen before, I arrived safely and who am I to begrudge someone an extra US dollar. One of my colleagues is a girl who moved from the US, where she studied at UCLA. When she got to work, I recounted my tale and we talked for a while about the difference between an American mindset and an Indian one.
When I came here, I was careful to be consciously oblivious to class. That is, I made huge efforts to be respectful to auto drivers, laundry-wallah's, etc. I let it slide when the drivers never had change, and tolerated every refusal to listen to my directions, every insistence on a longer route. I let one driver take me all the way around Lalbagh twice to run up the meter because I kind of liked seeing the murals.
And now, a few weeks in, I almost feel like things are starting to change. Of course, I'm still just as respectful. But I get frustrated with drivers denying change or running up the meter, or charging inappropriately. Whereas before, I let it slide because when converted to American money, it's really small change, now it seems like it should be about the principle of the thing. So I talked to my friend at work about it, and she offered a really enlightened perspective.
Indians seem unwilling to trust anyone. All drivers are cheats, all men are bottom-pinchers, you can't trust the police or the woman walking next to you. Keep your bags close, keep yourself closed off. Coming from the West, it seems rude not to willingly offer some degree of trust to people. After all, not everyone is mal-intentioned. In fact, those are probably the minority.
We decided there is a time and place for both opinions. That is, there are times when it is perfectly acceptable to fight for your change and insist upon a route, and times when you should check your rising blood pressure and look at it all as an adventure. Understanding the distinction between the two comes with time and is termed something like pragmatism.
She urged me not to lose my faith in humanity and turn into a hardened cynic. I can't do that, and reassured her of this. It is nice to be reminded though, that to let things go and appreciate small joys can do wonders for killing that stress bug. This topic is raised, by the way, in India Calling. The author talks about his growing impatience with servants and drivers, his increased unwillingness to let them 'get away with things'. I remind myself to be patient while not being stupid...
I forgot I had brought my lunch today, and ordered from a local place so I had double helpings of roti and sabzi! Nani had also packed some kesari, also called poori halwa (recipe in an earlier post). I couldn't figure out why she had made it but then remembered it is Rama Navami. I brought the extra rotis home so it wasn't all a waste!
I reached home early and found my camera charger, skyped my father, caught up on some reading and did a lot of small 'ordering' tasks in life. Nani and I had a wonderful long talk about religion, the new ruling in France outlawing face-covering hijabs, festivals and the importance of families. I always relish the chance to hear her perspective on things as her tolerance is inspiring. She is so understanding of differences between people and cultures. A pleasant, calm evening! Joanna got home from the climbing wall around 7 and after a lovely dinner thanks to Nani, we are settled in for the night.
This morning was something like episode #980 in a long series of rickshaw drama. I hailed an auto early and gave the driver clear directions to my workplace. He insisted on taking me via a route I knew didn't make sense, and literally trailed me through the outskirts of Bengaluru, places that were beginning to look almost rural. I kept him on track, continually asking him to return to my route, and finally made him stop for directions. All in all, the journey that should have been 20 minutes costing 100 Rs, was 1.5 hours costing 250 Rs. I was not pleased when I arrived at work.
But then I was reflecting, and decided in the grand scheme of things, why does it matter? I got to see parts of Bangalore I haven't seen before, I arrived safely and who am I to begrudge someone an extra US dollar. One of my colleagues is a girl who moved from the US, where she studied at UCLA. When she got to work, I recounted my tale and we talked for a while about the difference between an American mindset and an Indian one.
When I came here, I was careful to be consciously oblivious to class. That is, I made huge efforts to be respectful to auto drivers, laundry-wallah's, etc. I let it slide when the drivers never had change, and tolerated every refusal to listen to my directions, every insistence on a longer route. I let one driver take me all the way around Lalbagh twice to run up the meter because I kind of liked seeing the murals.
And now, a few weeks in, I almost feel like things are starting to change. Of course, I'm still just as respectful. But I get frustrated with drivers denying change or running up the meter, or charging inappropriately. Whereas before, I let it slide because when converted to American money, it's really small change, now it seems like it should be about the principle of the thing. So I talked to my friend at work about it, and she offered a really enlightened perspective.
Indians seem unwilling to trust anyone. All drivers are cheats, all men are bottom-pinchers, you can't trust the police or the woman walking next to you. Keep your bags close, keep yourself closed off. Coming from the West, it seems rude not to willingly offer some degree of trust to people. After all, not everyone is mal-intentioned. In fact, those are probably the minority.
We decided there is a time and place for both opinions. That is, there are times when it is perfectly acceptable to fight for your change and insist upon a route, and times when you should check your rising blood pressure and look at it all as an adventure. Understanding the distinction between the two comes with time and is termed something like pragmatism.
She urged me not to lose my faith in humanity and turn into a hardened cynic. I can't do that, and reassured her of this. It is nice to be reminded though, that to let things go and appreciate small joys can do wonders for killing that stress bug. This topic is raised, by the way, in India Calling. The author talks about his growing impatience with servants and drivers, his increased unwillingness to let them 'get away with things'. I remind myself to be patient while not being stupid...
I forgot I had brought my lunch today, and ordered from a local place so I had double helpings of roti and sabzi! Nani had also packed some kesari, also called poori halwa (recipe in an earlier post). I couldn't figure out why she had made it but then remembered it is Rama Navami. I brought the extra rotis home so it wasn't all a waste!
I reached home early and found my camera charger, skyped my father, caught up on some reading and did a lot of small 'ordering' tasks in life. Nani and I had a wonderful long talk about religion, the new ruling in France outlawing face-covering hijabs, festivals and the importance of families. I always relish the chance to hear her perspective on things as her tolerance is inspiring. She is so understanding of differences between people and cultures. A pleasant, calm evening! Joanna got home from the climbing wall around 7 and after a lovely dinner thanks to Nani, we are settled in for the night.
One of your best posts... love it... can see all the passion and the authenticity of the voice... great to see you this morning... my morning that is... none of this frustration was apparent then... Ram Navami - just fyi - there are open air music festivals around this time... open air... Carnatic music... some of the best singers... one more thing... Ram is Vaishnav as in an avatar of Vishnu...Shakti on the other hand is Shiva's consort... it is only incidental that Ram Navami has come at the same time as Navratri... one little pinch of hindu mythology for your quest....
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