Service and Extremes

It is said that in order for India to develop like many other nations of the world, they need to increase their Tertiary (Service) sector to a level that surpasses the Primary (Agricultural) and Secondary (Industrial) sectors. On paper, I'd agree. However, the ironic opposition to this is that after visiting almost anywhere in India, you experience service constantly. I know the service industries they are talking about refer to entertainment, food, hotels and the like, but I haven't entered a village without being offered to see a reptile ascend out of a reed basket by a snake charmer (what could be more entertaining?), or restaurant owners and hotel operators running up to me and advertising their business. It is a non-conventional type of service, but it is a service. On the train to Delhi last night, five minutes wouldn't go by before another chai wala (person who offers tea), chip, or drink seller walked by preceeded by their nasaly announcements. And after getting off a train, there are 3 taxi and 4 auto-rickshaw drivers without fail, all surrounding me and bargaining for our mutual "good price" (the highest one I'll give and the lowest one they will). I think the key point is that they don't make the government much money. It's the five star hotels and restaurants that the country wants to see on the incline, with a matching entertainment industry equipped with operas, theatres, sporting events, and horse racing stadiums (however, the IPL- Indian Premier League- of cricket which is in its first season must be making a killing). However, the fact that the multiple service industries existing in India don't make the government any money does not negate the fact that they exist, and there is some of the most humble and best service here than I have ever experienced.

I decided yesterday to spend my last meal in Amritsar in a posh place, so I took a cycle rickshaw to Crystal Restaurant. I paid just over 200 rupees (about $5) for world famous Darjeeling Tea, a delicious tomato butter chicken curry, and two orders of butter naan (some of the best bread ever). The youth next to me were busy talking about the Simpsons, and there was a lunch business meeting happening on my other side; I felt right at home. This brings me to my next point in that India is a culture of extremes. These youth were acting as if there wasn't a care in the world, obviously children of successful parents who pay for all their needs (not unlike my upbringing). In contrast, the youth of Sudder Street back in Kolkata were either working extremely hard labour for little pay, or desperately looking for work as a cycle rickshaw driver (which, by the way, makes one sterile after 3 years of hard work). Another example is food. I can eat at a posh place like Crystal's, and as I leave the restaurant be confronted by street vendors selling greasy samosas or puri bread for a few rupees. On any road at any time, there are the poorest people driving cyle rickshaw who are dirty and perhaps sleep on the streets, who are passed every moment by business women and men driving BMWs and the like (there are much more Tata and Honda cars, which are more mid-range vehicles). Anyways, just an observation.