The Effects of Cheap Labor

Several years ago the Indians, shrugging off the last vestige of
colonialism, changed the English names of
streets and cities to more traditional Hindi names.
Bombay became Mumbai, Madras became Chennai,
Calcutta became Kolcuta. However the local people
seem to prefer the original naming conventions (except
for Chennai which seems to never be referred to as
Madras). I'm told that the sure sign of a tourist is
one who refers to the city as Mumbai.

Bearing that in mind, I shall go native and refer
to the city as either Bombay or Mumbai ... depending
on my particular mood for the day.

The effects of the difference in cost of human labor
between here and the U.S. astound me. Some examples
of cheap labor:

* A store may have 10 people standing around, waiting
to hold your shopping basket for you.

* Buildings are destroyed by troops of men with sledge-
hammers rather than by bulldozer.

* In a store, instead of one row of 50000 bottles of Coke
there would be a row of 3 bottles of coke nestled
amongst other sodas, juices, syrups, breads, and
cereals. Staff constantly run to the back to
replenish shelf items.

* Some expats have a driver, a cook, a maid, and a nanny.

* Every apartment has at least 3 security men.

* Every apartment has someone to collect the garbage
at your door 7 days a week.

* A common adornment is a long garland of flowers,
hand threaded - even the rickshaws drape them
over the front.

* At the florist there are usually several people
weaving baskets from thick grass for the arrangements.

* Every grocery store delivers goods to your door at
no cost.

* Roadworks are completed by troops of people with
pick-axes (to break the asphalt) and metal bowls
(to carry the debris).

* I've seen people painting the traffic lines on the roads.

* Every restaurant has at least 6 telephone numbers, each
manned by a different person to handle the volume of
delivery requests.

* When you call the utility companies a human answers.