Rohit's nukkad

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

The changed India

It has been about a week since I have been in India and invariably I can't ignore the changes I have seen since the last time I visited India two years back. The very first change one observes while landing out of the flight are the changes on the airport. The distinct smell of humid air is the same but one can see the transformed immigration counters, the new LCD monitors, the new luggage belt, the new luggage trolleys, etc. The staff is more professional and the entire system is much more efficient. It took me about 20 mins from the time I stepped out of the flight to the time I was out of the airport.
The variety of cellphones which I have seen over here really surprises me. Latest models with the best features at a very reasonable price makes me think about the poor cellphones one gets in the US, above that the binding contracts which forces one to carry on one service provider and instrument for one or two years. I am pretty sure the cellphone providers just want to keep the poor services in such an open US market. Hopefully pretty soon with Google's entry in the cellphone market will change things.
But somethings never change and atleast in Mumbai they won't. The crowd, the ocean of people one sees everywhere it is simply amazing - whether travelling in trains or by road. Another common thing is the pollution, the sweat and dust.
For someone who has grown in this city getting back to this lifestyle hardly takes any time. The very next day I was amazed to see myself being so good at crossing roads or jumping in and out of trains with ease. Its like a skill which was ingrained in my DNA and will never change.
Well the above were few first observations will add in more as my stay progresses.