From Point A to Point B
Getting around in Mumbai takes patience and a good sense of humor. Most of the time, I take the incredible traffic in stride. The non-stop honking, breathtaking pollution, pedestrians running across highways even when it’s dark, motorcycles with 3 or even 4 people on them and all without helmets…These are all part of the experience. I’m even getting used to the ric drivers’ darting in and out of traffic, squeezing so close to cars and buses that you can touch those vehicles without extending your arm.
When traffic is moving slowly, which is most of the time, I get a look at life by the side of the highway where shanties are clustered. In the early morning, men defecate in the weeds and toss pitchers of water over themselves to wash up. Women scrub dishes and clothes, although it’s hard to imagine just how clean things can get given the conditions around them. At all times of day and well into the evening, young children play. They run through piles of trash, chasing each other. Some play cricket with makeshift bats and others splash in puddles of murky water. Many run after the dogs that are all around. When the traffic stops, I can hear the children laughing.
At night, small campfires dot the highway’s edge. In the stop and start traffic, I can smell dinner as it mixes in with exhaust fumes. Inside the shanties, families gather on the floor. There are no beds; no separate rooms. There is no privacy at all.
While India is clearly reaching new heights in so many ways, these are some of the people left behind, living on less than $2 a day.
Daily Counts
A colleague at Dasra was delayed returning home last night. His train hit 4 people crossing the track and all were killed. It’s an all-too-frequent occurrence here and daily counts are published in the newspaper. On average 6 people are killed a day either on the train or on the tracks. Some fall from their perch on top of the train where they go to avoid the cramped railcars. In a city where more than 6 million people travel each day by train, the number might not seem remarkable, but it sure throws me. I often see women walk along the tracks collecting recyclables. It’s a scary site as the train approaches, and they slowly move out of its path.
When traffic is moving slowly, which is most of the time, I get a look at life by the side of the highway where shanties are clustered. In the early morning, men defecate in the weeds and toss pitchers of water over themselves to wash up. Women scrub dishes and clothes, although it’s hard to imagine just how clean things can get given the conditions around them. At all times of day and well into the evening, young children play. They run through piles of trash, chasing each other. Some play cricket with makeshift bats and others splash in puddles of murky water. Many run after the dogs that are all around. When the traffic stops, I can hear the children laughing.
At night, small campfires dot the highway’s edge. In the stop and start traffic, I can smell dinner as it mixes in with exhaust fumes. Inside the shanties, families gather on the floor. There are no beds; no separate rooms. There is no privacy at all.
While India is clearly reaching new heights in so many ways, these are some of the people left behind, living on less than $2 a day.
Daily Counts
A colleague at Dasra was delayed returning home last night. His train hit 4 people crossing the track and all were killed. It’s an all-too-frequent occurrence here and daily counts are published in the newspaper. On average 6 people are killed a day either on the train or on the tracks. Some fall from their perch on top of the train where they go to avoid the cramped railcars. In a city where more than 6 million people travel each day by train, the number might not seem remarkable, but it sure throws me. I often see women walk along the tracks collecting recyclables. It’s a scary site as the train approaches, and they slowly move out of its path.
posted by arr at 11:04 AM
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