The New India
(Blogging about some of my interesting experiences during my India trip this year...) 1. Gharonda: The Nest In India, poverty is so ubiquitous that it becomes invisible. What catches the eye is the new wealth: the dazzling malls, the exclusive brands and the middle class Indian’s ability to spend more money than their parents could ever dream of. A recurring encounter with poverty comes in the form of street children who descend like locusts at each traffic signal. With their skeletal bodies dressed in rags they beg and beg with hollow eyes for money or sell flowers and magazines. After a few initial encounters, they too become a part of the unseen. One of the most impressive people I met in India was a rosy cheeked, smiling young woman in my hometown Lucknow! We found out that we’d even gone to the same school, Loreto Lucknow, though she was a couple of years behind me. A young mother herself, Shachi runs an NGO called Ehsaas, which rehabilitates such street children.