So what has India done for me so far?

Since my time here, one thing that has really struck me is how little one actually needs to live. I am referring to material possessions. There are these people who collect garbage for the NGO I am working for that get paid 1200 rupees per mth which is equivalent to approximately AU$35. That’s a bit more than AU$1 per day. So how do they survive? Partly due to India being very cheap, partly because most probably they live in makeshift homes, they don’t pay water, electricity and gas bills- they use communal water taps and fire-, they don’t have proper sanitation ie they have no toilet, and they don’t have mobile phones!

That it is possible to live without all these things really struck me when I found out that most rickshaw drivers sleep in their rickshaws. My housemates and I were leaving a party one night and woke up a cycle rickshaw driver to take us home. He was just sleeping in the passenger seat at the back of his rickshaw with a blanket covering himself. So much for a comfy mattress and pillow. It made me feel kinda bad cos I always try to bargain down a fare even by 5 rupees- I only want to be charged the fair price and avoid being ripped off. Although it was only for that night, we let go of our pride and paid him a ‘night charge’ well beyond the standard rate.