New Delhi

Oh the Places...
We reached New Delhi about a week ago. The humidity washed over me like the screams of thousands of Beatles fans, just waiting for a response of some kind. The arrival was interesting for me. While it was not the first time for me to be out of the country, it was the first time for me to be off the continent. I had contracted a really bad cold, and was sick the entire plane ride and for the first week here really. That occupied a lot of my free time, which is why it has taken me so long to get started on this blog.

We have a wonderful teacher (Professor Sunil Kumar) who has been very beneficial in our acquiring of knowledge of India, and more specifically Delhi. We have come to realize that the history of this country is deep. Knowing the history helps to better understand some of the things we have seen as well as the people with which we have come into contact. One prime example of this is the staring, or lack there of sometimes...

As you may have guessed, a group of 24 students that are clearly foreigners and mostly white, walking through the streets of Delhi gets a lot of looks. We learned in class that the people here, on the whole, tend to be very into getting their skin to be lighter. If you contrast this with the amount of people that try to get tan in the US, it makes for a very intersting case study. However, when it comes down to the other end (darker skin) it is usually seen as a sign of low class here.

This notion that was learned in class came to a reality as me and 5 or 6 others from the group walked to a market a few days ago. I started out behind the group because I had to talk to Sunil, and I noticed people staring at the rest of the group. As the people on the streets would pass me, however, they would look right past me as if I were another face in the crowd. I thought this was interesting, because when I was walking with the group, we all got stares, but alone and behind the group they looked right passed me, right after they literally almost turned their entire head in a full 180 just to catch a glimpse at the group of European looking students in front of me. After we walked a little further, we stopped at a street corner to wait to cross. There was a boy that stepped up to the group. His clothes were tattered but his smile was not. As he went up to the members of the group he cupped his hands as if he were receiving communion and asked for food or money. Most had nothing to offer. A couple people gave candy. As I reached into my pocket to pull out candy, I awaited the arrival of his cupped hands. While I was in the middle of the group, the boy took a quick look at me and quickly diverted his attention to the other members of the group who happened to be white. I later asked Professor Sunil (who lives in Delhi) about this incident. As he let out a gentle chuckle he said, "poor little boy. He missed out on the candy. To him, Aukeem, you were probably just another poor fellow like himself."

I inquired about this matter further and found ut it's just the way they are raised. To most Indians, a darker skin signifies a lesser class. I am still not sure how this sits with me, but it is clear that human beings have a necessity to compartmentalize even other human beings so that there is indeed the "other". While it is obvious that classism and racism and discrimination still exist, this experience has proven to me that education is absolutely essential. If there were ever a doubt that the solution to many of our problems as a human race is indeed education and critical thought, that doubt is now blown to pieces. Oh New Delhi, how we have yet to meet... I look forward to th places you will take me!