From Kandhamal to Khotan

Let’s take two neighboring nations – India and China. While India is (supposed to be) a secular democratic country, China is officially an atheist communist nation. The Indian Constitution states religious freedom as a basic right of its citizens. China on the other hand recognizes only 5 religions - Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Taoism and Buddhism. It also regulates these religions very firmly. Its China’s answer to religious extremism – ban most religions and regulate the few that are allowed.

Now let’s look at two places within these nations in particular- Kandhamal in the eastern Indian state of Orissa and Khotan in the autonomous region of northwestern China called Xinjiang. There are two major ethnic tribes in Kandhamal – Panas and Kandhas. Xinjiang, similarly, is home to two major ethnic tribes Uighurs and the Han Chinese. The biggest difference between the Panas and Kandhas is their religion – Panas are mostly Christians while Kandhas are mostly Hindus. Uighurs and Han Chinese also differ along religious borders. Uighurs are Sunni Muslims and the Han Chinese are either Buddhists or Taoists.

The Constitution of India allows for freedom to follow any religion. This also means that people are allowed to convert from one religion to another- voluntarily. The Hindu Kandhas, however, claim that Panas were lured into converting to Christianity by missionaries and evangelists. So members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal (Hindu extremist outfit) have taken it upon themselves to re-convert the Pana Christians back to Hindus - no exceptions allowed. This forced conversion is also accompanied by acts of violence such as vandalism, annihilation of property, rape of nuns, murder, burning humans (including children) alive to name a few. These violent acts followed the unsolved killing of a Hindu priest/leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, who for 40 years had rallied the area’s people to choose Hinduism over Christianity. Despite lack of evidence, Bajrand Dal claims Christains in Kandhamal are behind the killing.

A lot has been written about the state of Burning Orrisa lately. The Wikipedia entry on Orissa Violence is a good place to begin to know more about it. One could simple google ‘Orissa Violence’ and land upon information galore – none of which is uplifting or positive in anyways.

Moving on now to Khotan in Xinjiang, China. The Muslims in Khotan have a long list of government enforced rules that they need to follow in order to practice their religion. Some of these rules are:
- The imam’s sermon at Friday Prayer must run no longer than a half-hour.
- Prayer in public areas outside the mosque is forbidden.
- Residents of Khotan are not allowed to worship at mosques outside of town.
- Government workers and nonreligious people may not be “forced” to attend services at the mosque — a different way of saying that government workers and Communist Party members are prohibited from worship.
- Student and government workers are ‘required’ to eat during the holy fasting month of Ramadan.
- Muslims can observe hajj – once in a lifetime pilgrimage to Mecca (also one of the 5 essential pillars of Islam) – only via government run arrangements. The government has confiscated the passports of the Muslim Uighurs to make sure they do not travel in any other way.
- The Chinese communist government has ‘advertised’ some of these rules on sign boards placed ‘strategically’ across Khotan to ‘raise awareness’ of the issue. In simpler words, they have publicly mass threatened the Muslim community.

While Khotan has remained relatively peaceful for the early part of the 00s, series of attacks in August 2008 left 22 security personnel and 1 civilian dead. The killings have been blamed on religious tension. The religious tension seems to have sprouted from a lack of freedom to follow the Koran’s way of worship. The Chinese government calls it ‘illegal religion’. Top government officials have issued ‘warnings’ of a crackdown if there is a rise in instability allegedly due to illegal religions.

So from Kandhamal to Khotan (secular democracy to atheist communism) we see that religious differences give rise to violence no matter what form the government takes. Is the government just helpless when it comes to religious extremism? Should the blame lie squarely on the institution of religion then? I would say not yet.

Looking beyond news headlines, one can see that the Panas who converted to Christianity came from lower castes and many were untouchables. Their motive for conversion was escape from discrimination and education (not to deny that some might have felt more connected to the Christian god than their traditional Hindu gods). Once they received education (in English) from the Christian schools, they were ready to jump onto the Indian economic band wagon. In a nutshell, the Christian Panas got educated and moved up in life. The Hindu Kandhas were left behind to blame the Panas for cheating to obtain quotas on government jobs. The next ‘illogical’ thing to do was to start a violent movement. Enter VHP and Bajrang Dal (even BJP – the current opposition party in the Parliament).

At this point, I would like to make it clear that I am not taking sides here. I realize I am a Christian and this might sound absurd, but I have big issues with the Christian community in India. I believe that Christians in the Indian Subcontinent and particularly in India have a ‘minority’ mentality. About 2% of the Indian population is Christian. So yes the numbers say we are a minority. But that does not mean we have been discriminated everywhere at all times in history and that we need special government assistance to ‘live’. We spend way too much time lamenting our discrimination (which for the most part is self-perceived) huddled with each other enforcing our perception of the Christian community and hence segregating ourselves from rest of India. When someone launches a violent agitation against us then yes we should band together and uphold the law by bringing in the right authorities to deal with the problem – just as some Christians in Kandhmal asked for the police to step in. There are many other things I’d like to say but I would like to end my rant and change paragraphs now. :-)

Now back to Kandhamal and Khotan. The government, be it democratic or communist, needs to find a way to curb rising inequalities and discrimination rather than regulate ‘religion’ or (in case of India) do nothing. I have never been to Khotan (or China for that matter), so I can’t speculate much on it. But from a NY Times article here is a Han commenting on a Uighur - “The Uighurs are lazy. It’s because of their religion. They spend so much time praying. What are they praying for?” Maybe there is segregation at the communal level between Uighurs and the Han Chinese which led to religious divide in the first place.

The Chinese government needs to tackle issues of discrimination and not ‘regulate’ religion. The Indian government, on the other hand, needs to start doing ‘something’. While a bunch of thugs barricade the district and launch pre-meditated ambush attacks on helpless innocent people, the Central government is busy forming committees to look into the matter. The committees in turn ask for reports on ‘incidents of violence’ from the police, the Church, the district office and the state government. Don’t these politicians read a single newspaper? Besides a Google search would give them enough reports. Here is one done by the Asian Center for Human Rights. It comes from a neutral party and should serve the purpose. Unfortunately the report needs to be updated a lot to reveal gory statistics and gorier details.

Click links for some decent news coverage of Orissa and Xinjiang.
Hindu Threat to Christians – Convert or Flee
Violence in India is fueled by religious and economic divide
Wary of Islam, China tightens a vise of rules

A cure for terror: It begins with each of us

“We cannot often choose our circumstances, but we can choose how to respond to them: that is our real freedom.” – Thich Nhat Hanh, from Only you can uproot the terror menance, TOI, October 2, 2008.

Thich Nhat Hanh (TNH) was trying to convey the path to true happiness when he wrote the above sentence. It could, however, apply to almost every facet of our lives especially in how we deal with war & conflict in our own backyards.

The idea of dealing with terror on an individual level might seem strange and far-fetched to many. After all what could one person do to make even the slightest difference when a blanketing cloud of terror surrounds the globe? It is my belief that the roots of terror lie among each of us. No, we are not all killers but we create killers. Our flaws and weaknesses could give rise to feelings of anger, hatred, fear and resentment within othersople. This could eventually lead to the latter person or group becoming a terrorist.

Discrimination is one such individual flaw. If a person has been discriminated and mistreated on account of his background, he is bound to have pent-up anger and hatred. His pride and ego have been damaged. He has most likely been living in a state of fear most of his life simply because he was born a certain way – into a lower caste family or a Muslim home or with a darker skin color. A chance meeting with a radical thinker or a terrorist that marks the beginning of one’s fatal career in terrorism is just a coincidence.

We should individually act to reduce (better yet: remove) such discrimination. TNH has pointed out that each of us have seeds of hope, love, forgiveness and compassion as well as those of fear, anger, violence and despair, We need to examine which of these seeds we have been nurturing within us and in those around us?

While growing up in Nepal, I was ubiquitously exposed to caste discrimination. It was deeply entrenched in the society and in the heads of my grandparents, my mom and her sisters. Even today my mom’s biggest fear is that I will marry an untouchable. When she found out that once I visited the house of a Chyame family and had tea there, her words were: “We do not eat or drink at their homes. You should limit your association with them to just being acquaintances.” Some might say that it’s a miracle I did not grow up to be a caste-ist like my mom. I attribute this miracle to the ‘peace education’ I received informally from priests and monks whilst growing up.

The phrase ‘peace education’ is very reminiscent of hippie values. I got the phrase from TNH as well. According to him, peace education is when two opposing parties/individuals deeply listen to each other and communicate in a respectable manner. Though he was talking about ‘peace education’ in context of peace negotiations between rivaling nations and political/religious groups, there is an inherent need to bring peace education to the masses at an early period in life. I distinctly remember a Christian father, a Hindu pundit and a Buddhist monk who collectively encouraged my interfaith Sunday group to ‘listen’ to those in suffering because at times that could be enough. Even before I knew about ‘peace education’, I was listening to the stories of untouchables – their sufferings and helplessness. And it helped open-up my mind.

At that period in time it did not seem plausible that a disciminated people would pick up guns and go on a killing spree. But as the oppression prolonged, it eventually happened. For instance, take the Madhesi minority in Southern Nepal. They were discriminated by being tagged as Bhaiyas and the only opportunity offered to them was selling fruits and vegetables out of their rickety-old bicycles. Most of them were not even seen as belonging to Nepal though they were born and raised there. Eventually the oppressed group formed several rebel factions such as the Madhesi Jana Adhikar Forum demanding formation of an autonomous region within Nepal and representation in the government. Resorting to violence was their chosen method to convey the ‘seriousness’ of their demands.

It was not as if none of the Madhesis had been complaining against their mistreatment asking (not demanding0 for greater rights and better opportunities. But the general public turned a deaf ear towards them and remained indifferent. If the Madhesis raised their voice, they were reprimanded - sometimes by means of force - and ‘shown their place in society’. The majority population had ‘flawed’ views & beliefs about their superiority. Their ‘weakness’ to step out of the comfort zone watered the seeds of anger and violence within the Madhesis. Over time a terror group was born.

Most terrorists coming out of developing or under-developed nations were not ‘born evil’ with satanic intents to destroy the world. Such mentally ill people are few and far between. They are also more likely to be used as ‘disposable pawns’ (such as suicide bombers) rather than become influential members within terror organizations. Most terrorists who lead terror squads and mastermind various attacks are very likely to have been victims of discrimination due to inequality.

Think about why Islamic terror groups coming out of the Middle East and regions around Afghanistan/Pakistan want to destroy the developed western world? After all, the West has not even been in contact with these terrorist groups to discriminate against them. The reason for their immense hatred towards the developed world lies in unfulfilled promises of globalization that led to discrimination due to inequality.

The developed world has been consuming a heck of a lot of oil that comes from the Middle East. This translates to a lot of money being pumped into the economies of these oil producing nations. But the money has failed to do anything to uplift the masses who linger at the bottom of the income pyramid. Quite a few oil barons from oil-rich nations, on the other hand, have become billionaires parading around in imported cars, wearing imported designer clothes and smoking imported cigars all the while looking down on their fellow citizens who cannot afford such luxuries. These wealthy citizens (and their governments) have done next to nothing towards closing the inequality gap.

When the poor and hungry in such places, facing discrimination from their own people, compare their destitute with the opulence of the oil-mongers, several natural human emotions crawl through their skins: such as rage, anger and jealousy. These emotions are directed towards the imported commodities (rather than the rich snobs of their nations) and hence towards the developed nations from where they come. In other words, the soon-to-be terrorist hates America because he cannot afford the Nike Air Jordan shoes and the ipod Touch that represents America in his eyes. While those who can afford them in his country, treat him with contempt.

(Unregulated globalization could be blamed in this scenario for increase in inequality but it is not to blame for the rise in terrorism which is due to the underlying social discrimination already prevalent in the society that is being manifested in a new way.)

So what could one do individually to prevent the creation of a Madhesi terror group or to lessen the feelings of hatred among the not-so-priviledged in our own society? To begin with, we can start treating each other as equal human beings. Just because someone is uneducated or comes from a backward community, it does not mean he or she deserves to be treated in a demeaning way. Some of us (especially in developing nations) may be able to afford imported apparel, laptops and other such goods. Does that mean we are better than those who cannot afford them? Let’s not look at the maids and street vendors with condescending eyes. It does not take much (and definitely does not lower our ego or pride) to treat them with the respect they deserve as humans. After all, they too work hard to feed their bellies. We would be doing humanity a service by encouraging (also maybe helping and guiding) them to achieve more in life.

All this begins with each of us. Once you change yourself it is easier to influence others. We can keep on bombing all locations identified as terrorist-breeders - be it Iraq, Afghanistan or Pakistan - till they are all wiped off the World Map. Or in a desperate (but glaringly futile) effort we can follow the Mumbai way and ban all plastic bags because obviously terrorists will be helpless in trying to find something to carry the bombs in! But the discriminated, under-privileged person will somehow manage to find a new place and a new way to release his anger and frustration. To end the violence perpetrated by terrorists, we need to bring about a change within us and in those around us. To paraphrase TNH: Water the positive seeds of hope, brotherhood and compassion within yourself, and then in others.

Cleaning up the Dadar Flower Market Madness: A case study in doing the next-to-impossible

The Flower Market outside the Dadar train station (West) is a one of a kind business 'district'. As soon as you exit the station on the West side, the intensity of the crowd hits you like a bat outta hell. In the 2+ months I have had to navigate through it to reach my office, I have to admit I have no clue as to how I do it and I don't think I will ever get used to it. I wish I could put up pictures of the terrifying crowd but pulling out a camera to take a snap amidst the madness is probably not safe for the camera. (None of the Google pictures I am getting are doing justice to the truth either.)

Anand, discussed 2 ways to rid Mumbai of the Flower Market Madness, in his SG post-

1. A voluntary incentivized agreement between the pedestrians heading in and out of the station AND the flower sellers
2. Enforcing of civil laws by the government

He has also very effectively detailed how the first approach which champions free market ethos is very likely to fail where as the second option is not attractive as it goes against free market ideology. (Besides most things the governments gets involved with simply deteriorates further.)

I am going to stay away from getting the government involved in this as well and suggest possible solutions to the Dadar Flower Market Madness.

I am a strong believer in all that technology has to offer. I believe that the Flower Market problem can be eased in part, if not solved, by proper application of technology and innovation. Right now the vendors sit with baskets full of flowers on the side of the road. The basket along with the vendor takes up a huge amount of space on both sides of the road thereby leaving very little space in the middle for pedestrain traffic in both directions. If the road-side space can be utilized better it could free up the walking space. To do so, we need a cheap invention that these vendors can afford. Say a plastic case that dispenses flowers and can be set-up on the walls lining the streets would be helpful. This is just a raw example but if inventors could put their heads together they could come up with a practical invention for this.

Another way to tackle the issue is to reduce the traffic. Right now vendors transport their flowers from the nearby wholesale market by means of human carriers who deftly carry the large masses of flowers in bags placed delicately on their heads. It also seems that each vendor has a separate carrier person. The 'supply' of flowers needs to be co-ordinated better among the vendors. They could band together and transport larger quantities of a particular kind of flower in few carts at one go. On reaching the market, instead of pushing the cart through the tiny roads, vendors can come collect their share of the flower. This would eliminate the throng of carriers who obstruct pedestrians with their awkwardly large flower bags and ease the traffic a bit.

The next question how can we get the flower vendors to agree to aggregation of the supply? Following Galdwell's Tipping Point approach, there has to be Connectors, Mavens and Salesman within this chaotic community. Identifying these people and getting them on board with the idea of supply aggregation can 'tip' the market to adopt it as well. In fact if the voluntary regulation approach, proposed by Anand, could be sold to the Connectors, Mavens and Salesman it could work just as well.

What I have mentioned above are short term solutions that are similar to patching up holes on clothes only for them to rip open again. The underlying problem here is a collection of more serious social issues. Lack of education and Poverty are two big ones. To attack the root of the problem one would have to educate the children of these vendors for their better future, provide alternative skills training to these vendors and consequently employment opportunities so that they can live a decent life. This is rightfully where the government needs to come in. And as clearly evident, it has remained indifferent towards the problem while commuters and pedestrians suffer daily.

Forget the Global Financial Crisis, I have an Identity Crisis

Few days ago, I bumped into the real estate agent/broker who arranged for my previous apartment in Mumbai. As is customary of Indian hospitality, he asked me how I had been doing, how work was going and all sorts of mundane questions. A big grin stretched across his face as I told him I was getting used to the daily train commute.

His words, I believe, were: "All the pushing and shoving, no? That is India. I love my India".

On a little investigation, I found out that the douche bag cruises around in a Maruti Suzuki and has probably stepped onto a Mumbai suburban train maybe twice in his lifetime. He has no clue what it is like to put up with the pushing and shoving on a daily basis. But what bugged me more is that he identified the "pushing & shoving" as representative of India and said that he "loved this India".

I would like to point out that I am an Indian citizen myself. Though I only started living in India 'for real' since August 2008, I have always identified myself as Indian among friends and acquaintances. Being one among millions who commute via the Mumbai Suburban train on a daily basis, I refuse to identify the experience as being representative of India and definitely have found no reason whatsoever to be proud of it.

This leaves me in great distress coz if the majority of Mumbaikars - including those who commute daily via the local train are at odds with me then maybe I am not fit to be an Indian! It might be that I have wrongly identified myself as an Indian all along. And if I am not an Indian now, what really is my identity?

Having been brought up and educated in Nepal, there is a part of me that wants to get that Nepali citizenship and settle down there. But the patriarchal laws favoring the father of a family prevent me from obtaining a Nepali citizenship as my dad is an Indian citizen and it is my mother who bears a Nepali citizenship. Also, the current lack of law & order and economic opportunities do not make Nepal attractive as a career growth center. On top of these, a terrorist runs the country.

Besides Nepal and India, I have never really thought of any other country as being my homeland/motherland/native place (whatever one wants to call it). So on a moral level, as of this past week, I have no country and no national identity.

Another thing I'd like to make clear is that, I can't comprehend the concept of national pride. I have met many people in various nations who are unconditionally proud of their country. Nepalese who are proud of Nepal no matter what atrocities the Maoists, police and politicians commit. Indians who are proud of India no matter how frequent communal and religious riots tarnish the country's name. Americans who are proud of America no matter how many innocent Iraqis and Afghans die from American cluster bombs. And the list goes on. When I think of all these, I really do not want to be associated with any nation (besides maybe Antarctica though my knowledge of penguins is restricted to March of the Penguins and Happy Feet).

I would like to be proud of India for the recent economic developments it has made and identfy myself as part of the rapidly developing India. However, many in India argue that these developments take away from the Indian-ness. My father is one such person who still thinks government jobs where the employee is provided almost lifetime guarantee of job safety and a pension on retirement is how India should be. He rues the recent surge in entrepreneurial business houses. A similar attitude is projected by my uncle who has lived in Mumbai all his life. He still sees businessmen as evil and corrupt - the way Bollywood movies portrayed top management individuals in the 70s, 80s and a good part of 90s (think Prem Chopra for those well versed with Bollywood).

Removing myself from this 'older' conservative crowd, I was leaning towards saying that I want to identify myself with the young India perceived to be more open-minded. But then among a lot of 20-somethings with graduate degrees I have sensed a strong feeling of scorn and jealousy towards the developed western world. The fact that I spent time in the US & UK and my accent has hints of Americana is enough for them to direct contempt at me. More than just a couple of times, in my presence, a group of such young adults started talking about me in Hindi, not knowing that I could understand them prefectly well.

To paraphrase some of the things that they said:
"He must have enough money to take us all to Zenzi* tonight".
"He has just come from America. He probably thinks we are tribal cavemen or something like that. Let's take him to Silver Coin** and show him how posh we are".
"He probably sees us equal to dirt on the ground. I am not gonna help him with anything. Let him suffer and find out about the Indian way".
"He must be earning a lot from his foreign firm. Our Indian firms pay well too these days and we know India way better. He is just a servant to the foreign firms but we serve our country by working for an Indian firm. He is taking India's money and sending it to other countries. His job should be given to an Indian person. We even look smarter than these people, so we must be way smarter for real".

Even my landlord once commented: "You should just buy a big flat screen TV, a home theater system for the apartment. You have come from the US. You should be living in style." I told him that I was going to move next year somewhere closer to work. Very shamelessly he said: "OK. You can leave those here and move. Your company must be paying you enough so that you can buy it again. You probably get better things in the US."

I almost imploded when a storekeeper commented: "In India we comb back our hair and do not wear shorts in public". (I have curly hair that I let fall on my face and for the most part I like wearing shorts, T-shirt and flip-flops outside of work.) Nowhere in the Indian constitution is there any mention of a national dress code.

Telling these people I am an Indian citizen is absolutely useless. In their minds, I am a foreigner with loads of money and sucking more money out of the Indian economy.

When I first arrived in the US and introduced myself as an Indian citizen to others, most of them acted awkwardly coz they had never met an actual Indian, just Indian-Americans. They might have also said some pretty scathing, derogatory things about me behind my back. I will never know coz they did not do it in front of me. Comparing the two experiences, I concur that people all over the world suck equally. And once again, I really do not want to be associated with any nation.


So yes I have an identity crisis. And it is bothering me. But then I have given up on finding a national identity for me. I am rather working on not being bothered by this at all. And as silly as it sounds, it is quite difficult - especially when I think of my Indian passport and Indian birth certificate, when I fill up a form and it asks me for my ethnicity and nationality, when I think of meeting new people who could ask me where I am from and other such not-so-minor things.

*Zenzi is a trendy, upsace club in Bandra, Mumbai.
** Silver Coin is an upsace restaurant in Borivli, Mumbai.

PS: Amidst all these, I came across an uplifting news about an 18 year old Indian national from my alma mater working on an Obama Campaign in tiny Saratoga Springs. Hopefully she does not go through a simlar crisis as I.

Saving the artisans of Nepal (and beyond)

On my recent visit to Kathmandu, I was lucky enough to strike a conversation with a seller of traditional handmade metal products. Some of the things he has been selling for years are:

Bodhistavas and sculptures of other deities

Karuwas of all shapes, sizes and designs

Brass jugs and pots of all shapes, sizes and designs

Puja accessories for special occassions

Traditionally the best metal for these products come from Palpa district. The metal is then hand carved by artisans. Some of the prominent artisans reside in Patan area within the Kathmandu Valley. There are also many artisans who live in other parts of the country.

During my conversation with the seller he expressed concern over the recent surge of Chinese traders who had figured out a way to mass produce similar products at a low cost and sell it for a lower price to retail/wholesale outlets in the developed worlds as well as developing nations like India & China and under-developed ones like Nepal & Vietnam. The trend has seriously hampered not just his livelihood but also those of the artisans who have relied on their skills for generations.

He mentioned that if the trend continued, he would have to resort to buying the goods from the Chinese traders while buying from the artisans only on a order-by-order basis. There are still a few families in Kathmandu who specifially ask for pots, jugs and karuwas made from the Palpa brass for special religious ceremonies.

He also mentioned that the products that come from factories are usually tainted. A closer look would reveal flaws such as incomplete eyes, crooked nose, assymetrical jugs etc. The depth in detail is non-existent in these factory made replicas. The metal used by the manufacturers is also of a lower quality though it looks 'shinier' and feels 'smoother'. So a buyer who is not well versed in the difference between the metals (Palpali vs. Others) will not be able to tell the difference.

As Friedman put it, this is a flat world. Globalisation has forced everyone to change and adapt to new ways. I mentioned in an earlier post, I am very much pro-globalisation. But if loss of an art is the price we have to pay then we need to reign in the globalisation wave and devise a way to save the art while reaping the benefits of globalisation.

Earlier this year I volunteered with Handcrafting Justice (HCJ), a fair trade partnership working with women struggling for economic justice and independence in developing countries. The specific project I was working on involved marketing of Huichol Art - beaded sculputres & yarn paintings. My take-away from the experience was that in order to ensure these artisans the rightful reward for their gorgeous work, we need to start looking at these handmade creations as 'works of art' and not just a product/commodity sold at stalls in Union Square.

The same approach needs to be taken with sale and marketing of handmade products in Nepal - be it metal products or Tibetan Thanka Paintings. If there is someone somewhere who can mass-produce a similar work at a lower cost then it is inevitable that the artisans will lose out sooner or later. Instead of fighting the inevitable, it is better (at least in my opinion) that the artisans essentially reposition themselves as makers of premium artwork worthy of sale to museums, galleries and collectors. That is the only way these artisans are going to survive (and more likely increase income levels and standard of living as well).

New to Mumbai & trying to find a decent place to rent? Prevent it from turning into a nightmare

I recently moved to Mumbai. Two months on and I am still learning the ways of the city, still adapting to it, still trying to make sense of it. Moving to a new place has always been challenging - whether it was the small town of Saratoga Springs or the mighty London. All I can say is that, each place is its own beast!

In case you or someone you know is moving to Mumbai for a job* here are some tips that might be helpful:

• If you arrive in Mumbai before you have the official job agreement in hand, then it is always better to stay at a hotel (or if possible at a 'close' relatives place whom you trust with your life and valuables). In my case I had the divine luxury of staying at an uncle's place. It reduced my transition costs (Hotel, Food, Transport etc) but more importantly there was a local person to teach me the Mumbai way-of-life.



• Do start looking for a place to live AS SOON AS YOU CAN. It is not that there is a scarcity of flats available for rent. However, finding one that is within your budget and meets your personal needs (furnished vs unfurnished, availability of hot/cold water etc) can be, for the most part, very challenging.



• Choose a location based on YOUR preferences - take advice from relatives (if any) and co-workers, but above all make sure YOU are content with the decision of location. I for one am not content with living in Borivali. I chose to be closer to my uncle so that he could show me around Mumbai. I ended up in Borivali which is the second last suburb of Greater Mumbai. I would have liked to stay somewhere closer to work or South of work. This is because I commute to work via train. If I were to live south of work, the commute would be in reverse so trains are less likely to be crowded. Right now I am part of the super mad rush that is the daily Mumbai commute - overcrowded train compartments where sweat, sneeze and cough pours on me in all directions. The best advice I can give you is to scope out areas in Mumbai closer to work and see if you can find a place within your means before settling for any other option.



• To go looking for a flat, my advice would be to get hold of a Real Estate Agent (broker) via someone at work or someone you know. In my case it was my uncle who took me to the broker - a friend of his. If this is not an option, definitely try to find a broker through someone at work. It is better to go to a broker with a reference than without one.



• When the broker starts showing you places which is usually the very same day you go to him/her, make sure you ask ALL the questions you need to ask (and there are no wrong questions here). Ask the broker about water supply in bathroom, toilets and kitchen. Check if the fans/ACs work or not. Check the lights as well. Check everything!



• Once you find the pad of your choice, get ready for Paperwork Mayhem. At times it could be less of a mayhem if your broker takes pity on you and gets it done. One needs to do Stamp Duty Registration and Police Clearance before actually getting the keys to the apartment. It is better to do this and avoid 'shady' landlords who do not require such procedures. The purpose of all this legal work is mainly to show that you are not a terrorist and have a clean record. My ony advice would be, do not pay the broker before he has done all this and arranges for you to get the keys. (Note: Brokers usually demand 2 months rent as their fees. It is a downright criminal practice but that is how the market in Mumbai is.)



• Talking about payments, the security deposits demanded by landlords in Mumbai is simple and pure extorional. For a fully furnished 1 bedroom apartment in the trendy Bandra Suburb, one needs to deposit at least Rs. 1 lakh (usually twice or even thrice this amount). To me this is completely absurd. I have lived and paid rent+deposit in US, UK and Nepal. Never have I been asked to deposit a sum more than 1 month's rent as security deposit. I guess landlords in Mumbai simply don't trust any potential tenants.
  



• Having said that, there is one real estate agent/firm I have found in Mumbai so far who actually takes 1 month's rent as deposit. Going by the name of Supergrowth they specialize in premium accomodation in the SoBo area. I am definitely going to make use of their service once I finish my contract period in Borivali.

Finding a decent flat in Mumbai is not difficult, but I do wish it was a simpler process where I could access a listing of flats by owners and brokers, meet them, check out the place, take my time and make a decision. Online listings on craigslist, sulekha, magicbricks, makaan, quikr, rentimental, 99acres etc. are not exhastive or up-to-date. (That is why I did not bother to link any of those). However, the websites are useful to look up prices for various flats in different locations and get an idea of the costs. Word on the street is that prices in the Northern suburbs will be crashing pretty soon. I hope the rent comes down as well so that I can afford the usual 20-something's dream pad - something nice in a nice location (read: malls, bars and clubs in close proximity).

* If you are moving to Mumbai without a job but as a student then your college should take care of your accomodation. If you are moving with dreams of Bollywood, then good luck. You will find millions more just like you.

Globalising Shopping Experience - Why only the rich?

I am all for globalisation. However, I do have issues when its benefits are restricted only to the wealthy-few of the world. A quick example to illustrate: McDonalds in India is a premium food joint regardless of the fact that the food is just as greasy and unhealthy. The cart-wheeling dude who sells half a chicken roast among other things each night on the streets of SoBo (South Bombay) has better tasting and healthier offerings custom made to the buyers preference.

One of the latest trends manifested as a result of increasing globalisation could be spotted in an article about 'Personal Shoppers' published in a Mumbai tabloid last weekend. Personal shoppers are professional hipsters (arguable!) in Mumbai who go on shopping sprees across India to fulfill the orders put in by their foreign (mostly Western) clients. A sign that the shopping experience is being globalized! This could also mark the start of a new phase in globalization. For the most part, we have had big brands from developed nations getting into developing ones with their products. Now the developing nations could be offering services (not so much of products) to citizens of developed ones.

The 'Personal Shopper' is a middle-class Indian creation. Most middle-class families in India have either a point person who does their groceries or a point grocer who delivers to their home. Either way, purchase of groceries is done via a personal shopper who over time gets to know the 'client' and their tastes and preferences.

Taking from this trend, some of the rich and self-proclaimed trendy individuals in Mumbai have borne the responsibilty of getting to know the likes and dislikes of a wealthy foreign individual or family and cater to their extravagant buying needs. These Personal Shoppers buy exquisite Indian art, crafts, jewlry, decorations, clothes from all over India to fulfill the clients need which could be to deck out a wedding in Bollywood style or an over-the-top birthday bash for a dear family member.

As mentioned above, the participants and beneficiaries of this process are only the rich on both sides of the world. The rich in the West get their share of cheap and exotic goodies and the rich in Mumbai get to basically fleece the rich French or American middle-aged broad who put in the order. What about the middle-class Indian who actually invented this in the first place? And why leave out the middle-class American or English who could benefit from this as well? It is not as if middle-class white-collared Americans and Europeans do not celebrate B'days or decorate their weddings. Or for that matter, there are tons of idle middle-class Indian housewives who would love to go on a shopping spree and make a profit out of it.

The only way to get this convenient service to the masses is through technology, as far as I (eye) can see. What if there were a website where a Belgian mom put in a request for a circus themed party for her 7 year old's B'day?! The order would be received by an Indian (service provider) house-mom who would buy the props for the event and ship it to Belgium with suggestions on how to set it up. Sounds like a good idea to me.

Let's globalise for real people. If someone tells you that the benefits will one day 'drip' down the funnel to the poorest of the poor tell them we are done with that horse-poop of a myth. Demand change now.