First day in India

I spoke to this gentleman who works for HSBC, a British bank, in NYC.   His job is to try to convince American "Indians" to invest in India.    A difficult task for the older generation of Indians who still believe that India is a third world country.    He said that the US economy is growing at 2.5% (roughly) and that India and China are growing at 8.5%.   

I'd say by the looks of Pune,  what he says is clearly true. 

There is a brand new 6 story sparkly MALL across the street from the Iyengar Institute (so much for breathe deep into the quiet).   Flashy, expensive and packed full of young people shopping or using the free Internet, these young Indians are dressing more and more like Americans....and are apparently doing it on Credit.     In this mall, there is a Tommy Hilfinger section, a Bennetton section and surely loads of name brand Indian clothing that looks expensive...and western.   There is still an "ethnic" section with people shopping in it, but it's not the predominant genre.

But that's not all.   There are new compact cars (I wish that we had in the US) everywhere.   Cute, economical, sporty.     There are no longer any cows in the streets.    It would seem even less beggers.   Pune, or at least this neighborhood in Pune, is booming.

Should we be frightened?   Our American "kama"  (sanskirt word for "desire") is catching up with the rest of the world,  though they are still smiling.

Swami Dayananda writes the following:

A human being sees himself as a deficient person. His constant, compulsive pursuits make his sense of inadequacy evident. To escape from this deficiency, he struggles for a large number of things in life which fall under four main headings:  dharma (ethics), artha (security), kama (pleasures), moksa (liberation).  

He continues these thoughts at the following link: http://www.arshavidya.org/vision/v1n4.htm

That said, there is a magic here.  Even the flea-ridden street dogs have wonderful personalities in spite of their plight in life.    Whether it is the non-English speaking front desk fellow, who without me asking made me an omelet in the middle of the night because I was up and he could tell I was hungry, or the restaurant owner who lived in Atlanta for ten years as a photographer, who guided me to a photography shop with an English speaking owner who can hopefully reset my new camera, the people of India are wonderful, beautiful people quick to smile.

Blessings to you all.