Cultural Perspectives

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Well, today I had another particularly "Delhi" experience - riding in a taxi. After an interesting breakfast of something that I didn't think resembled actual yogurt in the least and certainly not real orange juice, we departed for our morning meeting at our firm's offices. One of the doormen took the address and re-wrote it on a car with the taxi's number so that we would have it for the return trip as well. I was told that it's in the nature of Indians to always ask for more business - so our drivers have always asked about taking us on additional tours, and the return trip to the airport, and cabs are no different. We got into the cab, which I was happy to see looked like an old British colonial cab, although that turned out to be the only cool thing about it. As our driver paused at the exit to the hotel, another man jumped into the passenger seat (I should also note that Indians drive on the left, same as in England). I leaned over to my dad to tell him that I had read about this - cab drivers pick up their passenger, and then pause to let their friends jump in. Free ride!

I mentioned to my dad that generally you're supposed to say something and not allow this to happen, but I remembered a story I'd read about a girl who did this very thing on the way from the airport at night, and the cab driver just dropped her off on a deserted street. Since we had to be at the offices shortly, and we were dressed up and sticking out like sore thumbs, I thought it best to keep quiet. We told the driver the name of the building, and as we drove up, I thought, no this can't be it. When it's business though, you can't just back out because you're afraid. We got out of the taxi and paid the fare, and convinced him that we didn't need a return trip. We were in a parking lot outside of an underground parking section, and there was no clear entrance. But there were a lot of young Indian men loitering outside (I hate to sound snooty, but that's what they were doing!). We walked along the building, and only saw two small banks. No door. I definitely wanted to cry, but my dad asked a young woman where the doors were, and she instructed us to follow the throngs of people heading into the parking garage. So we did, and finally found the ancient elevator that took us upstairs.

The building is pretty old, and we later learned that it's one of the original high rises in the area. Our firm needs to move because they are growing quickly, but real estate prices are so high ($5 a month per square foot), and space so limited, that they are having difficulty finding a new office. I also learned another interesting fact - their metro system was only put in about eighteen months ago, and is extremely limited. I guess I forget when coming from a place where subways are so common that there are developing countries that do not have this luxury. We had a nice meeting with our firm, and they let us use the company car to return to the hotel. I breathed a sigh of relief knowing that over the next three days, I will not have to get into another taxi!

After working for the afternoon, and getting some rest, it was time for our welcome reception and dinner, which we held at the hotel. And I feel a little sick now, because I just figured out how much it cost per person. I'm hoping there's a mistake somewhere - ah, there is, a human one. Let's just say I thought the "L" in total was an extra one, which would have put the bill right around $28,000. Sweet. But anyway, since it was at the hotel, dinner wasn't too culturally exciting, although, it's always interesting to eat in Asia when you can't even identify what is on your plate. For me, that's a bad thing. And it's always interesting to see how other members of the group view the city that they're visiting. Some are more adventurous than others, and they see Delhi as exhilarating and fascinating, saying that when you can get a working, quality cab in your home city, why would you want that same service when you're away? It's all an experience! Versus my version, which is that I would prefer to have the working, quality cab because it's safer and familiar. I don't always like the familiar, but this week has been so far out of my comfort zone that I can't even see it anymore. So I'm looking forward to returning home, definitely, and not really seeing this whole thing as a fun adventure. But it has certainly been an experience!

Another interesting part of this job is that at each of our meetings, we interact quite a lot with the host firm's lawyers, who have interesting views on the US, as well as their own countries. We had one of our host lawyers at our table for dinner, and she said that she thought in the US there are less cultural differences between the suburbs than there are in India. While I think that there are major differences between parts of the US (ie the deep South versus the Northeast, and even California), I did agree with her. In India, everything can be different in different parts of the country: dress, customs, even language. Even natives can feel out of place in other parts of India, and see something totally new when they travel domestically, which is not that common in America. And different laws apply to different religious groups, as far as marriage and other personal laws. For example, a Muslim man can marry more than one wife, but a Hindi man cannot. Our host also pointed out that this can cause confusion in inter-caste marriages, which she assumes are generally marriages of love and not arrangement (makes sense). It was interesting to note that she thought that New Delhi had changed dramatically over the past fifteen years, particularly in terms of infrastructure, while one of our lawyers who hadn't been here in fifteen years saw it as being exactly the same. It's interesting what your personal perspective can cause you to see.

Anyway, my personal perspective is inviting me to get six hours of sleep before my big presentation tomorrow morning. Tomorrow, we are actually eating outside of the hotel, and enjoying some tours, so I will have photos and more to say!

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Comments

[Anne]

Really Enjoying Your Blogs
Hi Lindsay, I'm really enjoying your blogs. I was supposed to be leaving for Bangalore tonight but an ice storm in NYC saved me from actually going through with it. My dearest friend is in Mysore until June visiting his family. He invited me to fly over to experience India during my school break (I'm a teacher.). I think I prefer visiting India vicariously through film, books and travel blogs. You're on an amazing adventure. I hope the remainder of your trip is more fun, less anxiety provoking and productive. I look forward to reading your blogs in the coming days. Best, Anne