03.23.08
A question from Alan Webber
As part of my kaospilot outpost, I shall answer five questions. The first comes from Mr. Alan Webber, the founder of Fast Company. “How are India’s people handling the country’s transition into a growing world economic power? Do they feel any change in their status in the world? Is there more economic equity among the people as India’s economic performance grows?”The answer to this question is very dependent on who you ask, but the people I’ve talked to agree about one thing: The people who benefit most from Indias economic growth are those who are already rich.Beyond this, it’s clear that people are aware that India is a growing world power, and many are quite proud of this. My journalist friends from one of the richer areas of the city have a very clear view of where their country is headed: In ten years time, they expect India to be a permanent member of the UN security council. One editor at Time Out magazine tells me that the most clear sign of Indias growing wealth is the wild spending that people are doing. Bank loans are easy to get and interest is low. India has, according to my editor friend, gone from being a country of savers to a country of spenders. There seems to be two different economies in place at the same time in this city. House prices and luxury item prices are rising sharply, while for example the price of a glass of sugar cane juice has remained the same for many years, untouched by inflation.
Mumbai Eidesis
The city of Mumbai rushes by me, its millions of inhabitants surging in streams as they go about the business. Mumbai glitters in the dark, as the traffic flows at a liquid pace. Walking through the city at night feels absolutely safe, if there’s a dark undercurrent to the small whirlpools of city life, I’ve yet to discover it. Amidst the foaming hustle and bustle of daily life there is a steady flow which takes me through the days. The banks of the streets are lined with sleeping dogs.
03.07.08
Time passes. (Inexorably)
Rooftop (smog stars)Eletricity (flicker)Calls (morning)Movement (hoops)Shantytown (horizon)Sunshine (travel)Dependence (internet burden)
03.06.08
Mumbai: first impressions
Sound. Sound is what strikes me as the most prevailing impression of this city. Clearly driving in Mumbai is as much something you do with your ears as with your eyes. The movement of the city is like an intricate dance where the steps ensure that noone gets hurt, even if the feet of the participants are very close to each other at every turn in the music.