India – Commingling of Past, Present and Future!!

           No matter how much you believe in the ‘India story’, one thing is for sure, Mumbai airport still stinks…literally!! But story outside the airport is full of confidence and promises. ‘India has changed’ will be an understatement.

            Past decade has really changed the psyche of the Indian’s. I think now Indians have started believing in themselves. You see the confidence on the face of the recent graduate. Gone are the days when a student was scarred to graduate for he/she will have to face the nightmarish reality of standing in the long queues of prospective job interviews, if they were lucky enough to be called. Now, the job demands are almost outstripping supplies of the graduates, thanks to the booming economy.

            For the limited travel that I have done, I can say that India is the only place where the past, present and future lives side by side. You still see bulls dragging the carts, on the road full of pot holes, right next to an Audi A6. You see people getting lunch from the Thai restaurant and sipping tea from a roadside tea stall the next moment.

            Its true that India’s social fabric is still broken, but as far as the ground realities are concerned, I think India is the most tightly held society in the world. India might not have the ‘911’ emergency service, but they do have neighbor’s who care for each other 24/7. They might be lacking AAA road side assistance, but they do have friends who are always on call. Agreed, just like any other developing society there are still some shortcomings which cannot be ignored or presented nicely in a poetic way, because they are real problems which have to be solved. But hey, they know how to live life. They know when to stop in the race of life and take a deep breath to enjoy that moment. No matter how big socio-economic problems they have a win in a cricket match against Pakistan, will lift the BSE Sensex the next day.

            India…is just different. It’s not a country but a huge diverse, community. They might get Wal-Mart’s and Reliance Fresh, but they will always love to buy from the road side vegetable vendor. No matter how wealthy they get, they will always bargain. They might go to the Michelin star restaurant, but they will always have that hunger for the ‘pan’.

I think everywhere else people live there lives, in India you live each Moment.

PS: I am still jetlagged, and might have been a little too philosophical…