Things change rapidly in India. Often, the change is for the better, but sometimes, it's not. I never thought my walk to work would be a microcosm of a changing country...
When I first moved here, and for who knows how many months before that, my typical walk from my neighborhood to that of our office transited past the neighborhood garbage dump, through a dirt road along side a building falling apart, through a trash strewn area ringed by barbed wire, to a lush, green pathway by a nice park and into a very luxurious neighborhood. Elements of the walk point to the many dichotomies that are readily apparent here.
Each morning, a heard of cattle can be found at the garbage dump, rifling through the trash for any leftover morsels of goodness. They are accompanied by a number of barking dogs that also search for scraps, and generally run the neighborhood. The big building alongside the path appears to be the epicenter of something terrible that happened - but is likely a result of neglect. The building has no walls. The upper floors have fallen like trap doors, with concrete slabs swinging on still attached steel bars. A number of families call the building home. At night you can see their cook fires. During the day, you can hear the screams of the children playing. The trash strewn walkway is the border between two neighborhoods, one of the poshest in Delhi and one of a lower middle class. The trash of both neighborhoods fills the walkway, even with the garbage dump 500 feet away. Pigs often roost in the mud, dirt and trash in and along the path. And then, in a two foot segment, the trash disappears in favor of a neatly laid path, with trees growing on either side that runs along a manicured park where morning walkers get their exercise.
There are lots of generalizations that can be drawn from this quarter mile stretch; from lack of sanitation or housing, the possible ease with which disease can spread, the vastly different degrees of wealth on either side of a fence, or respect for the environment.
But my focus is the dirt path. A few months ago, a large pile of stone tiles appeared out of nowhere. The stones were orange, red and white, and were triangular in nature with rounded, interlocking edges. Within a few weeks of the neatly laid pile appearing, almost overnight, half of the dirt path became neatly covered in stone tiles, starting at the garbage dump and neatly laid until the stones ran out - about a third of what was necessary to pave. That first walk along the path... was .... luxurious. It was neat, it was clean, it was pretty - for the 200 or so feet until it returned to dirt. I was anxious to see if the path would be finished. But after a few days, after a few weeks, the newness of the path receded. Piles of cow poop would appear in the morning. A layer of grime, consistent with most of the streets, began to make the path, although still much nicer than the dirt path, 'fit' in.
Then, after an absence of about a month, I was shocked to see the path dug up. A pipe was laid and covered over with a mound of dirt. The path was worse off than it was before - when it was just a neat dirt road. Now it was haphazard rocks and tiles, smeared with dirt. It struck me - the lack of planning, waste of effort to lay the tile on the path, waste of resources in the tile. Its apparent that the path has resumed its normal 'fit', as the well trodden trails have found their way up the mound and around large rocks.
After a few more months, the tiles along the path were repaired. Following that, concrete was poured at the end of the path to form a parking lot, which is now full of parked cars and kids playing cricket in the morning. Still, one section of dirt remains. I would call it charming, if it weren't between two barbed wire fences, uneven and rocky, often covered in animal poop and trash. What will the next step be here? Dig it up again for another pipe? Another expansion or addition? Of fix the path - which is heavily trodden, but lies directly between the oversight of the two neighborhoods.
Is it a microcosm of a country and an economy that is unpredictable? With constantly changing regulations and an ability for those at the top to change directions instantly? A plethora of resources, but disagreement on how to apply them? A lack of overall plan?
Its probably none of these - and just another day in India. Two steps forward, one step back. Two steps forward, one step back.
When I first moved here, and for who knows how many months before that, my typical walk from my neighborhood to that of our office transited past the neighborhood garbage dump, through a dirt road along side a building falling apart, through a trash strewn area ringed by barbed wire, to a lush, green pathway by a nice park and into a very luxurious neighborhood. Elements of the walk point to the many dichotomies that are readily apparent here.
Each morning, a heard of cattle can be found at the garbage dump, rifling through the trash for any leftover morsels of goodness. They are accompanied by a number of barking dogs that also search for scraps, and generally run the neighborhood. The big building alongside the path appears to be the epicenter of something terrible that happened - but is likely a result of neglect. The building has no walls. The upper floors have fallen like trap doors, with concrete slabs swinging on still attached steel bars. A number of families call the building home. At night you can see their cook fires. During the day, you can hear the screams of the children playing. The trash strewn walkway is the border between two neighborhoods, one of the poshest in Delhi and one of a lower middle class. The trash of both neighborhoods fills the walkway, even with the garbage dump 500 feet away. Pigs often roost in the mud, dirt and trash in and along the path. And then, in a two foot segment, the trash disappears in favor of a neatly laid path, with trees growing on either side that runs along a manicured park where morning walkers get their exercise.
There are lots of generalizations that can be drawn from this quarter mile stretch; from lack of sanitation or housing, the possible ease with which disease can spread, the vastly different degrees of wealth on either side of a fence, or respect for the environment.
But my focus is the dirt path. A few months ago, a large pile of stone tiles appeared out of nowhere. The stones were orange, red and white, and were triangular in nature with rounded, interlocking edges. Within a few weeks of the neatly laid pile appearing, almost overnight, half of the dirt path became neatly covered in stone tiles, starting at the garbage dump and neatly laid until the stones ran out - about a third of what was necessary to pave. That first walk along the path... was .... luxurious. It was neat, it was clean, it was pretty - for the 200 or so feet until it returned to dirt. I was anxious to see if the path would be finished. But after a few days, after a few weeks, the newness of the path receded. Piles of cow poop would appear in the morning. A layer of grime, consistent with most of the streets, began to make the path, although still much nicer than the dirt path, 'fit' in. 
Then, after an absence of about a month, I was shocked to see the path dug up. A pipe was laid and covered over with a mound of dirt. The path was worse off than it was before - when it was just a neat dirt road. Now it was haphazard rocks and tiles, smeared with dirt. It struck me - the lack of planning, waste of effort to lay the tile on the path, waste of resources in the tile. Its apparent that the path has resumed its normal 'fit', as the well trodden trails have found their way up the mound and around large rocks.
After a few more months, the tiles along the path were repaired. Following that, concrete was poured at the end of the path to form a parking lot, which is now full of parked cars and kids playing cricket in the morning. Still, one section of dirt remains. I would call it charming, if it weren't between two barbed wire fences, uneven and rocky, often covered in animal poop and trash. What will the next step be here? Dig it up again for another pipe? Another expansion or addition? Of fix the path - which is heavily trodden, but lies directly between the oversight of the two neighborhoods.Is it a microcosm of a country and an economy that is unpredictable? With constantly changing regulations and an ability for those at the top to change directions instantly? A plethora of resources, but disagreement on how to apply them? A lack of overall plan?
Its probably none of these - and just another day in India. Two steps forward, one step back. Two steps forward, one step back.
