Saturday, May 9, 2009

Everything in its Right Place

Driving down the streets of Delhi in May is not different to turning a hair dryer on high and blowing it in your face all day. As my yellow and black cab veered in and out of traffic on the way to Pahar Ganj, I was reminded of all the things about India that make me smile.
There is the random barber who has a table and mirror under a tree and is shaving someones face. The incessant honking never invites swears or "the finger" but rather is a highly sophisticated morse code that alerts other drivers of your whereabouts and intentions. There is always someone who can lead you to what you are looking for and often offer things to you that you didn't even know you wanted.
Every occupation in Canada that employs one person can provide limitless jobs here. Take the bus for example. There is one driver, one ticket collector, and one guy tapping the bus in that morse code we discussed earlier.
Every socio-economic condition has been taken into account also. If you can't afford an entire bottle of shampoo then you can buy a single use packet. Language differences are no different.
Take my Air India flight for instance. Among the English and Hindi films being offered, there were also 10 different regional language films, German and even instructions in sign language. I haven't even mentioned the sub categories, like "Classic English" films and "Modern". I mean these guys actually considered what era of film I might like also!
Yes, this is India. The land of many for many.
A place where perhaps the caste system has led to a highly developed and detailed categorization of every aspect of life, and consequently the needs of every class have been considered.
I am not yet sure what my place is here, but I know that when I discover it there will already be a space reserved just for me!

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