First impressions of Delhi
This post is about out trip from Kyoto to Delhi, our first impressions of Delhi, and some thoughts on the opportunity cost of this travel year.
After a 16-hour travel day, we landed in Delhi just before sunset last night. Our kids are getting quite good at long flights, and the whole day passed essentially without drama.
Flying into Delhi, I was a little surprised to see a thick, almost viscous, layer of smog covering the city for miles in all directions. Once we got out of the airport, I saw that the smog is so thick that it dims the outlines of buildings, creates halos around the streetlights, and visibly moves and swirls with the air currents. It is a travel cliche to comment on air quality in Indian cities, but it definitely makes a strong first impression. Apparently the air is much better than it was a few years ago (before the city switched from diesel to CNG buses), and is much better in November than it is during the winter. Also, the evening rush hour is the worst time of day. Literally breathtaking. I think we will probably get used to it in a day or so.
Our guide, Indrajit, picked us up at the airport, and we battled the rush hour traffic into the center of the city. Stating the obvious, Delhi is colossally big and crowded, so the 20-kilometer drive took over an hour. Indrajit is young, and seems very intelligent and well educated. His command of the facts as we asked our basic “welcome to India” questions was impressive. More impressive were his well informed and clearly articulated opinions on lots of global topics, particularly the U.S. elections. The combination of our stimulating discussion with Indrajit, who embodies the positive Indian stereotype of the young urban knowledge worker, and the freewheeling chaos of Delhi’s rush hour, reinforced the impression that India is absolutely bursting with vibrancy and economic growth. The energy is almost visible and tangible (like the air).
Zola and I went out for a walk just after dawn this morning. After the cleanliness and order of Japan, he was a little freaked out by the grime and chaos of Delhi’s streets. We saw dozens of people waking up from their streetside campsites, and many more having breakfast at small stands. Full buses roared past us, and thousands of pedestrians rushed everywhere. Definitely not in Kansas anymore.
We are looking forward to our month in India. We will take it easy today, seeing some sights in the afternoon, having dinner with an Indian history professor. We leave for Jaipur tomorrow morning. So much to see and do.
On a separate tack, three pieces of news within the last 24 hours have focused my thinking on the opportunity cost of this time I am taking to travel with my family.
First, CNN has just projected Barack Obama as the winner of the Presidential election (two minutes ago). Tremendously exciting and relieving. That said, a man my age (roughly) getting elected President makes me feel like I have been slacking off. It makes me wonder what I would be doing today (and next year) if I had just joined the Obama campaign full time in May.
Second, also very exciting, a long-time (younger) friend sent me an e-mail, letting me know that he has gotten an enormous promotion. I am thrilled for him, and know he will do a tremendous job. The news also makes me acutely aware that I am spinning my wheels professionally for this year, while the rest of the world moves on. I have no regrets, and I’m not sure where the wheels would be taking me if I had traction, but it focuses the mind.
Third, and very sadly, I found out that a friend who was a classmate from business school and a colleague at McKinsey died suddenly over the weekend. He was also couple of years younger than me, and was a charismatic, seemingly joyous, and hugely talented man. Like me, he has (had) two small children who he loved. Life is short.
We are going to play the will.i.am “Yes We Can” video a couple of times, watch the concession and victory speeches, and then go out to explore Delhi.