Rickshaw Love

Yesterday I visited a school that was started by Ms. YGP’s granddaughter.  It was in a pretty posh neighborhood and was spread out over two impressive houses that have been converted into schools.  The majority of our visit was at the middle school, whereupon I sat in some classes and briefly introduced myself.  The teaching was impressive,  although it was still teacher based it was very interactive.  I have yet to see a student take notes, or even see a notebook on a desk.  Again these students were excited and impressive, the first class was talking about protecting forests which mainly consisted of the teacher quizzing them on all a list of conservation terms.  Since this was a house the classrooms were formally bedrooms, so kids were packed in as tight as possible.  There was literally no space between the desk, and the fans hardly relieved the incredibly hot conditions.  Living in a sparsely populated place gives you a different concept of space, with that said the closeness of everything has not bothered me in the least.

During my stay here I’ve been able to engage in some conversations about their arranged marriages.  I think they are equally interested in the way that we do things.  This has been one of the harder things for me to grasp, because I have a hard time separating it from my values and possibly imagine the tragedy that would have unveiled if Jan and I were denied our love.  What I’m starting to understand is that it is not as if they lived our lives and suddenly were forced into marriage.  Even after young Indians leave India many desire for their parents back home to arrange a marriage for them.  If your culture values tradition and reaching your potential this certainly streamlines things.  Our lives are often chaotic with our competing priorities rushing into each other.  I asked if when couples are paired up in the US and then fly back to India if they meet first.  Now they do, whereupon I asked if there is romance in the relationships or if that happens later.  I think it was interpreted as more than intrigue, but regardless it sounds like there usually is that genuine excitement that those of us  in ‘love marriages’ feel (or some did feel).  What I found to be really interesting is that when the parents are arranging all of this and feeling each other out, they verify the astrological compatibility of the couple.  Supposedly this isn’t a primary consideration for most these days, but a facet none the less.

Last night Rajagopal picked me up, I never know where we are going he just walks in traffic, heckles with rickshaw drivers, and I follow.  I find it interesting here that even when there are intact sidewalks everyone seems to prefer to walk in the street.  This outing’s traffic was the most exciting yet, we had love taps with a bus and numerous motorcycles.  What is amazing is that despite the fact the people are colliding, #1 they stay up and #2 they are always chill.  Back to my adventure with Rajagopal, this guy is a trip.  He seems really series, but yet I think he may be really funny, but I really can’t tell.  He is always making absolute statements about life, which always include a lot of head shaking, a smile, a laugh, and big gestures.  I like hanging out with him and I can tell that he is passionate about teaching.  When he entered my hotel room he started into a diatribe about the good nature of South India and the difficulty in dealing with the North.  The north refuses to speak English, Hindi only.  This can be a problem for other Indians, since the linking language is English.  Every state has it’s own language and customs, hence the changing of blog to a Tamil word from a Hindi word.

Rajagopal and I ended up at a super posh Western shopping mall.  If we were in the states I would have put the brakes on the mall trip, but seeing one here was really interesting.  There were few American stores, but a lot American brands and products.  The western products like video games and levis appeared to be a bit pricier.  They had a KFC.  We ate at a nice veg restaurant.  I got another masala dosa. The waiter debated with Rajagopal in Tamil about my order because he thought that I should have naan.  We also ordered a chickpea dish and some rice, both were the spiciest dishes I have had yet which me and my hand sprayer next to the toilet have handled brilliantly. As we were waiting for our food Rajagopal got his mustache and eye brow in serious mode and exclaimed that he never eats or drinks anything outside of the house unless he has to take a foreigner around.  Why?  It is too dangerous.  He has a lot of health tips one which is trekking.  When he can, maybe a couple times a year, he goes on 30k bushwhacking hikes in the northern hills without stopping or taking water.   He went on to tell me that he would never move from Chennai, and expressed that leaving for money would only make him poor due to losing contact with the people that matter.  He loves this place, and he is not the first to express it.  In general people here love Southern India specifically, but India in general.  As with everyone else Rajagopal wanted an exact report on everything I ate for the day.  I liked how he explained that he never takes books or notes into class, it is all in his head.  I may have mentioned previously that he refuses to use a calculator because it is all in his head as well.

After dinner we walked around a bit more, but he seemed surprised that I wanted to head back at 10 o’clock.  These folks here stay out late, but I think many shut it down in the heat of the afternoon and then take advantage of the hot, but cooler night hours.  He quizzed the rickshaw driver (In Tamil) on the rental agreement and then rattled off all of the figures to be for weekly, monthly, and yearly income.  The rickshaw costs 250,000r, it is rented daily for 170r fuel not included, the exchange rate is 45r to $1.  Although tempting I don’t think I am going to use my capital to start to a rickshaw business.