Further up and Further in

As far as cell phones go, India is where it's at. No contract, no stingy time allotment per month, and even better, it can be used cheaply to make international calls, or for an internet connection in a rural area. We bought one last night. The slogan at the cell-phone store, "cell phones for the upwardly mobile" struck me as slightly ironic and amusing, as we had been conversing during the evening about education, marriage, and the limits placed on you by your caste in India.
We went out again last night, though we unfortunately we were unable to make it to the Bollywood film shooting that Bollywood star X's father invited Malina to...we went to get some suitable clothes for the farm, some salwar kameez. So far, in my extensive and exhaustive 3-day's knowledge of driving in Chennai, I haven't seen much road rage...it's this give-and-take, well-oiled machine, a living organism that I can't understand yet. Is it obvious that I'm fascinated with Indian driving? We nicked a bicyclist yesterday, a little nudge on the side, bumper-car style, not hard enough to knock him off, I guess, but a good jarring. A few minutes later we passed him and our driver gave a friendly, apologetic honk, and the man looked over and gave us an award-winning smile and wave. There's a sunny disposition for ya.

Fascinated with Indian driving, you say? I think everyone is. It's part of acclimatization. I've got it in my journal from my first India trip; everyone does. From Kelsey, for example, earlier this year:

"I walk down streets insane with the traffic of cars, rickshaws, and bicycles without getting run over. You would not believe the traffic here. I guess they have traffic rules but they are barely recognizable. In fact the only one I can see is to drive mostly on the left side of the street, but that's only when there is constant oncoming traffic. If you can find the smallest break in oncoming traffic, feel free to squeeze out into the other "lane" and squeeze back into the correct "lane" with an inch to spare. It's nerve-wracking to drive or ride a rickshaw around here. Nerve-wracking and a little bit of a rush. One driver said, "Driving in the US is a pleasure, in India pressure." I'll say, but they seem to be on this wavelength or rhythm, and they manage to drive within an inch, literally within an inch, of each other without collision. It's mad. We think someone should make a video game of driving in India. It would make any other racing or driving game seem boring. We've had so many near misses. Most of the time I try to act cool, but I have gasped a few times."

Keep writing. It's good to read, and to subsequently relive so many parellel experiences.