7/30/2004

India is Incredible

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I cannot believe three weeks have passed by in India so quickly. Forgive the delay in sending out this email, I’ve been safe, sound, not sick, and with so many stories to share. Here are some of the highlights from India, and my life over the past few weeks. Feel free to forward this email to anyone else who may care (especially mutual friends) since there may be folks who I mistakenly did not invite to join the yahoogroup, or whose invite email got filtered to the trash or bulk mail folders.

1. American Candidate
2. March Across America
3. Impressions from India

American Candidate
This Sunday is the season premiere of American Candidate. I did not make the show, but I made it to the top 20 of nearly 5,000 people who applied and was flown out to Los Angeles for a top secret interview (part of my interview might be on TV this weekend, but I sort of doubt it). Only one person in their 20s made it, a great activist named Malia Lazu whose slogan was “putting the Diva back in Democracy”. Another inspiring friend, Lisa Witter also made it on to the show. I am proud to say these two young activists did very well on the show. Thanks to everyone who helped me try to get on the show, it was an interesting experience. http://www.americancandidate.com

March Across America
After school ended, I joined a dozen activists on a political road trip across the US promoting non-partisan youth civic engagement. Two RVs went across the nation, one north and one south, to inspire and interview young people about political issues. I went on the northern route and for the first time saw Portland and Spokane and even Canada. I learned how large Montana really is and talked to kids playing on basketball courts by the highway in North Dakota. I gave over a dozen speeches (and sold a bunch of books) but the most exciting part was meeting teens who certainly wouldn’t call themselves ‘political’ but quickly demonstrated in their actions and their words that they care about our country, they are concerned about the world, and often feel confused or lost about their role in it. We talked to activists and to the apathetic and ended the trip with a big rally at the US Capitol. It was a fun way to spend 10 days with a great group of people before leaving for India. http://www.mobilize.org

Impressions from India
India is like no other place I have ever been in the world (and I’ve been to 18 countries now including China, Turkey, Bosnia, and other crazy places). No matter how many times you are told there will be cows in the street, there is no image in your head that matches a full fledge heard of wild (as in, free, un-owned) cows crossing the major highways in country’s capitol city of 12 million people. Further, no one seemed to mention to me the pigs, monkeys and other various creatures that can be found – even in the most affluent communities. Movies last up to 4 hours long, they include singing and dancing, but no kissing or sex, and an intermission. Sexually conservative in clothing and culture, the most respected daily papers include half naked pictures of Britney Spears as front-page stories. The role of women in India is one certainly up for debate. Although passionately defended by articulate locals as a progressive nation “with Indian women most similar to Italian “Divas” – opinionated and independent – one cannot help but wonder why then men wear helmets on motorcycles, while women ride in the back with no seat belt, helmet or protection. When you ask old people from Delhi how many children then have, they will sometimes only count sons unless you specifically ask about daughters.

The poverty, the poverty, the poverty. Words cannot express the sights that I have seen. Attempts to explain some living conditions will only fall far short of the realities that nearly 1/3 of the population deals with in India. I’ve seen kids asleep under bushes by the side of the road, homeless women walk the streets, carrying babies with small bleeding legs, desperate for the help from anyone especially a white wealthy westerner. The government has failed the people and while I humorously wonder what would happen if all the cows in India got organized if they could take over the government, I tragically question the legitimacy of a government (even a democratic one) that has left behind so many people.

In fact, the government seemingly, has very little authority – at least on the ground level. There is very little rule of law and the traffic is the best example of this. Running red lights is not only common, cars will get rear-ended if they brake at red lights that ironically have “relax” written across the glass. (Perhaps they should write it in Hindi, rather than English.) Tuck-tucks, rickshaws with motors no larger than a lawn mower, weave in and out of traffic and drive at night without any lights (and in the rain without any windows). Speed bumps exist randomly on highways the size of I-95 and Courtney and are especially fearful of the “death dips”, or secret speed bumps designed to slow you down without fully killing you. Traffic in Bosnia was lude (crazy) but it does not match the pagle (very crazy) nature of a system without rules. It is almost like bumper-cars, but without the orderly progression of the clockwise motion.

In this chaotic system exists a beauty that is immediately obvious with ancient temples that rise to the sky and also hidden like the spice market in the back alleys of old Delhi that posses secrets sights and smells that overwhelm the senses. There is a history, a humanity, a face, and a future to this country that is too much to be understood. Like the 16 official languages of this country, words fly in the air, a mesh of sounds and syllables, your ears jump at the intermixed English word that makes no sense in the sea of noise. So too are the images, so powerful, foreign and random, patterns cannot be detected, sense cannot be made, and the occasional vision of a dominoes pizza sign does not bring more order to the picture, but rather just makes it all that much more difficult to comprehend.

If I am not making sense, then welcome to India. I am sure in a few weeks it will all be clear to me, but right now I’m a blind man amazed at my fiancée when she rattles off Hindi to shopkeepers and students shocked by the tall white woman who is figuring out their secret code.

Argh! I have so many other stories to share – the tour with the 84-year-old Brit who has lived in India 60+ years, the birthday party of the 1-year-old who danced past 1 AM. Courtney’s job is fascinating, my internship is a learning experience, the religious traditions here are amazing, and I am learning what it means to be an outsider, a minority, and a member of the affluent elite (these are all quite new to me). I’m thankful for UD helping make this trip (and the March Across America) possible for I have learned so much in such a short period of time. I miss home and yet I just may stay.

I promise to actually create a blog that I use, and to put up pictures, etc. I will also send out another email in the coming weeks with more stories including our upcoming trip to Bangkok. Courtney has an email list as well – just email me back if you want to be on it, or need to change your email or such for this account.

I hope this email finds you safe and sound, feel free to reply and I’ll send a more personal note as soon as I can!

Sincerely,

Scott Beale
scott@scottbeale.com
www.scottbeale.com