WanderingtheWorld (www.ChrisFord.com)
'Free to Ride', India, Jaipur, Boy on Bike
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Below is an excerpt from my travel blog. Cheers.
Almost every Indian I met wanted to know about America. They would sit and ask me about my life, where I came from, how I was able to travel and my life in New York City. It seemed odd at first. Why did this interest them so much? The answer lies in India's caste system. People in many developed countries are fortunate enough to choose what we want to be in life, where we want to live and who we wish to marry. In India, it's a different story. Most people are never given the opportunity to attend a university, For an Indian to hear about our freedom and how sky is the limit to any individual who wishes to better their life is hard for them to fathom.
The caste system is being tested however. Today in India, the status of the various caste classes and the preferential policies that the Indian government has designed for their advancement ever since Independence are sources of conflict within Indian society. Economic liberalization, which began in 1991, the social mobility of a modern economy has disrupted the traditional professions, even of Untouchables. Village life and economic stasis were the greatest allies of the caste system, but both are slowly retreating before modernity in an India that finally gave up the Soviet paradigm of economic planning.
Many Indians would see my camera and ask for their picture to be taken. For them, the novelty of having a camera snap of photo of them is exciting. This boy was cycling through the streets of Jaipur, India.
'Free to Ride', India, Jaipur, Boy on Bike
Portfolio | Travel Blog | Tumblr | Youtube |Contact Me
Below is an excerpt from my travel blog. Cheers.
Almost every Indian I met wanted to know about America. They would sit and ask me about my life, where I came from, how I was able to travel and my life in New York City. It seemed odd at first. Why did this interest them so much? The answer lies in India's caste system. People in many developed countries are fortunate enough to choose what we want to be in life, where we want to live and who we wish to marry. In India, it's a different story. Most people are never given the opportunity to attend a university, For an Indian to hear about our freedom and how sky is the limit to any individual who wishes to better their life is hard for them to fathom.
The caste system is being tested however. Today in India, the status of the various caste classes and the preferential policies that the Indian government has designed for their advancement ever since Independence are sources of conflict within Indian society. Economic liberalization, which began in 1991, the social mobility of a modern economy has disrupted the traditional professions, even of Untouchables. Village life and economic stasis were the greatest allies of the caste system, but both are slowly retreating before modernity in an India that finally gave up the Soviet paradigm of economic planning.
Many Indians would see my camera and ask for their picture to be taken. For them, the novelty of having a camera snap of photo of them is exciting. This boy was cycling through the streets of Jaipur, India.