I just got back from India (well it has been almost 2 months but I need an excuse to post my first post of 2008) and while all the talk about burgeoning population, rising middle class and even bigger midriffs are certainly true, I was sadly reminded that India is going through an identity crisis. With every family’s dream to have their kids go to America and more Indians returning to India to live their king size, change is happening too fast. Emulating the west has become more important than finding what India can do best. Despite change some things are still the same. 2 weeks spent in my not-so “tiny” coastal hometown was enough time to immerse myself in the cog wheel of the Indian system and know that despite change, old habits die hard. Below is a peek into my version of the old India in 2008:

  1. It still takes me a day to get home from a major city
  2. Trains are never on time and air transportation is even better. They cancel without explanation
  3. My mother still “saves” her money in a cash box at home
  4. The cop outside my family’s business establishment continues to take bribes and let people park illegally
  5. Movie theaters are still frequented by ruffians who guffaw at every love scene
  6. Power cuts are unpredictable and part of everyday existence
  7. Local courier service is still unreliable and you’ll be surprised if your package reaches a destination intact in 4 days
  8. The cobbler who sewed my high school shoes continues to own his little shack
  9. My nephew enjoys reading the same adventure books that I grew up on
  10. Arranged marriages are still a common tradition

So while my India decides to have a makeover every year, with each year bringing new globalized chains springing all around my small coastal city and more English speaking youth with strange American accents frequenting these areas, the facade is just a lure. India is still young and will need another century to oust the first world and create it’s own identity. Eradicating red tapism and poverty needs to be more important than getting Walmart and Dolce & Gabbana to open up stores. I am hopeful that with this identity crisis will come a new approach and new way of looking at revitalizing India within it’s traditional boundaries and rich cultural heritage as opposed to changing it to be something that it’s not.