One of the main points of this blog is to give our perspectives on the above question.
Indeed, what is it like to live in India?
The above pictures say a great deal. These pictures were taken as I walked from one side of the neighborhood to the other. Note the nice tennis court with monsoon rain on it, as well as some purple flowers that have been blown off of their vine onto the same court. Charming. Seasonal. Timely.
Then notice the rough-hewn sticks on the edge of the court. They were just placed there. By whom, based upon what rationale and with what subsequent plan - anybody's guess. And these are not just regular sticks trimmed by a guy with gloves and plastic goggles and a chain saw. They show the signs of how the cutting was done.
This is the picture - A shockingly thin guy, probably working in the city temporarily from a rural village, wielded a dull ax with every ounce of his heart until it was half-hewn, then he fought it with his full body, twisting and battling it until it came off the tree. Or perhaps he was the cutting guy and had a twisting guy with him (and beneath him, be very clear about that) who waited until it was his function - finalizing the twig twisting. Actually, the picture is not complete unless there are about six guys doing the task, three or four of whom are watching and providing verbal support and guidance.
The sticks were gone in a day. That is one difference about living in a gated community. Our old pile of sticks on Road 23/A used to degraded at the speed of entropy - which for wood is quite long. And don't get me started on road kill degradation rate! It was nauseously slow.
Soon - internet! Within 48 hours.
