we take stuff for granted, or experiences on an escalator

i tell people that stuff happens every day here that i have to stop and think, wow, that blows my mind. well, when this happened just the day before i left for the u.s., it honestly brought tears to my eyes. when i told my family, they couldn’t believe it.

there’s a new thing in bombay. it’s called the escalator. yes, really. the reason why it’s so new is a fascinating mixture of socio-economics and urban planning trends. take a rising middle-class group in a developing country. throw in increased purchasing power en masse, more trade with china and then add dozens of malls and new skyscrapers to a city in the financial capital of this developing country. suddenly, you’ve got people, old and young alike, who are just getting onto an escalator and using the lift for the first time in their lives.

so, as you can imagine, many indians have never been on an escalator or a lift. those things came with the gleaming buildings that outsourcing brought to india. but there's a little, dirty secret hidden behind all of this too: only around 50% of india's population can actually afford to go INTO those gleaming malls, residence buildings and calling centres with escalators and lifts. it's only the rich and the growing middle class who have access to enter and shop there. so begins my story.

in the first week of school, i'd promised two students (my top student and my most improved student) that by the end of the term, i'd take them out to dinner just before i flew to the u.s. for xmas. the point was to motivate that group of 15 kids. ultimately, two hard-working girls won the prize. i let them choose from a list where we'd dine (including some of the top spots in the city). because they're kids, though, they chose the food court at the mall at nariman point here in bombay.

we took a taxi over to the shopping mall in nariman point, to the girls' amazement. we stepped inside, had our bags examined per safety protocol, and proceeded forward. i was just stepping onto the escalator when i turned around to face them...and was already three our four steps up. as i watched them, i could see that they were trying to "jump" onto the moving staircase. then, the shocking realisation came: they had never been in a mall before, and they had never used an escalator. because malls are for middle and upper class people, not slum dwellers.

they finally managed to jump on, as i watched from about halfway up, and i called down to them something like "you are TOO funny!" and then kind of tried to laugh it off, but i had tears in my eyes. the idea hit me like a slap in the face: we take everything...EVERYTHING... for granted.

after we finished dinner, i told the girls to get ice cream cones while i waited with our stuff in a booth. they came back eating huge waffle cones, and with chocolate smeared all over their faces. they were so cute and it was then that i'd realised i'd forgotten my camera (or would have posted the shot here). i asked them as they ate if they'd had a good time. one said, 'didi, this was SO expensive!' and the other: 'we've never had ice cream cones like THIS before!' i got all bleary eyed again and averted my eyes. the thing is, dinner and ice cream for the three of us amounted to less than $6 u.s.

so this little episode made me think a lot about my role here as i left india for xmas on my continent, and i continued to ponder coming back to another job (where i would cater specifically to india's privileged bourgeoisie). how is it justifiable, any of this? truth is, i'm still thinking.