Cultural Reflections

My time in India is quickly coming to an end and I will be finished at CMC at the end of this week. During my stay, I have of course been reflecting on the Indian medical system, comparing/contrasting it with the my own experience in the United States and writing about my observations. And while the healthcare systems may share many similarities (as I have noted in my previous blogs), I find that the cultural experience between being in the US and being in India are worlds apart. I am not even sure where to start talking about this. From day one, the transition from a modern social and economic structure back in the US to a developing nation such as India is shocking and overwhelming. Before coming to India, I had visited many places, such as Mexico and Costa Rica, where there was extensive poverty and poor infrastructure, but none I have seen so far compares to India. First of all, it is just so crowded. Everywhere you go, even here in Vellore, there are people begging and pushing and staring. And I have already talked a little about the driving, which is just plain dangerous. Buses and rickshaws and motorbikes all swerving, honking and driving into oncoming traffic to avoid oxen drawn carts taking up one lane of the two lane road. Secondly, beside the people and the noise, it is very dirty. There are piles of trash everyone, animal feces littering the streets and lots of public urination. Third, the extreme poverty takes some real getting used to. In general, the standard of living is far below US standards. Even people who are employed live fairly meager existences. I was able to visit the home of both a bus driver and health aid employed by CMC. In both cases, their houses consisted of a couple small rooms plus a kitchen with cement floors and no adornments. And this is more than many people have. Beggars were exceedingly common in all of the parts of India I visited and unlike the US, there are not shelters or welfare programs that the homeless can turn to. Another interesting observation is that the public domain in India is dominated by men. When I saw women out in public, they were usually accompanied by their husbands. I rarely ever saw groups of women together in public. Most all of the shop and restaurant owners were men. Women rarely drive cars. In all my time in India, I maybe saw one or two women driving a car or motorbike. And finally, Indian people are generally very short. At 5'5", I felt like a giant in India. I was taller than most of the women and many of the men. It was nice when I was watching surgery because for once, I could just look over everyone's head.

In terms of my interactions with the locals here in India, I have had a mixed experience. On the one hand, people are always trying to take advantage of you. This is just not something that any Westerner is accustomed to. People usually want to rip me off. I am white and don't speak the local language and therefore, I am a very easy target. But on the other hand, I have met some extremely nice, welcoming and helpful people during my journeys around India, which have made me think twice about my attitude towards the people here. While on the train to Mysore one day (we were traveling from Bangalore to Mysore where the maharajah's palace is located), Stefanie and I struck up a conversation with a guy just a few years older than us on the way to visit his wife in Mysore. We got talking to him, and were able to ask him our many questions about local India culture. He helped us figure out how to navigate the local trains system and even changed his return train trip so he could make sure we arrived safely back at our hotel. I don't think I have ever had a stranger go so far out of the way for me. And this situation has repeated itself on many occasions. In sum, I think that India people can be a little rough around the edges (often pushy, very impatient etc), but are often willing to go out of their way to welcome strangers into their country.

Another interesting aspect of India culture is religion. In South India, where Vellore is located, the people are mainly either Hindi or Christian. There are a few Muslims around, but there are by far the minority. The interesting part about religion in India is how much it impacts everyday life. For example, in the Hindu faith, cows are regarded as sacred. For this reason, although not everyone here is Hindi, the cows that wander the streets of India, interfering with traffic and getting into trash piles, are totally immune from repercussion. And very very few restaurants here in Vellore serve any sort of beef dishes. Christianity also an integral part of the cultural experience here, especially in Vellore because CMC is founded on Christian principles. While there are many religiously affiliated hospitals in the US, the Christian principles are much more salient here. For example, prior to every surgery that is performed, there is an extensive prayer that is recited by the nurses and scrub techs. Bible readings and Christian symbols decorate the walls of almost every hospital ward and office. The salient role of religion in Indian culture was very interesting to experience.

In general, I think India is a hard place to visit. The cultural shock is the first hurdle to overcome. But even as I have gotten used to India, I still find it to be tiring and overwhelming on a daily basis. Life is hard here. The infrastructure is poor, there are many layers of bureaucracy involved in almost all aspects of life, and it can be very difficult to accomplish even minor tasks efficiently. Not to mention, I am getting very tired of eating rice with every meal. It will definitely be a welcomed relief to get back to the US after visiting here.