The Rotary Chapter

Within a day of arriving in Bangalore (lovelier and greener than expected), our eight person Delegation was at our full glad-handing capacity and hard at work.

We visited/evaluated 32 schools as a team within two days. I personally flew by over 20. This meant -loads- of meetings with headmasters, teachers, students, and so on. I had a score of flower garlands draped around my neck, walked through more than a dozen rows of girls throwing flowers and flower petals on me, sat on just as many stages in front of waiting audiences, met no less than three "His Holiness, Swami-Ji"'s, attended a couple inaugurations as guest of honor, a wedding, ..... you get the idea. Nearly every meal was accompanied by a meeting of some sort. But, damn, did we eat well. I put on about five pounds in the last week alone. Part of this may have been that physical activity beyond shaking a million hands was nonexistant. I spent a lot of time in the backseat of one of our several vans. A lot.

Despite my skepticism before leaving, it really seems like the work being done here through local and international Rotary clubs is legit. Beds have been purchased for girls at a deaf school, "Comfort stations" (toilet blocks) have been/are being built to help female retention in primary and secondary schools, two ambulances have been made available for mobile clinics, kids are sitting in desks in some public schools instead of on the floor and a pilot program testing the CLE (Concentrated Language Encounter) teaching method in Indian schools is underway.

The success of most of these programs is being measured in terms of being able to land jobs and kids leaving rural communities for "something better." There are, as I see it, a number of potential problems with having this final goal but, in an impoverished community, who am I to say that there's anything more important than being able to feed your family and support yourself? Goals and politics aside, good is being done. And by people with clout. Real clout.

I'm not just talking big, beautiful houses, servants, and all that. It's connections. I've never seen the cell phone of somebody with real clout in action before but, I tell you, it's something to behold. Things get done. And quickly. This is the Owning Class amongst its own. And yet the common thread among these people -- or, at least, a major part of it -- has been an honest dedication to serving their communities in some way. Is it selflessness or the pursuit of the image of Benevolent Leader? Does it even matter? Of course the answer for any one person will be a totally unique one and I won't really get into any of it more than that for now except to say that it's been yet another good lesson in the Gray Spaces in life. There are no "Evil Capitalists," etc. Each of us is truly multifaceted.

Having been dropped in Central Delhi by a private driver, I'm on my own and turning to a notably new chapter in this journey. I left my dress clothes, except for one button-up shirt in Bangalore until February. As David Littlejohn might put it, I'm back in my regular rags for now. I hope my reception from here on is half as warm as it has been. And less awkward.

The mystery smell is making me sick so I have to go. Hope everybody is doing marvelously.