India Delhi Friday January 5, 2018
Today was
our second day in India and it felt like we saw almost everything. The day started with a bus ride to Chandi
Chowk and the Red Fort. Immediately on
the ride I noticed the incredible amount of activity we were surrounded by. In
many areas, it is as busy as midtown Manhattan in rush hour and as crowded and
frantic as a New York City street fair.
The countless varied storefronts remind me of busy streets in Queens or
the Bronx, but what is different is that this level of activity seems to spread
for miles and miles, not just one neighborhood or one street. This activity included all kinds of “wild”
animals from chipmunks to pigs and dogs to monkeys, all just hanging around
amidst the hustle and bustle. When we
got to Old Delhi, even though I didn’t think it was possible, the density of
life and activity just got more intense, and our rickshaw ride through the
middle of the busy market topped it off.
However, minutes later, in the middle of the busy city, we were in an
open-air mosque, surrounded by open space and relative peace and quiet. Like the Red Fort earlier in the day, this
was like an oasis in the city.
After the
mosque, at Raj Ghat, we were again surrounded by serenity, at the memorial for
Mahatma Gandhi. It felt like we were
also in the middle of history. After the
15th century Red Fort and Mosque, I was struck by the fact that, in
addition to all this rich older history, India has only been an independent
country for less than 75 years.
Another
thing that I noticed throughout the day was that there were signs of capitalism
everywhere. Storefronts are piled on top
of each other. The streets are packed
with rickshaws, taxis and trucks carrying goods. It seems like anywhere that one or two people
might pass, there is at least one stand selling something. We had the incredible opportunity of visiting
and meeting with the people who run Incuspaze, a young Indian company set up to
help incubate and develop start-up companies.
It was very impressive to see their enthusiasm and excitement about this
up-and-coming company.
However, one thing that I did not
see a lot of is Westernization. Sure
there are signs of it throughout the city - a number of Western outlet stores,
a few fast food restaurants, signs for Coke or Pepsi and branded T-shirts on
some people, but overall there were relatively few signs of Western
influence. To top off our day, we ended
up at Kingdom of Dreams watching a spectacular show, based on Indian mythology in
a theater packed mostly with young Indian people. After soaking all of this in, I have to think
that, since the 1991 economic reforms, India has been able to open its markets
to globalization, with very little loss of its rich culture.
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