Poverty In Delhi

The one aspect of India we are still getting used to is the rampant poverty. India is home to over 400 million people living on less than USD 1.25/day. This is a third of the country's population. The contrast between rich and poor is so obvious. On one side of the street you may see palatial apartments, while on the other side people live in makeshift houses on the sidewalk. The American Embassy School is across the street from a slum dwelling so we get exposed to life in poverty on a daily basis. One morning I went on a photo shoot at this slum to get a glimpse of the amazing spirit of those who live in poverty.

We recently learned about an organization called "Magic Bus" in South Delhi that trains local mentors to work with children from impoverished communities to teach them important lessons about health and hygiene and empowers them to further their education and help them break the poverty cycle. All learning is experiential, taking place through the medium of sports.

Akash and I observed a local program and we were amazed at the excitement of the children who participated. 

Akash got in on the fun and engaged in sports play with the precious children. 

At the end of the session the mentors sat down with the children to teach them the importance of washing their hands frequently. The children listened attentively and promised that they would oblige. We were excited to see an organization work at such a grass roots level to empower change.

Life on the Road

Since we spend so much time in our car driving to and from school we have observed a lot about daily life through our car window.

Driving in Delhi is like playing bumper cars at Great Adventure. There are absolutely no rules on the road. Cars, buses, tractors, motorcycles, auto rickshaws and wandering cows all use the same lanes, and on occasion in both directions at once. Lane driving is a completely foreign concept to Indians who incessantly honk their horns to tell others to get out of their way. I found that Indians always assume that the other driver will get out of their way...and they usually do.

It’s all too chaotic and aggressive for my driving taste so I opted out and hired a driver. Sanjay, on the other hand, thinks he has the “right stuff” to navigate the roads and has been pretty successful except for one fender bender when he miscalculated the distance between an auto rickshaw and a 4-seater (with 7 passengers crammed in) that he was trying to squeeze in between. 

Driving in the outskirts of Delhi can be even more nerve wrecking because the roads are one lane highways. Indians are inherently impatient people, especially on the road, so they can’t stand slow vehicles in front of them. Drivers typically overtake slower vehicles ahead of them by going into the oncoming traffic’s lane even if a huge truck 300 yards away is coming straight at them at full speed.  The oncoming truck never slows down and at the last second the car swerves back into his own lane, kind of like something you'd experience in "Grand Theft Auto". There are many times I didn’t think I was going to make it out of the car alive but somehow Indians have this timing thing down to a science, or at least most of the time.  Indians love to live on the edge!

Back in Delhi, traffic is horrendous. There are too many vehicles on roads that were designed years ago for a much smaller driving population. With the emerging “middle class” many more people can afford motorbikes and cars. Rush hour is synonymous with gridlock. Then a 20-minute drive turns into 2 hours.

I have found the lack of passenger safety most shocking. Passengers never wear seatbelts, kids ride in the front seat of cars and whole families ride on a single motorcycle while the women and kids don’t wear helmets. New Delhi had instituted a law that everyone riding a scooter or motorcycle must wear a helmet but the Sikh community objected because they said that wearing any kind of headgear other than a turban was against the basis tenets of their Sikh religion. So Sikh men were exempted from the law and since it was impossible to tell Sikh women apart from non-Sikhs, all women were exempt.

Some interesting sightings from our car…A scooter tow…

People sleeping in the back of a moving truck

A herd of cows blocking traffic.

While sitting in your car, either in traffic or at a red light, one typically get barraged by foot peddlers or beggars.

Sometimes you even get entertained!

We see this old beggar every morning on the way to school. Priya looks for him every morning and gives him a part of her weekly allowance. He always gives her his blessings in return. 

School Begins, Indian Holidays and Sightseeing!

School Begins, Indian Holidays and Sightseeing.

The kids started school at the American Embassy School (AES) last week. Below is a picture of their first day. They definitely look a bit apprehensive about what their new school has in store for them. 

Fortunately the kids made a seamless transition and they feel very comfortable on their new campus. They love that no uniform is required, that the elementary school assigns no homework and that there are kiosks fully of yummy treats all over campus. 

I was the most worried about Akash’s transition to AES as a middle schooler so I was pleasantly surprised that he made so many new friends right away. His favorite aspect of the school is its international student body. His new friends hail from Sweden, Australia, Germany and India. Aside from his new friends, Akash is very excited about the travels he has scheduled with school. He is looking forward to his class trip in October to the foot of the Himalayas where he will camp, hike, visit local villages and raft down the Ganges River. As part of the Model UN, he will be travelling to Singapore in February for his first conference. As part of the tennis team he will be traveling to Mumbai for the AES India tennis tournament. I wish I could go with him!! 

Priya is a bit more reserved about traveling without her family. Her class field trip is to a tiger reserve in Central India but it will take some hand holding to convince her to go. Inside the classroom Priya is learning about how children from other countries are both different and similar. The kids from her class come from Korea, China, England, Australia, Chad and India. Outside of school Priya has joined a travel soccer team and has met some great girls from many of the other embassy schools in Delhi.

Shailen is also very happy at school. He is part of an experimental concept in the elementary school called the “Team Room” where two classrooms are attached. Two teachers teach 36 kids and with the luxury of space the joint classroom has a theater, couches for reading and play areas. With so much stimulation in class thankfully Shailen is staying out of trouble!

I'm also enjoying the American Embassy School. The other families and administration have been so welcoming to us that we feel right at home. A personal highlight for me is hearing the interesting stories the kids have when I pick them up from school everyday about the things they’ve learned and people they’ve interacted with. Both Priya and Shailen are taking Indian Studies so they’ve been teaching me about Indian History and the significance of holidays. We have enjoyed two holidays since school started, Lord Krishna’s birthday and Indian Independence Day.

Janmashtami, Lord Krishna’s birthday was on August 10th. I took the children to a local temple to participate in the festivities. They dressed up in traditional Indian clothing as seen below. 

At the temple the kids were mesmerized by the life-sized statues of Lord Krishna and his wife Radha, which were adorned in beautifully embroidered clothing. 

During the evening the kids learned how Indians worship their Gods (usually by fasting) and how they celebrate their love for the deities. Later we went to an outdoor festival where local children reenacted stories about Lord Krishna as written in the Bhagavad Gita (Indian bible). The celebration lasted till midnight, which is the time of Lord Krishna’s birth. It was the perfect ending to a beautiful evening.

Last weekend we visited Akshardham, a temple considered by some to be the 8th wonder of the world. The temple, which is named after a belief in Swaminarayan Hinduism, displays the beauty of traditional Hindu and Indian culture, spirituality and architecture. A picture of this breathtakingly beautiful temple is below.

The temple, which is the largest Hindu temple in the world, is built on 100 acres along the river Yamuna. The temple's grounds (called the "complex") are adorned with beautiful gardens, water fountains, carved pavilions and exhibitions. Designed in accordance with ancient Vedic text, it features a blend of architectural styles from across India. The temple is constructed entirely from Rajashtani pink sandstone and Italian Carrara marble, and has no support from steel or concrete.

The main monument at the center of the complex is covered top to bottom with carved details of plants, animals, dancers, musicians and deities. The temple’s intricate carvings compare with the Taj Mahal, but this temple was built in only five years by 11,000 artisans and volunteers at a price tag of $2 billion. Unfortunately photography was not allowed at the complex so I have attached a youtube video to give you a feel for the temple’s beauty.

The Akshardham complex is truly unique in that it combines the traditional architecture of Ancient India with modern day media and technology. There are a number of exhibitions in the complex, which display stories about the life of Swaminarayan and the history of India, that feel more like Epcot Center than an Indian temple. The Hall of Values, which portrays messages about the importance of peace and harmony, features life-like robotics, fiber optics, light and sounds effects. The Imax theatre, the only one of its kind in Delhi, features the early life of Swaminarayan as the teenage yogi. A boat ride, simmilar to the "It's a Small World After All" exhibit at Disney World,  takes visitors on a journey through 10,000 years of Indian history in approximately 12 minutes. Akshardham is a must see for any visitor to Delhi!

The Move

The Move

On July 30th my family and I moved to New Delhi from Rumson, New Jersey for a year. How much did we pack for this move? Only as much as we could check in! We ended up with 12 suitcases and 6 carry ons, two of which got left behind and had to be driven to the airport separately in the 11th hour before our flight left. 14 hours - and two movies, two meals and a decent night sleep later - we landed in the beautiful and vibrant country we call India. When we landed, we had a small army of sherpas asist us with our luggage. 

The kids did surprisingly well on the flight. They managed to get some sleep and were excited to start our new lives in Delhi. 

This is our new home in Delhi. We live in a part of South Delhi called Vasant Vihar, which is part of the diplomatic enclave. Our neighbors include the Thai, South Africa and Fiji embassies. We live on the 2nd floor. 

The kids were very excited to see their new home. We have a 4 bedroom apartment that is about 2500 square feet....a far cry from the suburban living that our kids are used to! 

The next morning we woke up to banging on our door. A group of women, who I'll call the "serenading mafia", heard that a new family had moved into the neighborhood, and, as is custom, they came to serenade us, but they demanded money upfront. We were taken aback but our landlord assured us that once they were paid off (they weren't cheap!), they were very ethical about not coming back for more. Unfortunately I did not catch the footage of their beautiful hymns on my phone, but it definitely was a treat. 

Our neighborhood, called the B block, has a lot of activity. There is a pretty park in front of our flat with a brick lined track, which many locals use for their daily walk. These are the kids that play in front of our house. The boy on the far right is a three year old whose name is Akash. 

This cow frequently blocks our driveway...

And this old chap, on his hand powered bike, always swings by for his morning tea from the chai stand in front of our flat. 

This monkey with her baby was a highlight on our block. She even dances!!