On my last full day in Delhi, I was given a ticket to the Republic Day Parade by my cousin’s friend (the same one who took me to the fantastic wedding). The Republic Day Parade is a very big deal. When I mentioned to other people that I had a ticket and where I was sitting, I felt like I was telling them I had a front row seat to a Bruce Springsteen concert in NJ.
When I first arrived in India I was told that any generalization I wanted to make about India, the opposite could also be proven to be just as true. Acknowledging that there are no complete truths in my observations about the parade, it was extremely interesting and exciting to be there as an outsider looking in. Fortunately, and unfortunately, I had a fantastic seat in the press section, directly across from the dais – however security was so tight, I wasn’t allowed to bring anything – including my camera.
The parade can be divided into three distinct sections – demonstration of military prowess, the pride of each state characterized in a “parade of roses”-type float, and groups of dancing and singing children on the scale of an Olympic opening ceremony. In some ways, the parade was like a visual state-of-the-union, with all the pomp and circumstance you’d expect. It was an announcement of the state’s accomplishments to the citizens and the world.
I usually think of India as the home of ancient civilizations, but independent India is only about 60 years old and the nation’s youth affects how the government presents itself to its citizens. Although I don’t think of India as being militant – actually quite the opposite with the images of non-violent Gandhi led revolution—it actually had a prolonged rebellion against Britain prior to the resolution led by Gandhi in the mid-twentieth century, and has been, with varying intensity, battling Pakistan since the day of the British partition inn 1947 (sound familiar?).
The guest of honor was PM Putin of Russia which I think made the military section of the parade feel even more like a communist May day celebration than it seemed on its own. I’ve really never seen anything like it in the United States. On the one hand, I saw the military part of the parade as necessary for a young nation to establish its credibility. On the other, in a nation where most of the population is illiterate, the impact of TV images creates an inaccurate picture-perfect perception, in a country which has many basic infrastructure problems, corruption on all levels of government and the police and literally cannot feed all its citizens.
That said, I was thoroughly entertained and impressed by the parade from start to finish. The parade route went from India gate, which looks a lot like the Arch d’Triumph in Paris to the Parliament along a extra-wide, flat boulevard lined by bandstands.
Regardless of the politics, I’ve personally never been so close to tanks and artillery, and I have to admit it was exciting and imposing, as intended. (The frenetic excitement and squealing of the family with three little boys sitting behind me added to the experience.) The military did also have the look and feel of India. As representatives of each division went by in their uniforms, with left arms swinging 180 degrees and the strait-legged, high-stepped marching, I had a flash of a Bollywood movie. The uniforms were more like costumes than camouflage, in line with the dress of the entire nation. I wish I had pictures of the hats that were part turban, with bright colored fabric folded in a fan-like fashion (slightly reminiscent of a napkin in a Chinese restaurant) attached to the top that made them look a little like proud peacocks strutting down the boulevard. The soldiers were followed by a border division riding camels dressed in mirrored embroidery, and elephants carrying the day’s honoraries.
Interestingly the day’s critics said a lot of the same things we hear today in the US. Although I was impressed with the scale of the parade, apparently the excitement is toned down in recent years. Some blamed it on fear of terrorism and the associated hyper security, some on a lack of nationalism or general apathy of the younger generation, and some on the loss of hope and optimism because of corruption in the government and police. In an environment that is so completely different from the US, you could hear the same about what is wrong in the US today. Is it another form of globalization?
In contrast to the military parade, the floats were about the cultural and historical achievements of the different states. Two points of note, first, there is a strange almost love-hate relationship between the Indians and the British. While most of the Indian’s are appreciative of the British for bringing an international language, an education system and the train system, they are also very proud of their ‘defeat’ of the British. This was shown in the parade in floats of states where major successful rebellions against the British were acted out– sometimes in rather gruesome detail. I’m not sure what it means, but I was surprised at how prominent it was in the minds of citizens, and not distant history the way that I think of the American Revolution. Maybe its because there are people who are still alive who remember when India was under British rule.
The second common focal point was the emphasis on equality for women. Unfortunately, its more of a theoretical goal for the country than an achievement. I’ll write a little about women’s issues later because I haven’t touched on it at all in my blog, but its really not a pretty picture. At least the public presentation is going in the right direction and the goal seems to be equal rights even if the practice has not caught up, unlike some other countries that regulate women’s activities.
If you can manage to be in Delhi for the Republic Day Parade, I put it on my list of highlights and recommend it.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Thursday, February 1, 2007
I love Delhi
I love Delhi. It’s a combination of cosmopolitan city and still-developing country. Like New York, every neighborhood is a different experience – a different feel, smell, and look, but to greater extremes. The city is diverse in its culture, religions and the socio-economic conditions of the residents. The diversity exists within the context of the city’s multi-century (maybe millenium) history, and is still intertwined in everyone’s daily life.
There are sections of the city which date back to the British occupation, the Moguls and before that. As the capital, it is a center for cultural and historical artifacts. In some ways, it reminded me of Jerusalem because there are so many new and old things next to each other.
The old city is full of temples from different religions - that even in ancient times Indians lived together - in relative harmony. The history professor that spoke to us said, the miracle of India was that it was still a democracy 60 years after British partition. The diversity is so great that the fact that people get along at all was amazing.
I focused a lot in earlier blogs on transportation and I’ll just say here – Delhi has the best roads that I’ve seen since I’ve been here and in many areas (although the locals refuse to believe it—they seem better than NYC). I also think the traffic moves better than in NY because most of the roads were designed in New Delhi after the car was invented. You can go from one side of the city to the other on roads that are more like highways with ramps instead of streets with traffic lights. From what I saw, the traffic moves better than NY (and I'm sure that the Delhi drivers don't believe me when I say that, but it never really stopped completely). That said, and remembering that cars tend to be less wide – the rickshaw are only about 4 feet wide and multitudes of motorcycles and scooters – it was not uncommon to see 4-5 vehicles across on two lanes of road, plus the shoulder.
While I consider myself an experienced jaywalker by NY standards, Delhi brings the contest to a whole new level. Outside the apartment complex the volunteers lived in there was a highway which was four painted lanes in each directions. This translates into 6-8 vehicles on each side.
The light is about seven minutes and doesn't turn red on both sides at the same time. There is a small island partition you can stop on in the center. The first time I tried to cross, I watched for about five minutes and then offered a rickshaw driver 10R ($.25) to take me across. Following his natural instinct, he told me 30R (which was enough to go halfway across town). I refused and continued with our game of charades until he finally figured out what I wanted. When he finally stopped laughing, he called over a local guy and asked him to help me out. I thought I was being ridiculous, but more than one of the other volunteers had also considered it.
Shopping in Delhi is one of my favorite activities, although it’s exhausting because everything is negotiable. There are markets with different specialties all over the city and there are great deals to be had. It was also an excellent way to explore the limitless and varied neighborhoods in the city. In the old city of Delhi, the spice market is said to be the largest in Asia (and probably the world) and there is a gold street where bride’s family’s go to buy their dowry jewels.
Along side the grand, old British hotels and houses there is a Tibetan market where Tibetans would think they were getting a good price, and short rickshaw ride away a market with stunning antiques and hand made fabrics of silk, wool, pashmina that are the best in the world. But shopping is not like it is in the US – where things have pricetags, instead it’s a game where you start with a huge disadvantage because the store owner has been bargaining since they were in a cradle, they know you probably don’t have time to comparison shop and you have no idea what the “real” price (or value) of something should be. Luckily for me, since I didn’t usually have the patience to wait out the owner, we’d be arguing over a relatively insignificant amount (and still paying a premium relative to the locals). Actually, I don’t ever think the tourist wins, no matter how good you are at negotiation. The negotiation is more or less a stamina test with the store owner not really having to go anywhere for the whole day. Walking away is necessary at least once, but you’re never allowed to go far. I think playing "no-rules" monopoly with my nephews was my best preparation. They'll be great at it someday.
Another example of the negotiation was the rickshaw drivers. If you’re not Indian, they tell you it’s 200R to go anywhere you ask about in Delhi whichis about 2x the price to go from the two furthest points in of the city—its about 4-5x the price for most rides. I kept thinking what it would be like to have the drivers in a micro-economic class and explaining supply demand theory. They would laugh because they live the practical applications of the theory on a minute by minute basis. Aside from the premium charged to tourists, the price adjusts for the same distance if there were other rickshaws around, but also realizing there was a certain amount of unspoken collusion. None of them were willing to undercut their fellow drivers unless you had clearly walked away.
The city residents also have a higher level of tolerance for noise than I do coming from New York. At our apartment complex, the security guard use to blow his whistle and bang the night stick on the walls as he walked around, all night. I asked one of the residents why they allowed this and they said, “I don’t notice it anymore, but it makes me feel safe because everyone will know the place is being guarded.” Having been awoken many times, I thought this was absolutely absurd. Also at about 6:30 in the morning, the vegetable man starts screaming that he is selling fresh vegetables. He rides around the complex calling out in a high-pitched voice which I was sure meant “help, I’m dying” the first time I heard it, until his vegetables are gone. That combined with the tendency of all drivers to beep whenever they pass another vehicle, animal or person adds to the noise level in a city with 15 million people. There is also the Muslim calls to prayer, five times a day blaring from the mosques and the Hindu temples blaring competing prayers. Finally, maybe because of all the other noise, Delhi residents listen to music and television at decibel levels that were uncomfortable for me when walking by on the street. But it does add to the feeling that the city is alive and always awake.
The city also has a lot of pollution and dirt. The first thing I did when I came home at night was wash my face and the dirt that came off was visible. I also felt like I was looking for a trash container for the entire month in Delhi (and every other city I visited). Everyday, when I returned to my apartment I had something in my bag that I'd carried because there was no place to put it. The locals sadly, but typically would throw it into the gutter. It’s accepted because there is no alternative. There is also a tragic shortage of other basic services. I did not see an ambulance or fire truck even once. Clean water and basic sanitation are problems all over the country. One of the things you have to get use to are the public urinals on the side of many streets, which aren’t as discreet as I, as a passerby, would have preferred – but they exist because most people don’t have bathrooms in their houses. There are several areas the city has room for improvement.
Finally, while it sounds like I have a lot of complaints, I had a great time both because of its history and because the people are amazingly friendly—especially the people who are not trying to see you something. They all wanted to make sure I liked and was enjoying Delhi and India -- and they didn't complain about any of things I noted, (except the traffic). The weather was sunny every day and I always woke up excited to be there.
There are sections of the city which date back to the British occupation, the Moguls and before that. As the capital, it is a center for cultural and historical artifacts. In some ways, it reminded me of Jerusalem because there are so many new and old things next to each other.
The old city is full of temples from different religions - that even in ancient times Indians lived together - in relative harmony. The history professor that spoke to us said, the miracle of India was that it was still a democracy 60 years after British partition. The diversity is so great that the fact that people get along at all was amazing.I focused a lot in earlier blogs on transportation and I’ll just say here – Delhi has the best roads that I’ve seen since I’ve been here and in many areas (although the locals refuse to believe it—they seem better than NYC). I also think the traffic moves better than in NY because most of the roads were designed in New Delhi after the car was invented. You can go from one side of the city to the other on roads that are more like highways with ramps instead of streets with traffic lights. From what I saw, the traffic moves better than NY (and I'm sure that the Delhi drivers don't believe me when I say that, but it never really stopped completely). That said, and remembering that cars tend to be less wide – the rickshaw are only about 4 feet wide and multitudes of motorcycles and scooters – it was not uncommon to see 4-5 vehicles across on two lanes of road, plus the shoulder.
While I consider myself an experienced jaywalker by NY standards, Delhi brings the contest to a whole new level. Outside the apartment complex the volunteers lived in there was a highway which was four painted lanes in each directions. This translates into 6-8 vehicles on each side.
The light is about seven minutes and doesn't turn red on both sides at the same time. There is a small island partition you can stop on in the center. The first time I tried to cross, I watched for about five minutes and then offered a rickshaw driver 10R ($.25) to take me across. Following his natural instinct, he told me 30R (which was enough to go halfway across town). I refused and continued with our game of charades until he finally figured out what I wanted. When he finally stopped laughing, he called over a local guy and asked him to help me out. I thought I was being ridiculous, but more than one of the other volunteers had also considered it.
Shopping in Delhi is one of my favorite activities, although it’s exhausting because everything is negotiable. There are markets with different specialties all over the city and there are great deals to be had. It was also an excellent way to explore the limitless and varied neighborhoods in the city. In the old city of Delhi, the spice market is said to be the largest in Asia (and probably the world) and there is a gold street where bride’s family’s go to buy their dowry jewels.
Along side the grand, old British hotels and houses there is a Tibetan market where Tibetans would think they were getting a good price, and short rickshaw ride away a market with stunning antiques and hand made fabrics of silk, wool, pashmina that are the best in the world. But shopping is not like it is in the US – where things have pricetags, instead it’s a game where you start with a huge disadvantage because the store owner has been bargaining since they were in a cradle, they know you probably don’t have time to comparison shop and you have no idea what the “real” price (or value) of something should be. Luckily for me, since I didn’t usually have the patience to wait out the owner, we’d be arguing over a relatively insignificant amount (and still paying a premium relative to the locals). Actually, I don’t ever think the tourist wins, no matter how good you are at negotiation. The negotiation is more or less a stamina test with the store owner not really having to go anywhere for the whole day. Walking away is necessary at least once, but you’re never allowed to go far. I think playing "no-rules" monopoly with my nephews was my best preparation. They'll be great at it someday.Another example of the negotiation was the rickshaw drivers. If you’re not Indian, they tell you it’s 200R to go anywhere you ask about in Delhi whichis about 2x the price to go from the two furthest points in of the city—its about 4-5x the price for most rides. I kept thinking what it would be like to have the drivers in a micro-economic class and explaining supply demand theory. They would laugh because they live the practical applications of the theory on a minute by minute basis. Aside from the premium charged to tourists, the price adjusts for the same distance if there were other rickshaws around, but also realizing there was a certain amount of unspoken collusion. None of them were willing to undercut their fellow drivers unless you had clearly walked away.
The city residents also have a higher level of tolerance for noise than I do coming from New York. At our apartment complex, the security guard use to blow his whistle and bang the night stick on the walls as he walked around, all night. I asked one of the residents why they allowed this and they said, “I don’t notice it anymore, but it makes me feel safe because everyone will know the place is being guarded.” Having been awoken many times, I thought this was absolutely absurd. Also at about 6:30 in the morning, the vegetable man starts screaming that he is selling fresh vegetables. He rides around the complex calling out in a high-pitched voice which I was sure meant “help, I’m dying” the first time I heard it, until his vegetables are gone. That combined with the tendency of all drivers to beep whenever they pass another vehicle, animal or person adds to the noise level in a city with 15 million people. There is also the Muslim calls to prayer, five times a day blaring from the mosques and the Hindu temples blaring competing prayers. Finally, maybe because of all the other noise, Delhi residents listen to music and television at decibel levels that were uncomfortable for me when walking by on the street. But it does add to the feeling that the city is alive and always awake.
The city also has a lot of pollution and dirt. The first thing I did when I came home at night was wash my face and the dirt that came off was visible. I also felt like I was looking for a trash container for the entire month in Delhi (and every other city I visited). Everyday, when I returned to my apartment I had something in my bag that I'd carried because there was no place to put it. The locals sadly, but typically would throw it into the gutter. It’s accepted because there is no alternative. There is also a tragic shortage of other basic services. I did not see an ambulance or fire truck even once. Clean water and basic sanitation are problems all over the country. One of the things you have to get use to are the public urinals on the side of many streets, which aren’t as discreet as I, as a passerby, would have preferred – but they exist because most people don’t have bathrooms in their houses. There are several areas the city has room for improvement.
Finally, while it sounds like I have a lot of complaints, I had a great time both because of its history and because the people are amazingly friendly—especially the people who are not trying to see you something. They all wanted to make sure I liked and was enjoying Delhi and India -- and they didn't complain about any of things I noted, (except the traffic). The weather was sunny every day and I always woke up excited to be there.
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