The First 9 Days in India

I reached India on Dec 16th at 9 PM. WhileI was on the flight I thought of writing a blog. I realized writing my life makes it seem a lot more interesting than it is. It also makes me appreciate a lot of things which I take for granted.

The flight from Atlanta to Mumbai was long but not as tiring as I expected it to be. The plane was a 777-200 with newer seats. Those planes are a lot bigger than the ones that fly domestically. It carries 305 passengers. The flight was around 16 hours end to end. As an analogy, if cruise liners are floating cities, these airplanes are flying prisons. There are 8 restrooms of which 2 are for business class passengers. The remaining 6 are shared by 250 coach class passengers (of which I was one). Inspite of this, the restrooms were very clean. This is one time I was thinkful the airline didn't serve too much food. I had a window seat and didn't want to keep going to the restrooms.

I made good use of my time by watching some movies that I had missed. I saw "The Kite Runner". Amazing and touching film. It shows the human side of conflict and how it affects the lives of innocent children. I also saw "House of Sand and Fog". Ben Kingsley was great. It's a story about how material attachments end up ruining so many lives. I had seen "Pineapple Express" before so I resisted the strong temptations of seeing it again. I saw "Drillbit Taylor" with Owen Wilson instead. It was funny, light hearted and I didnt feel all gloom and doom.

There is a lot of security in Mumbai (Bombay) now as a result of the terrorist attacks. Customs and immigrations was uneventful at the airport. My mom, dad and sister had come to pick me up. They always do. I tell them that I can take the taxi but they still like to come and pick me up. It makes them feel closer to me so I don't push it.

The cab ride from the airport to home is always a new experience. India is a third world country and it shows. The transition from Orlando to Mumbai is stark. I take stock of the situation on the hour long ride home. There are usually newer bridges, malls, traffic lights every time I come. There is also a lot more pollution and traffic jams. India is a country of too many drastic contrasts. Stinking rich and filthy poor people. Tall striking buildings and dirty shanty towns with no basic amenities. Culturally rich and diverse but slowly losing it's soul.

I thought this would be a short post but now that I am writing, I realize I experienced a lot in the last 9 days. I seem to be running out of time so I will create the template and keep on adding to it.

I'll put up some images and write about them later. Putting up the images will give me incentive to write my blog quicker.