2008 Woodie Awards
Coming together over Chai
Blog dispatch from students in India
Katherine Boehm
Issue: 7/14/08 Section: summer in india
Posted August 20, 2008
Alarms went off at 4:45 a.m. August 20. I took a long stretch under my covers before popping out of bed. We all sat in the lobby of the Hilton awaiting our ride to the train station with sleep in our eyes and boxed breakfasts on our laps.
The train is taking us to New Delhi, where all but four of us will proceed on a flight back to Bombay. Therefore, this last train ride is also the group's last time in India together, so it is nice and quite fitting that the lone train attendee, swaying down the aisle with a huge silver pot up to his knees, is offering us all Chai (a milky, sugary tea). Chai, a tradition we have all come to enjoy together here; even those that don't like the taste seem to love all that Chai stands for. The tea brings people together in breaks from work or among people on the street. They all enjoy a small cup of Chai together engrossed in conversation.
When we were at the Times of India we were told how Indians are adapting people. They will adapt to anything but all in their own way. "For example," Bhaskar Das, president of the Ad Company at the Times of India, said; "there is a high demand for Chai amongst the poor, but they cannot afford restaurant prices, so one day a street vendor decided to get a dryer and he poured the milk and the tea leaves, the sugar and hot water and made the Chai tea in bulk for half the price." Bhaskar related this story to how the Times of India works. They adapt to the people. The people want more Bollywood and more of a fun Newspaper, and that's what they will get.
Adaptation. That's what keeps India different from the rest of the world. The way in which they adapt. The world is getting smaller with globalization, and though there is a lot of good that comes from it, there is also a lot of sadness to globalization, such as the loss of culture. Perhaps it is a selfish desire of mine and others to want other countries to stay, for the most part, the way they are. Why would you want to be like America? Why do you want to become Westernized? Those questions are always plaguing my mind. I don't want countries to become Westernized and especially Americanized because I don't want them to lose their culture or traditions--but who am I to want and hope for that? What if those countries do wish that for themselves? Who are we to say no? We, as Americans, have the luxury of even being able to ask those questions. It is strange coming to India because in most countries, and especially within America itself, it feels like the idea of "the American Dream" is dead. But here in India people still see America, radiating this glow of opportunity and filled with golden dreams that can become a reality. And where part of that is true, a huge chunk of that is such a falsity, it seems almost cruel to tell the wide-eyed hopefuls the truth.
Alarms went off at 4:45 a.m. August 20. I took a long stretch under my covers before popping out of bed. We all sat in the lobby of the Hilton awaiting our ride to the train station with sleep in our eyes and boxed breakfasts on our laps.
The train is taking us to New Delhi, where all but four of us will proceed on a flight back to Bombay. Therefore, this last train ride is also the group's last time in India together, so it is nice and quite fitting that the lone train attendee, swaying down the aisle with a huge silver pot up to his knees, is offering us all Chai (a milky, sugary tea). Chai, a tradition we have all come to enjoy together here; even those that don't like the taste seem to love all that Chai stands for. The tea brings people together in breaks from work or among people on the street. They all enjoy a small cup of Chai together engrossed in conversation.
When we were at the Times of India we were told how Indians are adapting people. They will adapt to anything but all in their own way. "For example," Bhaskar Das, president of the Ad Company at the Times of India, said; "there is a high demand for Chai amongst the poor, but they cannot afford restaurant prices, so one day a street vendor decided to get a dryer and he poured the milk and the tea leaves, the sugar and hot water and made the Chai tea in bulk for half the price." Bhaskar related this story to how the Times of India works. They adapt to the people. The people want more Bollywood and more of a fun Newspaper, and that's what they will get.
Adaptation. That's what keeps India different from the rest of the world. The way in which they adapt. The world is getting smaller with globalization, and though there is a lot of good that comes from it, there is also a lot of sadness to globalization, such as the loss of culture. Perhaps it is a selfish desire of mine and others to want other countries to stay, for the most part, the way they are. Why would you want to be like America? Why do you want to become Westernized? Those questions are always plaguing my mind. I don't want countries to become Westernized and especially Americanized because I don't want them to lose their culture or traditions--but who am I to want and hope for that? What if those countries do wish that for themselves? Who are we to say no? We, as Americans, have the luxury of even being able to ask those questions. It is strange coming to India because in most countries, and especially within America itself, it feels like the idea of "the American Dream" is dead. But here in India people still see America, radiating this glow of opportunity and filled with golden dreams that can become a reality. And where part of that is true, a huge chunk of that is such a falsity, it seems almost cruel to tell the wide-eyed hopefuls the truth.
Viewing Comments 1 - 9 of 9
Erica Webster
posted 8/27/08 @ 6:26 PM PST
i think this is a really good closure blog. im going to miss that masala chai so very much, and i understand where you are coming from in terms of wanting others to preserve their own culture. (Continued…)
Laurel Saito
posted 8/28/08 @ 8:45 AM PST
Even though you could tell that the country is moving in the direction of Westernization, I was surprised by the number of people wearing traditional clothing. (Continued…)
Veronica martin
posted 8/28/08 @ 8:42 PM PST
it is just that tradition, among the many other day-to-day rituals, that make a place worth visiting, a culture worth exploring. and when you can use one of those rituals as a way to understand the culture as a whole, even down to the adaptive decisions it makes, all the better. (Continued…)
Kassi Rodgers
posted 8/29/08 @ 2:33 PM PST
If I had to describe the way we all felt in speaking with Mr. Das as well as the way the students at XIC felt when we told them of our failing newspapers in one word, it would be disillusionment. (Continued…)
Joshua Treybig
posted 8/30/08 @ 11:28 AM PST
Good blog, I'm often also wondering those same questions, why would people aspire to be the US when we seem to be fighting off the things that are so very American about the way we live (overconsumption, pollution, vanity, etc) Always interesting to ponder, especially over a good cup of chai. (Continued…)
Jessica Miller
posted 8/30/08 @ 12:08 PM PST
It is ironic that the our "Land of Opportunity", home of the American Dream, where, if you work hard enough, you can achieve anything... is also the the country where most of our class will have a hard time finding a job. (Continued…)
Vincent Hobbs
posted 8/30/08 @ 9:18 PM PST
Other than burning the tip of my dang tongue every time we drank chai, it was an effective socializer. I remember when we were at the souvenir/rug/sari shop on the way to the New Delhi airport, and I was offered chai because I looked bored and anti-social. (Continued…)
Jordan Belmonte
posted 9/01/08 @ 3:14 AM PST
I felt the same sense of 'stop don't" about people moving in a more western direction, I always was confused why the girls would wear anything but traditional indian clothes when they were so beautiful! At the same time it also made me realize the opportunitys and advantages we have in America especially as women and perhaps when a culture stretches for those same wonderful things we have they get a lot of our other junk as well. (Continued…)
Sean Milton
posted 9/01/08 @ 10:43 PM PST
Adaptation is paramount in India. I'm sure all of us returned to the U.S. with the ability to forge ahead and make do no matter what situation plagues us. (Continued…)
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