I live in India AMA

[IndiaAMA]

Hello. Name changed for this. I’ve seen a number of threads about the Indian variant including lots of speculation about lifestyles in India, some of which is quite incorrect! So thought I’d do an AMA.

I am a British woman who lives and works her with my spouse.

AMA!

Do you think the Indian government is taking control of the situation now and do you expect things to start improving soon? Do you see a way out?

Why do you think your post from India warrants being in AIBU more than the whole message board on Talk that's dedicated to "ask me anything"..?

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/AMA

I haven't got any questions, just want to give you and your family my best wishes. Hope the situation improves soon.

@Marguerite2000

I haven't got any questions, just want to give you and your family my best wishes. Hope the situation improves soon.

That’s so kind - thank you

[quote Ginuwine]
Why do you think your post from India warrants being in AIBU more than the whole message board on Talk that's dedicated to "ask me anything"..?

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/AMA[/quote]
I didn’t know that was there! Happy for it to be moved by MNHQ :)

@Catslovepies

Do you think the Indian government is taking control of the situation now and do you expect things to start improving soon? Do you see a way out?

There is no timescale for a peak yet in Delhi, nor in Kolkata or Chandigarh. I understand Bangalore and Mumbai have peaks mapped out in coming weeks. But there is an issue with the numbers. It is almost impossible to get a test here at the moment - and if you do get one it’ll be in several days and the results won’t come back for several days. This means the cases - and deaths - are likely higher than reported. The government has realised this is a problem and a positive certificate is no longer needed in order to get covid treatment in hospital. But that allows some states to massage down the figures.

Vaccinations are also hard to come by at the moment. If you can pay privately, at higher rates, it is easier. But in Delhi, where I am, my domestic staff have been unable to get vaccinations - the app is crap.

I think the government are gripping it. But it’s becoming very, very politicised. The holding of political rallies and big religious events as the virus numbers grew enormously was a political decision that has been very heavily criticised.

1. How do you react to the middle class and affluent Indians who don't care about excessive poverty in their country?

1. How do you manage seeing such poverty? When did you last seeing a dead or dying person in the street and what did you do?

I was watching a TV programme yesterday about early films about India on PBS America, so India is very fresh in my mind OP. I went there in the 1970s. From what I see now it seems the country has changed massively (as has everywhere of course). The impression I get is a lot of 'westernisation' and still a lot of tradition perhaps existing uneasily together. Not sure what my question is!
How long have you been there?
Is your spouse British or Indian or something else?
Do you have children?
What do you like about living there that's different to being over here, if it's possible to put your finger on anything?
Thank you.

Who did you want to win the IPL?

@Ginuwine
I'm sure the OP will never mistakenly post on AIBU again, eh? Some very unpleasant posters in there ...

What should I cook for dinner?

How do you cope with the upsurge in anti-British feeling from middle class Indians in the past 10 years? Debate? Apologies? Ignore? I don't meet any middle class Indians?

Sending supportive thoughts to you.

How visible is the situation at the moment, to you?

Have you been vaccinated? What vaccine are they using?

What is the government doing to combat the spread of the virus?

I hope you & spouse stay well and safe. Do you have access to Western TV? Do you see the scenes many Western channels are showing and is the issue as widespread as reported? I have a fear it could be worse. How do you and your spouse feel on a daily basis?

My heart absolutely goes out to people in India (and all other covid ravaged countries).

I really hope medical supplies will be received en mass and vaccinations administered in a fast steady pace.

How many oxygen cylinders do you have in your home? Yours DHs office/place of employment?

Maybe you should pay for your domestic staff to be vaccinated privately. Just a thought. (And yes I have lived in a country where I have employed domestic staff in the past.)

How does it make you feel when the BBC have a zoom call with an Indian Dr who says "people here are overreacting by immediately going to a hospital with mild covid symptoms that could easily be managed at home"?

@lostlife

1. How do you react to the middle class and affluent Indians who don't care about excessive poverty in their country?

1. How do you manage seeing such poverty? When did you last seeing a dead or dying person in the street and what did you do?

I don’t know anyone who doesn’t care at all about the poverty in India. But it is an extremely capitalist society, and the rich-poor divide is extreme. What I would say is that it isn’t lack of money or charitable donations that leads to poverty: it’s poor governance, corruption at local levels, and lack of social protections (no minimum wage, slave wages for many, limited free health care, no unemployment benefits, terrible infrastructure in the slums that leads to poverty cycle eg open sewage, no running water, no electricity). The government failed to act fast during coronavirus to protect the very poor such as migrant workers - but in general, people give a lot of money to the poor. It is also usual to give old clothes to charity and food to charity - either to charities or to homeless people you see. The Gurudwaras also provide free food. I work with several Indian charities closely and I am in awe of their work, and they are decently funded by the public.

Poverty - along with littering - is the most jarring thing you see when you come to India. I have only seen dead or dying people in the street in motorcycle accidents however.

I’ve seen at least x4 videos of people living in India who day the press coverage is complete BS.
They’re using pictures of homeless people sleeping in the streets (like they normally do) and then saying that’s then dying in the street.

What’s your thoughts?

@giletrouge

I was watching a TV programme yesterday about early films about India on PBS America, so India is very fresh in my mind OP. I went there in the 1970s. From what I see now it seems the country has changed massively (as has everywhere of course). The impression I get is a lot of 'westernisation' and still a lot of tradition perhaps existing uneasily together. Not sure what my question is! How long have you been there? Is your spouse British or Indian or something else? Do you have children? What do you like about living there that's different to being over here, if it's possible to put your finger on anything? Thank you.

I’ve been here three years. My spouse and I are both British, we don’t have kids. I love living in India! It takes some getting used to - I have very pale colouring and get stared at a lot, and in more rural areas or less touristy areas it is not unusual for people to ask to take my or my husband’s pictures because of our colouring. Can you imagine if that happened in the UK!!

People always try to communicate with you even if you have no common language. I find it an overwhelmingly friendly country. I speak very little Hindi, my husband speaks decent Hindi, but of course that doesn’t necessarily help in Tamil Nadu or Assam where other languages are preeminent! But people are welcoming and curious about strangers, very openly so - that is quite unique to India (and maybe Nepal and Sri Lanka?) I think.

I also love the approach to clothing. Women are always dressed beautifully. You see a lot of female manual labourers and they are very often dressed in beautiful saris. There is nothing plain here.

The attitude to litter sadly makes it very different to any European country. It is striking and depressing. But improving - many shops in central Delhi and in the airports are plastic free now, for example, and recycling is taking off in a big way here.

@lostlife

Who did you want to win the IPL?

Ha, shameless to say I haven’t followed it! I was astounded it carried on despite the pandemic...

[quote FunnyWonder]@Ginuwine
I'm sure the OP will never mistakenly post on AIBU again, eh? Some very unpleasant posters in there ...[/quote]
Hahah, thanks @Ginuwine

@lostlife

How do you cope with the upsurge in anti-British feeling from middle class Indians in the past 10 years? Debate? Apologies? Ignore? I don't meet any middle class Indians?

Ooh a really interesting question!

I have a lot of colleagues and friends who are middle class Indians. I find the animosity doesn’t manifest personally, in general. Anti British comments are quite common, but they aren’t directed at me as a middle class professional who will be here for a few years - they’re directed at westernisation, at neo colonialist attitudes, at the legacy of atrocities we left (Bengal famine, Jallianwala Bagh). I acknowledge the failures of the British historically and am open to debating the pros and cons of our policies - I work in policy and politics so have a lot of the arguments to hand! Humour works well - and not being stuck up about our glorious colonial past, because while we did bring undeniable benefits to India (railways being the big one I think), we left it a total mess and there’s no point denying that!