“Yes, yes many, many changes in Mysore in the last 8 years,” Mahesh tells me over a delicious home-cooked meal which he and Meena refuse to touch until we (myself and 4 other westerners) have finished. “When I was young here, very few people, still smart, educated people because of university but not so many – now there are 20 times as many! Driving is most difficult. And now everyone wants luxury items – Pizza Hut my boys ask me for every day. They do not know what it is like to struggle. I know. My brothers and I know. Our pappa moved here from Northern India with no rupees, nothing. We were bookish in school, received top-top grades and scholarships to university. And now, now we are all very successful – one a doctor, me a factory owner (Mahesh owns two factories which make the straps on laptop bags), and the other brother…he… My sons do not know struggle and I wonder if they will be as successful?” Mahesh looks down.
Meena has let me know this is a very, very sad time for the family as Mahesh’s brother, best-friend and business partner died unexpectedly one year ago. The family mourning begins on November 8th and will last for one week, Meena must move to her sister-in-law’s house with her 3 nephews and Mahesh’s parents down the street to help out as there will be hundreds of visitors. I decided to share a beer with Mahesh over dinner that night (I think I’m the only yoga student in Mysore who drinks alcohol) as he confided the only time Meena lets him drink is if a guest wants a drink and it looked like he could use it after his 14 hour day.
I contemplated the comments in Plan B on the impact of a rising middle class in India and China, a newly paved road from Bangaluru (that’s right, Bangalore declared it had a new name in this morning’s paper, we’ll see) to Mysuru (Mysore too!), and the three (as opposed to 300) beggars who approached me in the last week. Meena interrupted my thoughts in whispers.
“So very difficult for Mahesh, so sad for him. He has two houses now, no best-friend, very very high city fees because our house so much now. Factories not well after the death, so little money. He asks himself, do I sell the brother’s house and we all live together again? So expensive now with Infosys just ten minutes away and very high paid people at Infosys, and more people move all of the time with the 4 lane highway from Bangalore, less pollution here, calmer pace…”
Amazing. I have heard the same story for the last ten years in the Bay Area, I could have concluded for Meena – and if you sell this house because of property taxes, where do you go? This area is your home for two generations, has the best schools, your family, all of your friends…
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