The amazing thing about India is that even with more than 1 billion people, you can’t just blend in and shrink away from existence.
The country forces you to look at all those around and in turn allow them to look at you. Your flaws and frailties are magnified.
A poignant moment happened when a friend and I hired a car for a few hours to tour Chennai. Our young driver Virat shared his life. At 27 he was just married. He now lived with his wife, mother, father and grandmother in the family home. It is just 100 square feet. It is his hope one day to save enough money to buy his own home, a 100 square foot apartment too. The cost he told us would equal around $12,000. He said though, “perhaps it is not meant for this life”.
He didn’t say it with anger or resignation, but with an acceptance that this material possession was not an item that would define his life. He never stopped smiling the entire trip. I wondered who was richest person in the car.
Namaste my friends
