A glimpse of today's India

February 1, 2007 5:59 AM by Jayant Bhandari

I am in Bhopal, visiting India after almost three years.

I arrived very early in the morning of 27 January 2007. I took the train from Delhi to Bhopal. At Delhi train station, I stood at the front of the counter in the middle of the cold night for 1.5 hours to buy my ticket; the seller was there all this time, chatting away and drinking tea with others, without recognizing the presence of those lining up. When he got around to selling the ticket, he found several mistakes in my (train-ticket) application form. I faked as much courtesy as I could and did what he wanted.

(I will no longer be traveling by train and for sure, I will be using "servants" at my parents' for all outside work that I can avoid doing myself. Indeed, food, tea and water is automatically coming to my desk as I write this.)

At Delhi train station, heavily armed, uncivil paramilitary personnel with their dirty hands were checking everyone's bags at the entrance. I went in unhindered through the "exit" gate. Really, I think terrorists don't achieve much because they are even more stupid than those in the state.

Through my train window, the countryside looked as wretched as ever, if not worse. Absolutely nothing positive seems to have happened since I last took the train on this route more than a decade back. I saw garbage and rotting water-puddles everywhere. Plastic is more a part of the landscape than greenery is. The air is much worse, mostly I guess because vehicles on the roads have multiplied. I did not see any sign of increased manufacturing activity.

What was once the nicest city in India, Bhopal is a complete madhouse.

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