Text and photos: Aage Myhre

A rickety old bus runs past me in a busy, polluted Mumbai street. Suddenly I see a little girl's face in one

of the bus windows. The contrast between the old bus and the beautiful child is striking. We are in India!

Text and photos: Aage Myhre

A COUNTRY OF CONTRASTS

India's development over the past 20 years has been unprecedented positive and impressive, and I will in this issue of VilNews tell you a few things about what this development has consisted of.

I will also investigate the allegations I have heard that Sanskrit and Lithuanian languages, for some strange reason have much in common.

But first and foremost, I'll take you on a journey to a land without parallel in our world, and I will introduce you to some truly remarkable individuals!

India has been described as a “Rich country where poor people live.” The last few years have seen incredible growth in the Indian economy that from 2000 to 2005 grew from $460.2 Billion to $906.3 Billion, making it the second fastest growing economy in the world after China. The world’s largest democracy, India is making huge investment in infrastructure and technology, which was evident while I visited the country’s two largest cities, Mumbai and Delhi.

The man who sits here on the sidewalk in the giant city of Mumbai with his small child sleeping undisturbed on his lap and his crutches standing next to them makes an impression on me. But even if poverty in India is very visible and obvious, my main impression is that this is a country first and foremost characterized by warmth, kindness, hospitality and tranquillity. The eyes of the poor man on the sidewalk are not characterized by a demanding look; that I should give him money. Instead they tell the story of inner peace and contentment in spite of the situation he lives under.

MADHUR ROY waits for me at the Delhi International Airport when I fly in from Mumbai in the late evening. She represents the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and has been given the responsibility to show me around and introduce me to people I have special interest in meeting during my visit. On the way to the hotel she tells me about the programme. She also talks about her hobbies; filmmaking and singing. During my days in Delhi, she does a very good job, every day from early morning to late evening. A few days later, on the way to the airport, she sings a quiet, melodic song about herself, a song about the little girl from a village up in the mountains far to the north who came to live in the big city. I see tears rolling down her cheeks, and I feel very touched having got to know a person who not only performs her job in a very professional manner, but also dares to show her feelings in such a way. My visit to India got a new dimension after the meeting with Madhur. Thanks a lot!!

INDIA

India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the world’s seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.18 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world. Mainland India is bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal on the east; and it is bordered by Pakistan to the west, the People's Republic of China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north; and Bangladesh and Burma to the east. India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka, and the Maldives in the Indian Ocean, its Andaman and Nicobar Islands are also in the vicinity of the Indonesian island of Sumatra in the Andaman Sea, and in the Andaman Sea India also shares a maritime border with Thailand. India has a coastline of 7,517 kilometres (4,700 mi).

Home to the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation and a region of historic trade routes and vast empires, the Indian subcontinent was identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history. Four major religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism originated here, while Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam arrived in the first millennium CE and shaped the region's diverse culture. Gradually annexed by the British East India Company from the early eighteenth century and colonised by the United Kingdom from the mid-nineteenth century, India became an independent nation in 1947 after a struggle for independence that was marked by widespread non-violent resistance.

India is a federal constitutional republic with a parliamentary democracy consisting of 28 states and seven union territories. Apluralistic, multilingual and multiethnic society, India is also home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats. The Indian economy is the world's eleventh largest economy by nominal GDP and the fourth largest by purchasing power parity.

Since the introduction of market-based economic reforms in 1991, India has become one of the fastest growing major economies in the world; however, it still suffers from poverty, illiteracy, corruption, disease, and malnutrition. India is classified as a newly industrialised country and is one of the four BRIC nations. It is a nuclear weapons state and has the third-largest standing armed force in the world, while its military expenditure ranks tenth in the world. It is a founding member of the United Nations, the East Asia Summit, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation and the Non-Aligned Movement and a member of the Commonwealth of Nations and the G-20 major economies.

DELHI (official name: National Capital Territory of Delhi - NCT) is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest metropolis by population in India. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with more than 12.25 million inhabitants in the territory and with nearly 22.2 million residents in the National Capital Region urban area The name Delhi is often also used to include some urban areas near the NCT, as well as to refer to New Delhi, the capital of India, which lies within the metropolis. It is the capital of India and its political and cultural centre. Located on the banks of the River Yamuna, Delhi has been continuously inhabited since at least the 6th century BCE.

MUMBAI, also known as Bombay is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of approximately 20 million. Along with the neighbouring urban areas, including the cities of Navi Mumbai and Thane, it is one of the most populous urban regions in the world. Mumbai lies on the west coast of India and has a deep natural harbour. Mumbai is also the richest city in India, and has the highest GDP of any city in South or Central Asia.

Impressions

Almost two years ago India experienced its 9/11 when terrorists from Pakistan came in by sea and sneaked into Mumbai via the port areas you see in the picture above. Taj Mahal Hotel and other buildings that were attacked are located just a few meters away from the hotel window I take this picture from…

The Mumbai Old Town is built on seven islands and was once an important centre for fisheries in the northern Arabian Sea. It was later turned into an important trade centre by the Portuguese and the British. Today almost 20 million people live in Mumbai. The downtown bustling life is so dynamic and noisy that we Europeans can scarcely comprehend it…

Let me also tell you something about shopping in India, an activity almost always accompanied by haggling for the price, even in the finer shops. There are no price tags. If you are interested in an item, you ask one of the many store clerks how much it costs. Most prices start ridiculously high, even more so for me than my wife (I guess I look like a sucker). If you actually might buy the item, you try and look disgusted and see if they will lower it on their own. If they do (or if not), you offer a much lower price. They will counter with a slightly more reasonable price than the first, you respond with something above your first. This continues until one side refuses to budge and then you agree, or walk away empty-handed. I was never too good at this sort of bargaining (car dealers love guys like me) and usually let my wife do the buying.

Taxi driver waiting for new passengers at his ‘Auto-rickshaw‘
(three-wheeled taxi)

Vibrant daily life

Look closely at these three pictures. Maybe you will get a better insight into how daily life is lived and experienced for many in India. Look at the men above and their little ‘habitat’ on a pavement in Mumbai. Inside the building a hairdresser is in full swing to take care of a customer. The room contains obviously also a small pharmacy and a café. Out on the sidewalk a waiter just started serving tea to a small group of guests, while the vegetable trader has stopped up with his trolley full of figs and nuts, probably to share a cup of tea with his friends…

The image at right shows a small family that makes its living by selling vegetables from a sidewalk. No sales boot. No desk or cash registers. They simply sit on the ground doing their business. But smile they do!

A rocky beach in downtown Mumbai. The fishermen have just come in and already sold today’s catch. Now they sit on the sand to rest a bit. They smoke, drink tea, and do obviously have lots of fun together.

The contrast between the distant fast-paced world and this “timeless” world is enormous.

Incredible people

My driver is a Muslim, but claims that in India there is no religious discrimination	Prof. Dr. Satya Vrat Shastri (80), Teacher of Sanskrit: “To see him is to like him”	This Mumbai university student is convinced that I am a famous Hollywood actor
Prof. Vachaspati Ypadhyaya, one of India’s finest scholars	Guarding the door at our hotel	Dr. Uma Vaidya, Dept of Sanskrit at the Mumbai University
Dr. Phil. Ashok Vora, University of New Delhi	The Minister tells me about poverty in India	The main person behind Navi Mumbai, Mr. Shri Nukul Patil
	A wannabe slumdog millionaire I meet him near his home in one of the huge Mumbai slum districts. He is out in the streets every day to sell books and magazines to tourists and residents, so there is not much time for school or family life. Due to rising population, the number of slum dwellers in Mumbai is rising every day, and it is today estimated that around 55% of the city’s population lives in the slums (one billion people worldwide live in slums and the figure will likely grow to 2 billion by 2030). Even as the Indian economy remains one of the bright spots in the world showing an upward growth trajectory, around 49,000 slums continue to blight the urban landscape forcing lots of people to live in pathetic conditions. My young friend is still optimistic as he hastens on….

Incredible business growth

Geeta and Gulu Mirchandani in their beautiful Mumbai home

During my stay in Mumbai I get one night invited to the home of Geeta and Gulu Mirchandani. Gulu is an old acquaintance who since 1981 has developed and been in the forefront of the electronics giant ONIDA (Mirc Electronics). I consider Gulu one of the masterminds behind the impressive development India's economy has undergone over the last 30 years. He is also one of those behind the initiative 'Mumbai Angels' that provides a unique platform to start-up companies by bringing them face to face with successful entrepreneurs, professionals and executives, also helping with start-up funding. I believe this kind of support and team-work is what brings India quickly forwards in today’s harsh economic climate. Ref. www.mumbaiangels.com

India GDP