Initial Impressions of India

April 3rd, 2008 Posted in India

I wanted to write down my initial impressions of India before they were long distant memories. I’m already very comfortable in India despite the fact I still can’t communicate in Hindi. Keep in mind that this is really initial impressions of Lucknow as India is extremely diverse in itself.

The first experience was arriving at New Delhi International Airport. I initially taken back by the foul smell, but quickly realized that this is what my friend had referred to as the smell of pollution. You get quickly used to it, but it won’t be anything you’ve ever smelled before if you’re from America (unless you like to smell car exhaust for extended periods of time).

The airport itself was in terrible shape by American standards. I didn’t have any idea where to go, so I just followed everyone else and hoped I wasn’t doing anything stupid. However, the process was still quite smooth, so it really didn’t matter.

The lines through customs were very long. I was worried that they would be very particular of the contents of my bags, but it turned out to be the opposite. The X-ray machine didn’t seem to be working so they just let passengers go with a quick look at the customs ticket. This was important for me since I was carrying an extra laptop and too much Indian currency.

I then proceeded to take a shuttle to the domestic airport by barely understanding the airport staff. I quickly realized that most Indians do not speak very good English. It makes it even worse that I’m speaking in an American accent. The domestic airport was a little bit better. I ended up staying there almost 8 hours waiting for my flight. It was not a pleasant experience, but my new Indian high was pulling me through it.

The X-ray check for carry-ons was a terrible experience. People were just pushing and trying to get moving any way they could. I started realizing I had to be a bit aggressive to make it through. A huge problem is that you have to leave your valuable contents on a X-ray machine and then continue in a line that is out of site of the X-ray machine. This means ANYONE could take your possessions and get away with it. This alarmed me, but I made it out. I had a scare in that I couldn’t find my jacket with my wallet, but it ended up being cleverly hidden under someone else’s jacket.

There were no fancy terminals, so when my plane was ready, I was taken by a bus to the plane. It ended up being a very small plane with turboprop propellers. I ended up flying Jet Airways which is supposed to be the second best airline. It was pleasant experience for the most part. The Indian landscape from above is quite different from what I’m used to. It seemed like something out of a realistic first person military game.

When I finally arrived in Lucknow, I was greeted by my friend and his driver. His driver actually pointed me out faster than my friend which showed how much I stood out. This is when I really experienced the shock of India.

The drive to my friend’s home was exactly something out of a documentary. The drive was chaotic as no one seemed to follow any sort of rules. The chaos was quite exhilarating.

The other huge shock was seeing all the people on the side of the streets. There were people everywhere along the streets. It was apparent that most people actually lived on the street. Many people set up tiny shops to make a barely subsistent living, and I’m pretty sure that most people had no right to the land they were dwelling on.

I was excited though. This was exactly the eye opening experience I was looking for. I’m always looking to get a better sense of reality and this was an important piece for me to understand the world and it’s inhabitants.

Most Americans would find the conditions unlivable, but they seem to do it day in and day out. By no means is their living conditions acceptable, but they seemed to make due better than most Americans in terms of mental well being.

I finally arrived at my friend’s house to realize that buildings were very different. Instead of using wood and brick, most houses are built using 100 percent concrete. This makes it very expensive to build a house, but it is going to last a very long time.

The use concrete makes for a very different experience. At first, it seemed very cold, but you quickly warm up to it. I did however feel very safe as my friend’s house was made out of reinforced concrete. I knew this building wasn’t going to topple over very easily.

My friend’s family was very friendly. The fact they were allowing me to stay for a whole month was extremely generous from them. You have to keep in mind that Lucknow isn’t a very safe place for a foreigner like myself to be in without help. You can’t get very far without the help of others.

I ended up joining my friend to his MBA coaching class. I started to realize that people were going to stare at me everywhere I go. I was advised to avoid eye contact, which was especially ironic since I spent many years developing the ability to look people in the eye.

I was introduced to other classmates outside of class. They were having a practice discussion amongst themselves which is actually part of the MBA application process. I made my first blunder by shaking hands with the ladies in the group, but since they were educated and I was a foreigner, it wasn’t a problem.

Most of the group spoke English fairly well, which means I could understand them completely. However, a couple of them had extremely heavy accents which made it impossible to understand them. I realized that this is how most people in India spoke English.

Overall, the initial experience was one big high for me. I embrace change, but this was a very drastic one. I did feel even more confident that was a place I wanted to spend time on. There were experience and perspectives I would be getting that couldn’t be dreamed up.