Is India really Incredible?

Day 1: Mumbai
6:00 am - I can't sleep. I turn on the TV...it's some local Indian channel advertising a skin whitening cream called "fair and lovely".

6.10 am - There's that fair and lovely commercial again! This time with another Bollywood face endorsing it.

6.15 am - Yet another skin whitening cream to ensure that your arms and legs are just as fair as the rest of your body because its too embarrassing to walk out in public with uneven skin tone.


In a nation where most people have a dark complexion how do any of these products help teens and women with self esteem and acceptance?!? 


Day 2
8.00 am - It starts to rain cats and dogs. I felt like I was in a steam room with my clothes on.


10.30 am - Conversation with the teenager selling me bangles.
Me - How come there are no women working in the stores around here? 
Him - Women? Working? Are you crazy? Women are not smart enough to work. They need to stay home and take care of the kids. 


I can't let this one go so I engage in half an hour of intense conversation with this kid. He tells me how I'm different from other women because I "look and seem smart" and because I don't live in India. His logic and his arguments are flawed but regardless, he apologizes to me for his earlier comments about women.


Day 3
11.00 am - I'm walking to the fish market. The crowded streets combined with the constant stench of garbage, beaten up stray dogs and heart breaking glimpses of limbless 4 year olds begging for money was extremely disturbing and uncomfortable. 


Day 4: Goa

Goa - a little piece of paradise

I was soooo glad to get away from the pollution, congestion and madness of Mumbai and be in Goa. All of my experiences in this land of peace, love and hippies were peaceful and relaxing. The people, the landscape, community and culture of this place is different from the rest of India. 


I could walk the streets without being nervous. Women in shorts and tank tops were not stared at and locals were not going to take advantage of a lone woman walking through the bustling markets. 


The people of Goa and their hospitality was filled with warmth and generosity.  Goa was a little ray of sunshine and I am positive I'll be spending a lot more time there the next time I'm in India. 


Day 8: Mumbai

5.00 pm - I 'm watching the local news and I see footage of  a female politician attacked and beat up by a mob of complete strangers. Why? Her second marriage was to someone with a different religious background as her, and she apparently didn't divorce her first husband before remarrying.

How do the people of this nation think it's ok to beat their local MLA purely because they didn't like what she did?!? I am completely appalled by what I see. If a local female politician is attacked this viciously in public, I wonder how some men treat their wives behind closed doors. 

I have tons of friends who can't wait to see India and soak up the "Eat, Pray, Love" experience. Additionally, the Yoga craze makes it the place to be if you want to acquire "inner peace". For all those yogis planning their travels to India, please take a minute to step out of your peaceful Ashram and visit a few crowded cities and broken communities. Let's see how easy it is to experience any form of peace when you're confronted with the harsh reality of places like Mumbai. 

If you've watched Slumdog Millionaire, you've seen a snapshot of what the real India is all about. That's the India I experienced it was were far from incredible, special or stunning. It was heartbreaking, maddening and frustrating. It made me realize how blessed I am that my parents did what they could to provide a better future for me. 

I am now proud to be living in a nation where the cops are the good guys, where governments and citizens care for their poor and where even the poor care for their animals.

P.S. I am thankful to my family and some new found friends who helped make parts of time in India memorable and exciting. Their kindness, warmth and generosity gave me some sense of hope for India's future.