A reflection by David – I am no expert in Indian culture, but I noticed a common thing that would summarize the difference between what I am used to and what is happening in India: Noise.
Audible Noise
Indians are incredibly used to the cacophonic noise surrounding them, and above all, they are able to filter it out and communicate quite effectively through speech. For me however, conversing in a train station or public area is nearly impossible as I need a good SNR (signal-to-noise ratio) to be able to decode the unusual accent differences from person to person.
It seems that anywhere in India, there is always background noise of something, either the AC, traffic, people talking, etc. It’s actually quite rare to find a place where it is silent enough to do some sensible thinking. I wonder what would happen if we subjected the absolute void and silence to these Indians. Would they react the same way we do when we are put in their noisy environment?
Olfactory Noise
One distracting source of noise is the smell. Most public areas are not maintained as well as what I am used to back in Canada. Perhaps there is a too large population to control the cleanliness of the public areas or perhaps its not a priority for the city or government to put effort in. Besides, I would feel bad for the person in charge of cleaning this mess. I suppose cows, dogs, cats, and monkeys (dead and alive) roaming in the streets don’t help the situation.
In the worst areas, there are public and open toilets here and there, which emanates a pungent smell of cesspool. Cows leave a massive dump randomly anywhere along with a very visible and smelly mess. These are a few obvious sources of smell in the worst parts of India.
Another more subtle source of olfactory noise is pollution. Indians don’t talk much about the bad air quality, but they know that the pollution is everywhere around big cities and affects all of us very much. The last time I felt like this in Canada is when we spent 4 to 5 hours indoors go-karting – that was a bad idea. Sadly, this is one aspect that Indians do ignore quite well too. After a whole day of walking in a city, I get exhausted and my breathing gets heavy. Do the locals feel the same way or are they just used to it?
The sense of smell is a navigation tool: the smell of good food indicates a source of comfort, on the other hand bad rotting smell is an indication that it should be avoided. In India, this sense gets overloaded and triggers confusion, hence noise to our senses. Even after three weeks, I cannot get used to the smell. My sense of smell and taste are not that great to start with, so I thought I would be able to reject them better.
Visual Noise
I am a very visual person and I am picky about things that stand out, such as litter on the ground, cracks on the wall, discolorations, gum stains on a beautiful marble floor, etc. Accustomed to this, Indians can reject this kind of visual “noise” quite effectively.
A consequence of filtering out this kind of visual noise - people don’t seem to care about the cleanliness or proper maintenance of shared and public areas. We have even witnessed public officials throwing away plastic cups on the street in front of everyone. Also, people spit and urinate on the streets, which is considered illegal in Canada.
And of course, the most difficult visual noise of all - the poverty. It is very visible and hard to ignore. Most Indians ignore the poor or sometimes push them away as if they were stray dogs. I have, sadly, learned to do the same as I was told that indiscreetly giving can be dangerous if others in the surrounding area see the same opportunity. As well, locals say that giving encourages more of the same behaviour.
Instead of giving money, if we have food on hand, we give it away. We’re looking for a charity to donate to – likely to Mother Teresa’s mission here in Kolkata. We hope to volunteer with the mission as well if it’s not a burden for them.
There is a cast system in India, that's why they don't care about the poor. Give, give, give, that's what I would do
ReplyDeleteAfter talking about our fear of security with a couple people, we've gotten over that part. We have, however, categorized who we would give to.
ReplyDeleteOlder women and the disabled are at the top of the list for different reasons. Children, however, we are reluctant to give to as it can actually perpetuate the cycle of poverty rather than 'building their capacity' to get out of it.
Instead, with the children in mind, I am still researching organizations to donate to that work with children to do just that. I have been 'virtually' introduced to a gentleman who works in the non-profit sector in Bangalore via our former colleague Bill Pardy. I'll be meeting with him, his colleagues and his family next week, so I'm looking forward to that learning opportunity.
Interestingly, my naive Western view of the work of Mother Teresa has been challenged while in Kolkata, so I have re-thought my intention to donate/volunteer there and will concentrate my efforts, and donations, in the southern area of India, as well as a recommended non-denominational organization in Kolkata that works in the area of community health.
I have learned to accept that my contribution will be just a small drop in the bucket, so I really want to make it count.