Chicago Center for Urban Life & Culture

More pictures from Scott’s Travels in India

Last November Scott travelled to India with a “People to People” delegation of sociologists, and then on his own for a week.

photos by Scott Chesebro

Email from Scott in India

Executive Director Scott Cheseboro shares an e-mail with Chicago Center during his trip to India.

I’m in Dehli and the group will have its last meeting today. I have my flight booked for Chennai and will leave tonight at 8. My contact there will pick me up. I had breakfast with the country diretor for world relief in his apartment in west Dehli. Middle clas or even upper for most of India and middle for Dehli.

I had a great conversation with them about the evangelical church in India. Birya converted to Christianity from Hindu just before marrying Rabi who grew up in a christian family. He visits US churches because they give lots of money for relief in India. His wife has very mixed feelings about the church because they want to impose their ways on Indian culture. She says they do not respect the Indian heritage and want all women to wear skirts and celebrate only christian holidays. She converted believing all are equal “in Christ” and wanted to break out of the caste system. She b elieves the protestant churches are distorting that inclusiveness, particularly towards Muslims and Hindus.

We stopped at an Indian McDonalds yesterday on the long drive from Agra (where, yees I stood in front of the majestic Taj Mahal and even went inside. It was built by King Jahan in the 1500’s for his wife who died giving birth to their 14th child. He is buried there also) and the free gift in the happy meal was a true to life blond and blue-eyed Barbie. Sounds like the chuch. They serve chicken instead of beef and no there is no McMutton.

The Taj Mahal is breath taking. Although Jahan was Muslim, all faiths come to the site and all respect it as holy space. There is a Masjid next door. India is the most diverse country I have ever encountered in so many ways even though it is not diverse in the race/color way we are used to using the term. It is impssible to describe the variety dress, transportation, housing/dwellings and landscape. Our guide made the comment that India is one of the few countries that has never had a revolution.. He stated that it is because Indians have ever ything they need. That is hard to comprehend amidst the extremes and it just becomes another of those paradoxes.

“Can you imagine giving an Indian a bell for a gift?” This was our guides question after opening the gifts brought by the delegates. Felipe Gonzales, soc prof at U New Mexico brought a small silver bell inscribed with New Mexico. Amitabh, our guide explained that bells were worn by the untouchables so that other castes would know when they were near and to get out of the way to avoid being touched. He had a lot of fun ringing the bell whenever an occassion permitted!

Email is less than sure here. I will try to send another when I have a space. One of my most enjoyable rides across the city was with my cab driver today as we returned from Rabi’s house. “Taxi University.” He told me where all the good shopping is.

I’m still waiting on a few questions. The answers to those I have are amazingly present, meaning I haven’t had to do much work yet!

Peace!