New Dehli and the Wealth Gap
The day started hecticly as we loaded into autorickshaws. Autorickshaws are driven by gutsy men and powered by something similar to a lawn mower motor. We stopped at the New Dehli Train Station to meet a tour guide from the NGO Salaam Baalak . In short, this NGO strives to get street kids off of the street and onto a path towards a productive life. We saw organized garbage bags piled in front of shops where kids came daily to trade articles of garbage (plastic, aluminum, etc.) for a small profit. This scene gave life to the images I had in my head after reading Beyond the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo which centered around the lives of street kids in India.
We walked through narrow alleyways lined with shops, small restaurants, and homes, all of which were dirty and falling apart. Stray and diseased-looking dogs roamed making there way through the several sleeping people also bordering the alleyways. I have experienced many new smells since my arrival in India, but nothing compares to what I smelled in those alleyways. I couldn't begin...I wouldn't want to begin...guessing at what sort of things made up those smells. I found myself breathing through my shirt and speeding my walk to shorten my exposure. Those conditions in which I was so uncomfortable and couldn't wait to get out of are the conditions people live their daily lives in.
Part of our tour included a look inside a home for boys off of the street. Immediately upon entering, we were greeted by several young boys. They shook our hands, introducing themselves, played quick games of thumb war (in which they were highly skilled) and derivatives of patty-cake with us. They were adorable. As soon as our cameras came out, a new wave of excitement hit. They all wanted pictures taken of themselves and with us, and several of us became human jungle gyms on which the boys posed for pictures. They were so much fun to be around, and it's hard to think that those boys are of the very few that have been pulled off of the street.
After our Salaam Baalak tour, we ventured to Khan Market in upscale New Deli. There were pricey and relatively clean restaurants (pricey for India anyway), designer stores I recognized from home, nice Indian clothing stores in which we made our first purchases, and several foreigners besides myself and my group. The contrast between what we had just seen on our tour only a few minutes away walking distance and the upscale part of New Dehli is astounding. It serves as an example of the incredible wealth gap in India.
Our day in New Dehli was exhausting both physically and mentally. The images of those living in poverty are vivid and the problems related to the wealth gap keep resurfacing in my mind.
Next stop the Hanifl Center at the Woodstock School in Mussoorie.
Until next time,
Ada
The day started hecticly as we loaded into autorickshaws. Autorickshaws are driven by gutsy men and powered by something similar to a lawn mower motor. We stopped at the New Dehli Train Station to meet a tour guide from the NGO Salaam Baalak . In short, this NGO strives to get street kids off of the street and onto a path towards a productive life. We saw organized garbage bags piled in front of shops where kids came daily to trade articles of garbage (plastic, aluminum, etc.) for a small profit. This scene gave life to the images I had in my head after reading Beyond the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo which centered around the lives of street kids in India.
We walked through narrow alleyways lined with shops, small restaurants, and homes, all of which were dirty and falling apart. Stray and diseased-looking dogs roamed making there way through the several sleeping people also bordering the alleyways. I have experienced many new smells since my arrival in India, but nothing compares to what I smelled in those alleyways. I couldn't begin...I wouldn't want to begin...guessing at what sort of things made up those smells. I found myself breathing through my shirt and speeding my walk to shorten my exposure. Those conditions in which I was so uncomfortable and couldn't wait to get out of are the conditions people live their daily lives in.
Part of our tour included a look inside a home for boys off of the street. Immediately upon entering, we were greeted by several young boys. They shook our hands, introducing themselves, played quick games of thumb war (in which they were highly skilled) and derivatives of patty-cake with us. They were adorable. As soon as our cameras came out, a new wave of excitement hit. They all wanted pictures taken of themselves and with us, and several of us became human jungle gyms on which the boys posed for pictures. They were so much fun to be around, and it's hard to think that those boys are of the very few that have been pulled off of the street.
After our Salaam Baalak tour, we ventured to Khan Market in upscale New Deli. There were pricey and relatively clean restaurants (pricey for India anyway), designer stores I recognized from home, nice Indian clothing stores in which we made our first purchases, and several foreigners besides myself and my group. The contrast between what we had just seen on our tour only a few minutes away walking distance and the upscale part of New Dehli is astounding. It serves as an example of the incredible wealth gap in India.
Our day in New Dehli was exhausting both physically and mentally. The images of those living in poverty are vivid and the problems related to the wealth gap keep resurfacing in my mind.
Next stop the Hanifl Center at the Woodstock School in Mussoorie.
Until next time,
Ada
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