Delhi's difference

I sent Evan out to buy himself some new shoes and he came back with two goldfish.  Harriet has been here for a year (from England), so knew where to tell her driver to go. Teens travel effortlessly all over the city, safely and comfortably in private cars and cabs.  Like anywhere, the shops are where they congregate.
Shopping in Delhi is a varied experience.  No big box store monotony here.  Step into the street and buy furniture, fresh flowers, and vegetables.  
Or have the tailor come by and measure you for a custom made suit.  Craig struck up a conversation with this guy over their common interest in motorcycles: the next thing, he has a beautifully tailored kashmir suit.  Now my favorite blouses are being copied in my choice of  fabric.  We've had a teak rocker made (see behind Craig). So far we've resisted many enticements: gem and precious metal craftsman abound, as do beautifully hand-stitched linens, silver kitchenware, and many other trinkets I don't need.  

The tailor, Shafiq, learned his craft from his father, and he from his, and so on as far back as he knows.  Although the caste system has been officially dismantled since Independence, family professions very often persist through the ages.  The 7 and 8 year old children I see picking through the American Embassy garbage are following in their parents' footsteps, still barefoot.

Godvindpuri is an infamous slum in South Delhi whose residents' place in the social order has been fixed for eons.   Yet The Times of India has launched a program to try and elevate the aspirations of the children, called Teach India.  AES has a program with 42 young adolescents who come to our school each Friday afternoon for two hours to study.  They are the hardest working students I've ever known.  They politely and sincerely attend to every spoken word. They come in crisply ironed shirts and lap up every second of their lesson.  I am amazed at their memory retention and the swiftness with which they absorb new learning. It seems they could overcome the years of deprivation they've already experienced, given the opportunity.  Some have: stories appear regularly in the media - a famous actor, a senator. 

I'm learning that many privileged Indians, the ones I know, give generously of their time and resources, and there is a collective consciousness to raise everyone's status with India's rising star.  But wealth distribution is even more dramatically disparate than I could have imagined.  All around us in our posh neighborhood, the houses are undergoing renovations to become evermore luxurious.  The 110% customs duties on BMWs and other imported brands don't dissuade the thousands of millionaires who populate the many toni neighborhoods all over New Delhi.   Chic restaurants whose prices are as expensive as Europe are popping up every week.  Designer shops for clothing and furniture are proliferating.  I've travelled all over New Delhi now, discovering that in neighborhood after neighborhood, excessive wealth is just as characteristic and widespread as excessive poverty.