India Through Foreigners' Eyes

As many of you know, I just returned from a nearly 3-week vacation in India.  This time I travelled with some friends who had never been.  It was instructive to see a familiar land through the eyes of foreigners.  Among the things they noticed...

 

Children everywhere. For instance they took note of how there seem to be children everywhere.  The median age in India is way under 30 so it’s not surprising but the number of young people around was striking when this was pointed out to me.  These people will want education, jobs and to be able to spend their income in the decades to come spelling opportunity and risk for the country.

 

Mobile rules.  From the very rich to poor villagers, everyone seems to have a mobile phone.  We even saw a beggar with one!  There is no doubt that the rise of mobile adoption has changed lives for the better.  For instance, check out the work that SMSONE around micro-local news.

 

A spiritual land. We’ve all read about how India is a place for spirituality and religion.  It is, after all, a land that has spawnded 4 major world religions and countless sects.  My friends marvelled at how prominent a role religion plays from the colorful, roadside shrines to the figurines on car dashboards adorned with fresh flowers.  I’ll never forget the sight of a merchant praying to Ganesha before opening his store, even as I waited.

 

The filth.  It must be said that India is a filthy place with trash (and worse) littering the streets.  This is not something I needed a foreigner’s eyes to see and, in fact, has always been one of my biggest frustrations with my homeland.   People think nothing of tossing trash out the window of their car.  What a shame as it is otherwise such a beautiful land. 

 

Cricket.  Many people know how popular cricket is in the country but, as my friend remarked, he hadn’t seen a single field or open space where people weren’t playing cricket.  One of the highlights of our trip was playing with the adolescents of Rohet, a village outside Jodhpur in Rajasthan.

 

The kaleidoscope of colors.  I had taken these for granted but it is amazing to see the richness of color – from billboards and wall posters to the clothing to the trucks.  My friend loved the way the trucks were adorned with markings unlike the eyesores in the West.  One amazing sight was walking into a department store’s sari & bridal section and taking in the colors and fabrics being strutted out to the potential customers.

 

There were many other observations I’m glad I got to see India through a different lens this time around.