First Impressions

My uncle and I took the Bhopal Express from the Nizammudin Railway Station and arrived in Bhopal at a bright 6:40 am. The ride was rather pleasant, as most of it was spent sleeping on the upper berth of the 2nd class compartment of the train. The lower compartment was taken by a middle aged man on one side and a young couple on the other side. The couple stayed relatively quiet throughout the whole ride, but the uncle had a lot to say, especially after he found out I went to college in the oh-so-wonderful United States of America. For some odd reason people seem to think that if you lived in the States you know everything about the demand for jobs in their respective fields. One distant relative had asked me how the scope for economics was, and this one asked me about the scope for biotechnology. I admitted I had no idea. He then went on a monologue about how Indians are excelling in so many fields, that's why the U.S. is outsourcing, etc. etc. He concluded his monologue with something on democracy, but I don't really remember because by this time I couldn't even politely pretend to listen, so I continued reading the book I had in front of me. Besides, he was looking at my uncle.

As the train pulled to a gradual stop at the station, the first thing I saw in Bhopal was trash, a lake full of it. There must have been ten thousand plastic bags in that water, and amidst the trash two pigs were wrestling. I mentally contrasted this image with the sprawling five-star malls I had visited a few days ago. No city would intentionally provide such a view for those staring out of their barred train windows. Rather, I figured that Bhopal is no Delhi, where the government chooses to spend lavishly on larger than life television screens at malls instead of cleaning up a potential tourist turn-off. Ah, good ol' beurocracy...

Today is Eid, so the largely Muslim communities our auto-rickshaw drove by showed the splendor that would grow as the day progressed. It was still early in the morning, so while the brown dirt was being swept from one side of the street to the other, men in blazing white kurta pajamas were strolling along the streets or zooming along in their two-wheelers. Women in black burkhas strolled slowly, the wind ruffling their heavy black garments to reveal bright greens or dark magentas underneath. Even though the community the clinic is in is very impoverished (not to mention one of the greater gas affected communities) people were wearing all the new attire they could afford this season. Oiled heads were neatly combed and tightly braided, shiny shoes glittered on the feet of small children, their skirts had more ruffles than one could count, it was quite a sight. There was even a portable ferris wheel right outside the clinic where the young ones would soon gather just to get a taste of thrill as the ferris wheel man pushed one swing down after the next.

The first person I met at the clinic was Kate, an American from Oregon who is living in the same room as I am. We talked some and then after she gave me a tour of the very very cool ayurvedic plants garden we went shopping for some groceries. I had never experienced what I saw she experiences every day - every kid looking at her in fascination and saying 'HI' with a big smile plastered on his/her face. The older boys of the community just stared lewdly and would say something not so innocent. It was insane! I knew whites in India would be treated differently, but we had only been out thirty minutes and she must have heard it at least thirty times. Being able to deal with that takes guts.

So far I am enjoying every moment- the clinic is spacious and we have all the amenities the people outside the clinic don't: filtered drinking water, free meals, large beds, wireless connection, European toilets....I am truly fortunate. Today I'm relaxing, inquiring, exploring, but tomorrow I will get to do that with the doctors, the patients, the community health workers, with everyone who I didn't meet today. I feel the excitement of a kid who wants to try everything but doesn't know where to start. For now, I'm just absorbing everything I can.