Posts tagged with community.
Less wealthy than we think?
India can only be described as a smorgasbord - of sights, sounds, smells and tastes, with a range that's broad enough to please travellers with the pickiest of palates. Since finishing my internship and arriving in India, I've seen the posh high rises and sprawling slums of Mumbai, tasted the tantalizing masala dosas and idlis of Chennai and Bangalore, and gazed in awe at the majestic forts and vast deserts of Rajasthan. And that's just a meagre sampling of the many experiences that India has to offer.
But regardless of how many photos I snap, I know that, ultimately, my memory of India, and in fact, of any place that I visit, will be centred on the people I meet and my interactions with them. In thinking about that, I've lost count of the number of times I've met people on the street, in the market, on the train, etc. and been treated as if I were a long-lost friend - invited to share a meal with their family, shown around their neighbourhood, and given some sort of small gift just for "awarding" them with my company. The same applies to the all the instances when I've been even slightly lost or confused - someone would inevitably appear, sooner rather than later, to point me in the right direction, and often, personally escort me there; Granted, some of the treatment I've received can be attributed to curiosity - an Indian who can't speak the national language, travelling solo, seems to be a guaranteed crowd drawer. But that reason doesn't account for all of it - for example, the genuine interest in their voices when they ask questions about me and my family, the sincerity of their warm wishes and invitations to return again soon, and their refusal to accept either thanks or payment in return for their hospitality.
It's made me think about the term "less developed country," or LDC for short, that's often used to describe countries like India and Bangladesh where vast portions of the population don't have their basic needs met. In terms of standard of living, developed countries obviously win, but what about kindness, caring for one's neighbour, and performing unselfish acts? All of those are traits that I've seen personified over and over again in this part of the world, but sadly, seem to be disappearing from the Western world, where the name of the game is about looking out for No. 1. I hate to point the finger at capitalism, since it's already blamed for so many of the wrongs in the world, and also because it's what's fuelling India's and Bangladesh's growth into increased prosperity. But it seems obvious when I compare my experiences in these two very different parts of the world that, although the LDCs are obviously lagging in many important areas, the developed societies have also lost something in their drive toward material wealth - it's difficult to put a label on what exactly that "something" is; perhaps the best way to describe it is a powerful sense of community that extends beyond just immediate family or friends, and even past the town or city borders.
This isn't meant as a condemnation - I'm as guilty of the "don't even know your neighbour" phenomenon as anyone else. But I know that when I get back home, I will make an effort to change that. Because, just like the end goal of development should be focused on improving people's quality of life - a measure that has many dimensions - I've learned that connecting with people, whether they're right next door or halfway across the world, can't help but enrich the quality of mine.
Image gallery from Raksha and Helen
Tagged with
poverty,
wealth,
development,
caring,
west,
community
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RAKSHA VASUDEVAN 
HELEN HSU 
