The angels and elite of Delhi

The first two weeks of my fellowship were spent in Delhi, as part of an orientation program set up by AIF. We spent our days listening to different speakers from various parts of Indian society, including representatives from NGOs (non-governmental organizations) working on development, the former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, a journalist, a feminist publisher, the director of the National Gallery of Modern Art (who gave us a private tour of the gallery!*) and the list goes on. The diversity of India is truly reflected in the endless layers of political, economic and social issues the country deals with on a day to day basis. Our speakers exposed us to the wide range of problems facing India and at the same time, shared with us some truly inspiration stories about what they have accomplished for this country. From improving the livelihoods of bicycle rickshaw-pullers to uncovering a World Bank scheme to make water harder to access in Delhi in order to benefit an American corporation to publishing a book on women’s health created by poor, rural women to educate themselves and others, the people who work for these NGOs are no less than angels. Each day I was inspired to continue on my chosen career path and at the same time reminded about how frustrating and difficult that path would be.

However, beyond the formal presentations of orientation, I had the wonderful opportunity to learn from the 28 fellows joining me on this program. Given that we all come from different backgrounds (law, health, education, social work, finance, etc.), but share one common passion—to be a part of the social development of India, the discussions that would arise among us after each lecture were great learning opportunities on their own.

There were some other prominent and inspiring people that we met who sit on the AIF board of directors. I’ll refrain from going into detail of who they all are here, but there was one person I met worth noting for you fellow Bollywood fans out there: the owner of the production company that produced films like Saathiya and Mangal Pandey! Sadly, my lifelong dream to be recruited for a Bollywood film was not fulfilled that night…

* We were invited by the Director of the National Gallery of Modern Art to visit the gallery after hours and attend a private lecture about Indian classical and contemporary art by him and Anjolie Ela Menon, a renowned Indian artist. Given that the kind of Indian art that is usually displayed in museums in the West, I hadn’t realized how very much alive the Indian contemporary art scene is. If only such pieces had more prominence in the West would some of the exotification of India die down – Indian art is not just about ancient carvings, Hindu gods and the Kama Sutra...