dinner party talk

Yesterday I was at a dinner party with Mou's dance group (she's a dance teacher). It was all women, a mix of ages, and a very lively bunch... maybe about 12 people altogether.  Most were Bengali.

After a bit of mingling, someone convinced one of the women to sing. She picked a devotional song... she had an amazing voice and it was beautiful. And then everyone was in the mood for singing and such things, so she sang a couple more upbeat and popular songs... people joined in and clapped and since the group was a bunch of dancers, there was some dancing as well. I loved how unexpected it was. And then the conversation just resumed... and took an interesting turn.

When introducing me to people, Mou always mentioned that I want to learn about migrants from UP and Bihar.  She would say it with a little smile, and it was also always met by a knowing smile or chuckle. So after one of these reactions, I asked the few people standing around me what they found amusing about my research topic.  And for the next few minutes, the room exploded in a debate about the intelligence of Biharis vs. Bengalis (remember this is an almost exclusively Bengali bunch).

At first, it came out as a joke... someone said, well, they're not "all there" and pointed to her head. Another woman immediately countered that its just Bengali nature to think of everyone else as low-brow and uneducated. The banter about snobby Bengali attitudes continued... and finally someone said, "well listen, its no good to have brains without brawn, right?" Meaning the Bengali intellectuals need the Bihari work force around.

Another woman countered that Biharis are actually quite sharp, as evidenced by the fact that so many take the IPS (Indian Public Service) exam. To which it was quickly replied that no one else wants to be in the IPS... the good careers are in IT and business.

The atmosphere was full of jest and laughter, but there was definitely an underlying belief in the superiority of Bengali intelligence... or maybe just the richness of Bengali intellectual traditions?  At the same time, I didn't sense any hostility towards the migrants (in the way that there is among upper-middle/upper classes in Bombay, and certainly among a lot of Maharashtrians, regardless of class). None of the "they shouldn't be allowed here" attitude.  Just the raging stereotypes I guess.

Update on Monday, April 6, 2009 at 12:13AM by Rameez

I should add that the "Biharis' they're referring to are particularly lower class labor migrants, who have a visible presence as a group in the city, especially because they dominate jobs like driving taxis and rickshaws.  Bihar is one of India's poorest and least literate provinces, and also has a reputation for having political leaders that are corrupt and incompetent.  That's changing though... but those are still the general impressions that people have of people who come from Bihar. Poverty, incompetence, lack of education.

There are also plenty of affluent Bihari migrants, but they blend into the city more seamlessly... and they weren't the population of 'Biharis' that these women had in mind at all.  In fact, my roommate is originally Bihari and a student at one of India's top business schools... and I think no one would have hesitated to have this conversation in front of her, because they just don't associate her with Bihar.

amusing signs

One thing I love about India is the signage, especially the notices you see posted in public places.  I like that there is a profusion of notices and instructions everywhere... trains, taxis, doors, awnings, etc.  And the things they tell you can be pretty funny.

On a plane, one of the warnings was "The life jacket under your seat is for emergencies only. Removing it from the aircraft is a criminal offense."  Isn't it a bit endearing that someone out there considers taking the life jacket?

Today, on the metro, I read a fire prevention sign.  It listed various items that are prohibited on trains... firecrackers, flamable gases, etc.  And item #3 warned "Do not light up stove or sigri."  On a train.  I guess it makes sense because Calcutta has so many homeless and itinerant people... but still.

first calcutta impressions

I arrived at the airport at 11:30 pm and had a half-hour taxi ride to the place where I'm staying-- an apartment attached to Mrs. Shome's place which she uses to host students. Everyone calls her Mou (pronounced Mo). I'm sharing the apartment with an MBA student from Bangalore (Rekha), and a college student from Vermont (Katie).

Just on the ride from the airport, I noticed some things that are different than Bombay:

- the main streets are a little emptier at midnight

- significantly more people sitting or sleeping on the sides of the streets

- 2 different billboards for a "sexologist," a word that I think would be very surprising to see in large print in Bombay. Rekha later told me that its because Calcutta is known as a city of love, and a city particularly open to love marriages.  <3

- person-powered rickshaws. They're a bit controversial because its so physically taxing on the operators...  I've read that some people want the city to ban them, but I don't think that is seriously under consideration.

-  more English signs, in general.  There's much more Marathi on store signs and billboards in Bombay than there is Bengali in Calcutta.

Katie just took me on an introductory tour of the city.  It was kind of what I expected... really crowded and overwhelming.  But also perfectly fine to walk around.  So many Indian friends in the U.S. had talked up the pollution, overpopulation and sanitation issues in Calcutta... and those things are apparent, but today the areas I visited were perfectly fine for walking around and enjoying yourself.

I also had really excellent Chinese food.  Found out that Calcutta is known for it.  Here's a picture of some Chinese restaurants with amusing names.  (The one I ate in was significantly less sketchy).  And another of me in the apartment.

 

Update on Sunday, April 12, 2009 at 8:45AM by Rameez

ok, I should not have been quite so derisive about the Peep-N-Inn, pictured in this entry.  I just had a kati roll from there... it had egg and paneer... and was extreeemly yummy.  I would never had tried it on my own, based on the look of the place, but one of my roommates made me do it.

I haven't, however, had Chinese food at this establishment... yet.

article 21: 'right to life'

You wouldn't think that Article 21 of the Indian constitution would be too controversial.  It says "No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law."  This is frequently called the 'right to life' article.  The important thing about it is that the supreme court of India has interpreted it in quite expansive ways.

Looking at the court's individual decisions-- such as the ruling that all slum and pavement dwellers have the right to live somewhere and city governments are responsible for upholding this right; or the ruling that all destitute families are entitled to 35 kgs of grain every month-- well, I generally support these policies.  A minimal standard of shelter and food are essential for being able to make a living.

But considering the big picture of the rulings that have derived from Article 21, I can't decide if I agree with the vision of the supreme court.  Its not that I think the rulings are too redistributive or too specific to be constitutionally enshrined.  Rather, maybe food and shelter are too important to be placed primarily under the responsiblity of the Indian government. 

The reach of government is, of course, one of the basic problems of politics.   Most people would agree that government should be responsible for guaranteeing rights like freedom of speech and conscience.  Only a government has a system of courts and police forces that can enforce these rights.  Food and shelter, maybe, are more basic than civil liberities like free speech.  More important for survival, definitely.  But also not something that only government institutions are equipped to provide.  So it doesn't seem right that the supreme court of India entrusts the country's local governments-- many of them rife with corruption, bureaucratic inefficiencies and discriminatory practices--with such an essential task. 

This tension is also central to American politics... issues about the size of government; and our two main parties' visions of what they do and don't trust government to do.  In India, though, the political debate doesn't really take those terms.  I think it is more taken for granted that the government should do these tasks... the debate, rather, seems to be more about implementation.

Billions of rupees go into the nationally-organized rationing system, but the distribution of the food is entirely the responsiblity of hte states.  And many of them screw it up, meaning that hte very poorest don't actually get any food.  I like the humanitarian ethic of the Indian constitution and can understand the supreme court's desire to make the humanitarian values into specific policies.  But underpaid corruption-prone public officials and bureaucrats shouldn't be relied on to guarantee goods that are essential for life.

Slumdog Millionaire too rosy about slums?

I've been listening to commentary about Slumdog Millionare with interest.  I just spent 3 months of 2008 traveling to Mumbai slums on an almost daily basis.  The footage of the Dharavi slum in the movie was amazing.  The aerial shots and the reeling camera motion captured the energy and vibrance that I felt while walking in and out of Dharavi's alleys. 

The author of this review on BBC calls Slumdog "kitschy, but not kitschy enough to stand up to Bollywood."  In other words, the movie isn't realistic enough, because it stereotypically uses carefree children to gloss over the truth of slum life.  Yet, it doesn't have the spirit of a true Bollywood film either.

I, on the other hand, liked the movie for its low-dose of Bollywood.  For some reason, I have not yet developed a taste for Bollywood's dramatic flourishes.  Slumdog had some of those, but wasn't packed with them.  It was an avowedly unrealistic fairytale ending, complete with a musical number, but until the ending, the movie had none of the obvious drama--overt musical cues, over-acted facial expressions-- that are Bollywood signatures.

And I also liked its low-dose of realism.  There is a palpable zest for life and plenty of productive activity in Dharavi.  But everybody has a hard life.  One of the hardest things that I saw is that so many people's children weren't healthy because of the lack of hygiene.  It was an ongoing concern of most women.  That doesn't mesh with the happy slum-is-my-playground scenes in the movie.  Its also important to remember that Dharavi is a particularly vibrant slum, packed with small and large-scale industries.  Other slums around Mumbai-- for example in the Govandi area-- give off a more truly depressed vibe. Nevertheless, I was struck by the basic optimism of many of the slum residents I met in Mumbai, and I think Slumdog Millionare captures that spirit.  It gives you only a small part of the picture of living in a slum, but maybe a part that is not often acknowledged.