Reflections on India

We went to Chennai to teach some Indian Christians in Apologetics for one week this month. It was my (Brian)first visit to India, and it was quite fascinating. The first thing that I noticed were these cool little old cars they had. They are an old model of Hugh Morris cars. I believe these are English cars, so Americans may be unfamiliar with them. They are quite quaint looking, and are very common. Most taxis are Morrises. I do not know what year they are from, but if there is any similarity to the styles of American cars, I would estimate that the model comes from the 1950s or 1960s. According to our friend Cyril in India, they were the standard car that was used in India’s socialist era, and hence is regarded today as a symbol of India’s socialist past. Well, I feel a bit ambivalent about that, since I despise any expression of socialism, symbol or not; at the same time, however, I love anything that smacks of history. In the new dynamic era of India’s growth, the Morris still has the retro cool look to it. We rode to and from the Chennai airport in a Morris. The SUV we were driven around in the remainder of the week was much more comfortable, but the Morris was a cool experience.

Driving around in India was an interesting cultural experience. I must say that I was never scared—only because we had a great driver the whole week, and I had complete confidence in him. This allowed me to just look at the traffic and marvel. The first thing that you will notice is that most of the intersections don’t seem to have traffic lights. There are many traffic circles. But at most junctions, the cars just sort of keep going through the intersection without hitting each other. On all roads but freeways, there are no lines—people just drive wherever on the road. There are cars mixed in with buses, autos (3-wheeled taxis like tuk-tuks in Thailand, if you know those), motorcycles (often with entire families on them—husband, wife, and one or two kids!), bicycles, and even an occasional cart pulled by cows (!) in the “slow lane”! The drivers beep the horn all the time. It is not used primarily for warning or expressing anger like in the US. People beep constantly, apparently to let other drivers know where they are on the road: “Beep beep—I’m coming up behind you. Beep beep—I’m trying to get past you; move to your left a bit so I can pass.”

One thing that I noticed about Indian drivers, though, is that they do not seem to be aggressive or ambitious. They are very calm, deferential drivers. They all seem to yield to one another, and they drive fairly slowly. I guess that’s the only way this crazy traffic system could work. With most countries I have been to (particularly the US, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia), with all of the aggressive and ambitious drivers, there would be car accidents and fatalities on every street every day if the traffic system were like India’s. I was never scared riding through Indian traffic with Indian drivers. (In contrast, when I was in Bali, I was terrified. The Indonesian drivers will just pass right in the face of oncoming traffic and just get back in the lane in time. I could swear that on some occasions the only reason we didn’t wreck was because I gasped and the driver swerved at the last second. This wasn’t the case in Jakarta because there the traffic just doesn’t move at all. The freeways are like parking lots. So traffic jams or death races—I’m not sure which extreme is worse!).

Crossing the street on foot was quite an adventure. “Cross in faith, brother!” our Indian colleagues said. The trick is that you stand “in the shadow” of the more practiced person and start to move when he does. However, there are times that they start walking, and you think, “Are they crazy? There’s no way they can fit through that gap in traffic!!!” Well, I am used to crossing in some busy traffic, so I did OK. The Indians remarked that same night that apparently, my faith had grown.

There is also a lot of poverty in India, and you will see people just sitting or laying on the sidewalk or ground. Now not all of these people are beggars. Some of them are laborers, fruit hawkers, and vendors of various knick-knacks. Regardless, they will just sit or lay on the sidewalk (and these are dirty sidewalks), and it doesn’t seem strange to them.

There are also a lot of animals roaming around. There are stray dogs like in many cities. (I didn’t see any stray cats like in Singapore, though.) And then, there are the cows. There are many carts pulled by cows, and you often see cows standing on the side of the road, or eating, or bathing in a lake. These cows are bigger than the typical American cow, and their horns grow in a more vertical curve from the top of the head (as opposed to the horizontal curve out from the sides of the head of American cows).

Another thing about India is the heat. Oh my gosh, the heat. It is typically about 40-42 degrees Celsius there (about 100 degrees Fahrenheit, I guess) at this time of the year. So if you’re an Ang Mo (Hokkien for “white guy [or gal]”) like me, in the daytime you just try to stay in the air condition as much as possible. However, the humidity is nowhere near as bad as Singapore, so I’m not sure that India’s weather is actually less comfortable. When the late afternoon begins, the weather gets much less severe. It is not bad in the evening and at night. (Below is pix of me trying to cool down my body and calm down my stomach with some young coconut water)
The food in India is quite nice if you like Indian food—and I love Indian food. The food at the academy where we were teaching was absolutely delicious. But you do have to be careful. In India, you always drink bottled water, and you don’t use even use ice. At our hotel, unfortunately, the food quality was not as good. Sometimes it tasted OK, but not at other times. I did get a case of diarrhea from the hotel, and so did I’Ching on the same day (and she’s got a stomach of iron)—even a few of our Indian colleagues got the bug from this hotel! Most nights, some of the Indian teachers took us around for dinner to different restaurants to try different kinds of Indian food, such as Kerala food (from the Indian state of Kerala), Indian Chinese food, and others. I learned a few kinds of Indian food that I had never had before, and will look for them in Indian restaurants in Singapore.

Now it seems like many of the things I have said are negative. I’m not trying to sound negative—I’m just describing the things about India that are really different that can really give Westerners a culture shock. If you go to India, you know one thing for sure—you’re not in Kansas anymore! All that being said, India is a fantastic place. I would find it hard to live there, but I really enjoyed my visit, and look forward to going again. It is a dynamic, diverse place, with people hustling and bustling everywhere. It is a lot of fun to shop there (and having lived in Singapore 2 years, I can be a bit kiasu and say, “So cheap, lah!”).

There is amazing religious diversity in India as well—Hindus (many different types), Muslims, Sikhs, and Christians. In Chennai, there is a large Christian population with a really amazing history. I would like to learn more of that history. The remains of the Apostle Thomas are buried in Chennai, according to tradition, and I intend to visit his memorial the next time we go.

It was a joy to see our Indian colleagues again, and to meet some of them for the first time. The work occurring at RZIM India is encouraging. They have a great new facility. I was envious of the great library they have—many old, but high quality books that are no longer in print—I was like a kid in a candy store! The new Academy of Apologetics in India is off to a great start, and it was a real joy for I’Ching and I to be a part of it. It is amazing that they could get 20 or so students to take off for 3 weeks to do an extensive course in apologetics. The students there are hungry to be equipped, and were so pleasant to I’Ching and me. They are very gracious people, and highly motivated to learn. It seems that many Indian Christians love ideas, debating, discussing, questioning, etc., and that makes them both fun and challenging to teach. This is very different from the Southeast Asian context, where there is a more pragmatic spirit, and less interest in more theoretical matters (regardless of the fact that these matters can be crucial to our faith, or to the dialogue between our faiths and other faiths). Of course, the Indians, like all of us, have their own cultural blind spots, but it was refreshing to deal with a different set of cultural “pros and cons” than the ones we usually face in our own context.

I’Ching and I will be returning in September to teach for a week. We really look forward to it. One thing that will be different is that we were a bit underprepared before the previous trip, so we had to do a lot of prep-work in the hotel after teaching. The next time, we will be fully prepared so that we can use our free time for more fellowship, shopping, and sightseeing. It is a shame to have to stay inside the hotel working when visiting such an incredible country, and we don’t intend to make that mistake twice!

Writings on the wall

One evening a few months after we moved into our apartment, I was working alone in the study while Brian was out teaching. My writing was interrupted by some neighbors fighting. While it is not uncommon that we can hear our neighbors quarelling, this time sounded a little too vicious. I tried to peep out of the window to see if I was the only one perturbed by the noisy argument but saw nothing. I tried to return to my work but the conflict persisted. A few minutes later, I heard a loud scream followed by a very loud noise that sounded like the crash of a huge closet or something. Then, silence.

Instinctively I knew someone was hurt but I had no idea where the whole incident took place. I figured that if someone was really hurt, the police or ambulance would soon arrive. And I was right. Within ten minutes, I heard the siren. Curious, I hurriedly went onto my corridor and looked down to see where the siren is coming from. As soon as I peered down, I saw a lifeless and bloody body of a big man facing facedown on the ground. The fight that I had heard earlier tragically ended with one of the man jumping off the building.

I later found out that this is a rather "regular" occurrence here in this city. In fact, when my neighbors found out that a man had jumped to his death, they were only mildly shocked. I also discovered that such end is common among those who owe illegal loan sharks money.

When we first moved to this city, we never understood why sometimes we would find numbers scribbled on the wall of our apartment building. Then, we realized that those were warning messages by loan sharks to their clients - "pay up or else..."

The last few weeks we noticed that there have been frequent writings on the wall on our floor. Apparently someone on our level owes someone money. One late evening, we saw the poor man trying to clean off the writing on the wall near his apartment with turpentine. Unfortunately, the loan sharks are still after him and a few days ago, we found more warning messages scribbled on the inside of the two elevators' doors (see pix).

I have often imagined that these illegal loan sharks are gangsters and probably look like it. However, that is not necessarily the case, I recently discovered. We were riding in a taxi to a meeting two evenings ago and the taxi driver (who looked "normal" and decent) got a phonecall on his cell. We could not help but hear his conversation about threatening someone to pay up and arranging with his comrade to beat up some guy! Go figure - conspiring a crime in broad daylight!

So, who is to be blamed for this social conundrum? Are the illegal loan sharks to be blamed entirely for the ill? What about the basic economic rule of supply to meet demand? Do the ones who borrow money from such parties know what they are getting themselves into? If they know the consequence of failure to pay back but yet go ahead with the loan, are they not responsible for what would happen to them? What do you think?

Law & Order

When we arrived Chennai, we were greeted by my colleague who welcomed us to the city with three seasons: "Hot, "Hotter" and "Hottest." And he was right! It averaged 42 degrees Celsius in the day when we were there. The saving grace, though, was that it was not humid. It would be terribly uncomfortable if it had been that hot and humid.

The food was great - as expected. What was not expected was how adventurous Brian was in trying new stuff. We always knew he likes Indian food and has no problem with spiciness but it was fascinating to see how he wanted to try everything on the buffet spread! I, on the other hand, was more restrained with what I'd add to my plate. We did pretty well over all but did experience some stomach upset after one meal at the hotel. Since I have an iron-stomach, I recovered after a day but not so for Brian.

Anyone who's been to India would know what the traffic there is like. It's amazing how the system works! In the midst of all the endless honking, bullock carts cutting the red light and maneuvering motorcycles there is a mutual understanding of who gets the right of way. Amazing! There seems also to be some kind of mutual respect that underlies the chaotic web of traffic.

I was told by my boss (who is from India) to prepare Brian for some shocks but I did not detect any shocking expressions on his face throughout our visit. In fact, he seemed more amused than shocked!

Everytime I visit India I leave enchanted - with its cultural, linguistic, culinary and religious diversity that gives it so much richness and earthiness. Even the chaotic traffic and crowded streets contribute, in their unique ways, to the country its life and color.

Arrriving at Changi reminds us again of how addictive order and structure can be. The predictability of the way things work somehow gives us the misleading impression that we are secure and in control. We are, of course, merely subjects of the system - the system is really the one managing us, not us it.

Well, as long as I get clean water when I turn on the tap and get regulated electricity current to my apartment, I am not about to fuss too much about being "succumbed" to law and order.

Problem of pain and pleasure

Preparing for my talk on the problem of pain and pleasure has set me pondering again on the reality of pain and the seduction of pleasure. In combing through CS Lewis' writings on the topic, I am again reminded of the gems of truth that are hidden in two of my favorite books of his, The Problem of Pain and A Grief Observed.

Now, no one can really allege that Lewis knew nothing about what real pain is as Joy, his wife, died a mere few years after they were married. Here're are two sample quotes from Lewis on pain and suffering:

“The problem of reconciling human suffering with the existence of a God who loves, is only insoluble so long as we attach a trivial meaning to the word ‘love’, and look on things as if man were the center of them. Man is not the center. God does not exist for the sake of man. Man does not exist for his own sake.”

“What we would here and now call ‘happiness’ is not the end God chiefly has in view: but when we are such as He can love without impediment, we shall in fact be happy.”

Then there is the allure of pleasure that somehow entices us to believe that pleasure is the real end of our life and therefore we must expend all in its pursuit. There is so much more that I'd like to say about the error of making pleasure the ultimate quest of our life but I shall leave you with another quote from Lewis.

In his book, The Screwtape Letters, Lewis writes an imaginary exchange between a senior devil and his intern on the subject of pleasure:

“He (God) made the pleasures: all our research so far has not enabled us to produce one. All we can do is to encourage the humans to take the pleasures which our Enemy has produced, at times, or in degrees, which He has forbidden. Here we always try to work away from the natural condition of any pleasure to that in which it is least natural, least redolent of its Maker, and least pleasurable. An ever increasing craving for an every diminishing pleasure is the formula.”

We are off to India this evening and we'll be sure to update you on our trip when we get back next week.

First visit to Chennai

We have been burning midnight oil the whole of last week preparing to teach in Chennai, India next week. I remember that I was in Chennai at exactly this time of the year two years ago! It'll be interesting to watch Brian's reaction to the order-within-chaos traffic there!

We've been so busy we have have forgotten what it is like to actually sit down for a proper meal or to cuddle up on the couch for a movie... For me, it will continue to be hectic until mid-June when we get to go away for two weekends consecutively - one, a retreat to Malaysia with some friends from church, the other a somewhat free holiday to Phuket in Thailand (we're grateful to generous friends who share their goods!).

All the late nights have been especially hard for Brian as he has been under the weather. Well-meaning friends last evening gave a host of suggestions on how to prevent minor illnesses like cough and cold. One actually said that he is trying to eat right as he has plans to live up to a hundred. Now why, I asked Brian later, would one want to live that long? I don't want to live that long - when all my peers have gone over the other side and I'm still here???!!!

My motto: A short but purposeful life is always preferred to a long one. Besides, there is only one thing that is guaranteed in life - that we will ALL die! Here's what Steve Turner has to say:

Death Lib
The liberating thing about death
Is in its fairness to women
its acceptance of blacks,
its special consideration for the sick.

And I like the way
that children aren’t excluded,
homosexuals are welcomed,
and militants aren’t banned.

Con men can’t con it
Thieves can’t nick it
Bullies can’t scare it
Magicians can’t trick it.

Boxers can’t punch it
Nor critics dismiss it
Don’t knows can’t not know
The lazy can’t miss it.

Governments can’t ban it
Or the army defuse it
Judges can’t jail it
Lawyers can’t sue it.

Capitalists can’t bribe it
Socialists can’t share it
Terrorists can’t jump it
The Third World aren’t spared it.

Scientists can’t quell it
Nor can they disprove it
Doctors can’t cure it
Surgeons can’t move it.

Einstein can’t halve it
Guevara can’t free it
The thing about dead
Is we’re all gonna be it.
[Steve Turner, “Up to Date” (Sevenoaks UK: Hodder and Staughton Ltd., 1987), pp. 72-73]