Just before dawn, some of the local becak drivers are still asleep in their becaks, lined up outside the gangs, while others ask "transport?" or only offer "selamat pagi", good morning. The same drivers see us walk up and down the street every day--one of them even commented the day after we moved to a different hotel, further along the street. Even though we have never accepted a ride, each of them still asks at every passing, "transport?" or "becak?", though now a few of the ones we recognize ask with a knowing smile, and a few only say hello, or wish us a good walk. I think that many of the becak drivers live outside the city and literally live on their becak for days at a time, making enough money to live day-to-day. For living such a hard life, none of them have ever appeared discontent, which surprised me. I asked a local friend and he said that he thought many of them just accepted that life as their "destiny". Some of them engage in daily games of chess with each other in the late afternoon.
Here are a few more photos from around the city. I apologize for not having more, but I'm shy to take photos when there are lots of people around--and there are usually lots of people around.
2 comments:
When you write about hearing the prayers from the mosques five times a day, that reminds me very much of Israel. Sometimes I would wake up and hear them early in the morning too. Stephen of course remembers them from Pakistan as well.
The lack of discontent among people in developing countries that seem to me should be unhappy with their lot is something I've thought a lot about - not that I have any brilliant insight into it, I've just noticed it in lots of different situations. It was the case in Bolivia (although there I sensed a resentment towards me as someone who was "monied"), it was definitely the case in Israel. I noticed it very strongly when reading "A Fine Balance", and the author there implied that it had to do with the ingrained culture of being born into the roles your caste. But it's clearly not just in India. I think maybe the attitude in America: that a better life is not only possible but deserved, and therefore one remains always slightly discontented due to wishing for that unattainable ideal, is the more unusual one.
OH, this is Julia, by the way. I had a blog here once, and this is my secret identity from a while back =)
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