Letter from Mumbai
Adnan Tan spent a year at Strathclyde University, studying for a doctorate in architecture. He writes from Mumbai on the contrast with life in the UK.
Living in Scotland for a year was such an eye-opening experience. One of the memories that lingers is how polite people are, whether it’s something as simple as holding a door open or receiving directions from a stranger. The driving discipline on the street was amazing, as well. In Mumbai, I cannot imagine a car waiting at a red signal on an empty street at 4 A.M. People would think you had a screw loose; why waste time waiting if there’s no other car in sight? Living the student life also made me appreciate how much fun an unstructured life can be, and how liberating. In Mumbai, astronomical property prices coupled with sentimental traditions prevent the younger lot from moving out, and it’s hard to have the same life when you’re living with your parents.
Living in the UK affords certain freedoms, but India is steeped in culture and tradition. Very few festivals worldwide can compare to the festive madness and tumultuous exuberance of India’s annual Ganesh festival and Diwali. Imagine Guy Fawkes Night, but continuing every night for nearly a week – that’s Diwali for you! Culturally, India is in a bit of an odd state of flux, because it’s so diverse. It’s modern and traditional at the same time, and like a pushmi-pullyu, it can be a struggle to move in any particular direction. Having said that, the diversity is what makes living here interesting. It’s totally normal to see cows blocking the street outside the Bombay Stock Exchange building, or anywhere else for that matter. Health and safety is unheard of, but construction is booming and we get on just fine. There’s never a dull moment here because the city is alive and bustling well into the wee hours of the morning. Processes and procedures in the UK have a fairly standardized and sterilized way of functioning, while India, on the other hand, works in a more ad-hoc manner; but despite the odds, we flourish. We are ready to adapt and modify to tackle adverse situations. I think therein lies our strength; a desire to push forward towards the promise of something better, all the while revelling in our food, festivals and family.
