The way the world works

Sam Lindberg

Our last day in Mumbai before a train at 10pm to Goa saw us with several hours of free time in our hands. Tom went through discussing the various things we should do; try new foods, go play cricket at the Maidan or just walk and see where the wind takes you. A few of us decided to go down to the Maidan and indulge in some frisbee and attempted to join in on a game of cricket with some locals. Seeing hundreds of people enjoying a sunny day doing what they love in a greatly appreciated part of the city highlighted something to me. Playing sport, have it be touch rugby, cricket or soccer is something special and can unite people together in such a large community where belonging seems so important. 

After a nice lunch at the famous Leopolds, an ice-cream was definitely needed on what is a scorching hot day for us, Yet a standard winters day for India. While Ryan and I were waiting for a couple boys to get some money out, a boy who was a beggar came up to us. My first reaction was to say "no, no money," but then he attempted to talk to us in English. He asked; where we were from, why we were here, our age and names. Something uncommon amongst many beggars I have encountered. He said he was 10 and that he needed baby formula and rice for his mother and one month old sibling. Ryan and I offered him some money and he refused it as he wanted us to go to the supermarket and buy the things for him, as he wasn't allowed to. So we both went and helped him out with his problem. Even though his story may be misleading, as he did look older than 10, I'm still glad we did it. The thing that made me go out of my way was the fact that he didn't take the money, we offered him cash but he was deadset on the food items. He cared more about his 1month sibling than his own benefit which said to me this kid had a good heart. It just goes to show that there really are some good people out there in society. You just need to give everyone a chance. Doing one small deed like this in a country of 78 million homeless people seems so minuscule, it's a daunting thing to think about. However it makes me think how can India really fix itself. When there are billionaires in 27 story skyscrapers and millions in a slum beside it, it's hard to see an India where there is no poverty and people can live a good life. For me, the purpose of Mumbai was to show us the extreme ends of wealth and living conditions. 2 days ago we went to Taj hotel in the morning for breakfast and Dharavi the slum in the afternoon. Words can't describe how opposite both places were.  Mumbai successfully showed me the extreme wealth of some and extreme poverty of others.

As we come to the end of the trip I can happily sit here and say that I have soaked in the culture, religion and stories of many people in India. I now know the way India works, being 1.2 billion of he worlds population and how there really are good people out there.