Socialites UNITE!!

So remember all those classes (okay, this is just for the social scientists out there who have spent any time studying globalization) about transnational elites. Yes. That's all I have to say about that... yes. It's all true. And socio-economic standing only matters as much as your connections. Really, social capital is 300x more important than any material wealth you may acquire. But perhaps you already knew that. The situation just became blindingly apparent to me last night at a party I attended in Defense Colony.

Extended post here You see, my family's income is down right rich if you compare it to the average Indian's. My parents, fortunately for me, valued education, and knew enough people and were able to support me well enough to ensure that I went to excellent schools and made good connections. Had my family been Indian, rather than American, I'm not sure how well that would have turned out. Being clergy isn't exactly a lucrative profession and in India, Christianity (as discussed in previous blog entries) is a fringe religion (and likewise Christians are treated as marginal elements of society). So the likelihood would have been that I would not have the social capital that I have being the daughter of two American clergy.

Now, that said, I do have quite a bit of social capital, which I continue to accrue. Example, all my friends from college from all over the world, my friends from Hungary, my American friends, and now my Indian friends (in addition of course to my professional contacts both in the academy and elsewhere). Saying all this, I realize, of course, that I am a member of the transnational elite. Maybe not the business elite, but an elite nonetheless which is intimately connected to other types of elites (government and business). So last night I went to a party which was in the Defense Colony for a friend of a friend's birthday. This meant cake and chips, among other things, turn tables (complete with I don't know how many Euro style DJs), and a whole chunk of French embassy workers. In fact, there were few Indians there (much fewer than I had expected).

But this is how we meet. Us elites. We go to parties in large cities, we dance, we indulge, and we talk (or if you're like me, you mostly just sit around watching people because parties where you know 4 people make you a little wary). Maybe we drink tea or coffee or go to some cultural show and then schmooze at the reception afterwards.

And at this level, culture and religion, understandings are so similar (or similar enough to have nearly the same political/economic agendas) that nationalities cease to matter. It's only an issue if you don't speak the lingua franca (which in elite and middle-class Indian circles is English). And of course, everyone at this level speaks the lingua franca. So there goes my goal of picking up much Hindi. In that quarter I fail.

My experience with elites across the world (the few places where I have been) leads me to believe even more in Isaiah Berlin's ideas about teaching sentimentality. That is to influence those with power and resources to use these to the benefit of all humankind because their hearts tell them to do so. Now I don't mean elites dressing up and going to things called 'Fur Balls.' Rather I mean elites to not only give enormous amounts of money but speak out for causes and meet with other elites to formulate plans of action to stimulate real change. And not just elites by themselves, but elites building cross-cutting relationships with other groups of people. The middle class would be a start and eventually lower class relationships.

Perhaps this is a bit strange sounding, or perhaps it sounds stuffy. I only speak from my limited experience and the observations I've made of various groups sticking to their own (which not only includes elites, but middle class and lower classes as well). Some of this may be due to comfort and some of this may be due to associational structures in place.

My conclusion: I'll continue hanging out with elites. I'll also hang out with any good person who comes my way. And hopefully my social capital can be spread around, and do some good for a wide variety of people.

blessings.

Alexis Goes to Delhi and other stories

The short version is that life has been kind of crazy and doing things has been much more interesting to me than typing an account of those things.

Several points by way of overview (and then for more interesting thoughts):

1. Delhi, while being a big city, is a city of neighborhoods (or colonies... how weird is that?). Because of the way it is situated, it can be a bit of a hassle to get from one area to another without having a car or motorbike (read: Alexis).

2. I had been staying at a guesthouse at Jamia for the first 2 weeks where I met my first few friends in Delhi. After that I was able to get a room with a family that had never had a paying guest before. Needless to say, I've become somewhat of a daughter to them and this comes with quite a nice package (considering that I was all alone in this city).

3. The center where I am interning is nice if new and the year barely started (plus they, like another program I've involved myself in, have just begun their masters program - brand new this year).

Those are the key points of inquiry. The rest is just...well something. Delhi is hot. I am melting. However, the family with whom I live has a place in the lesser Himalayas and so I was able to go for a few days. Talk about a break from heat - I didn't have warm enough clothes! They gave me a knit scarf and I borrowed an assortment of jackets and shawls, while enjoying the heat of a fire, monkeys stealing bags of apples and papayas, star-gazing, walks through the forest, leeches, and excellent company.

I should also say, I am more than fortunate to be with the family I am. They have so many connections to NGOs and other things that it has given me a place in Delhi which I could not have hoped for in my wildest dreams. You don't land in that. You're given it. I do have to give props to God for making it the only possibility for me (literally, it was the only room I saw which would be vacant in time of me leaving the guesthouse).

Personally in the time I've spent NOT blogging, I've come to encounter new understandings of religion (which I may reserve the right NOT to discuss until they are fully formed and coherent), greater understandings of Indian society, and a strong yearning for a Beckman Grenache as well as a thick bloody steak.

Despite my small discomforts (like heat and a yearning for red meat) I have come to enjoy this place called India, and Delhi more specifically. I know now that I can't begin to grasp the things I need to know in my limited time here. I will have to return, which frankly, is more than fine with me.

You may wonder why I would brave 40C and autorickshaw driver rip-offs. But beyond Delhi, and even I may dare say Punjab (which I have discovered I adore because everytime I see anything Punjabi I get really excited) I felt more akin to a place than I have ever in my life.

I actually fell in love with Pangot, where I stayed in the mountains. This is the first time I have fallen in love with a place, the first time I've felt rooted after a few days. This is my kind of paradise. It's not the seductive beauty of Santa Barbara which I will represent through the classic aspertane blonde blue-eyed shell valley girl. No. This is like an archetypal Victorian beauty with elegant dresses, grace, poise, and presence. There is no comparison. Don't get me wrong, I love the beauty of Santa Barbara. But this place is like a 5 course meal to me. It's the kind of place where Kipling and Elliot would have written their works.

Delhi has blessed me more than I could have imagined. The Malhotras have blessed me more than I could have dreamed. As my dad says, "God is good" and we say, "ALL THE TIME." Amen.