Escaping everyday India
This is going to be a rant. I don’t like doing these kind of pieces. What good is negativity and ranting about a problem going to do? Find a solution and then talk about it. At least that’s what I tell myself most days but somedays it all becomes too much. Today is one of those days.
In india, you don’t make money to enjoy life. You make it to escape everyday life. You make money to get access to food, water, security…and just some space. You make money to have the ability to be and feel human.
Water
Water is a nightmare in Bangalore. Groundwater is severely depleted. Our primary water source, the Kaveri, is a 100kms away and is constantly under conflict between our two thirsty states, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Our apartment supplies a fantastic cocktail of Kaveri water, tanker water and maybe some groundwater pumped on premise. Of course, this concoction is far from potable. So we have a reverse-osmosis filter installed in our kitchens. This is, BTW, the best fucking system that money can buy here. I’ve seen kids stealing water from tankers when they are at traffic signals. So I guess I’ve escaped that reality.
Air
Where do I start on this. We recently got an Air Quality Index (AQI). Guess what, Bangalore is at the top of the list. Of worst air quality. Sigh. I guess, I shouldn’t even sigh, given that I’ll be breathing that air after the sigh. As a parent this worries the crap out of me. What kind of shit is lining up my child’s lungs? Also, this is something I feel the most helpless about. What do I do, with all resources that I have, to fix this for my child. Basically nothing, short of leaving my life behind and moving to a village in the hills. I must admit that at times even this seems like a great idea.
Food
I think we’re living in the dark ages of food in India right now. Our parents lived in a smaller food ecosystem. A lot of stuff was local, in a ecosystem which was well known and understood. Over the last few decades, our food production has been industrialised with negligible oversight. So now, I am left wondering what’s in the food. Of course, most nights, I try not to think about it. It’s one of those things that are as depressing as the air quality.
Space and security
You pay money to get a capsule of safe space in a crowded city. In your capsule you can walk safely, without fear of dropping into a open, unmarked hole in the road. In your capsule, you can breathe a little without worrying about the dark fumes that are in your face on the roads. In your capsule, you can sometime forget to lock your front door without living in a constant state of paranoia. But step out of this cocoon and this temporary reality evaporates and you face the real India.
I could go on but this gives you the picture. What the hell is wrong with out country. Wait a minute, I think I know exactly what. We live in a “developing” nation. This is exactly how shitty our lives will be. And who am I to crib. I probably have it better than millions out there.
But I have to crib. How will we, as a country, produce groundbreaking stuff when we’re stuck in this contant war to survive on a daily basis. Just getting through the day makes you feel that you’ve made it. It’s frustrating. Damn frustrating.
Wrote this a couple of days back and didn’t publish. But I guess I need to say this. However negative, defeatist this sounds. This has to be said so that I can find a way out.
