Risk

Thursday, 21 January 2010, Cochin, Kerala State

Indian people accept a higher rate of risk in their lives than we do.  For instance, we went to a martial arts performance today, the Kalarippayattu , the tribal martial art of the Indian state of Kerala.  They demonstrated the use of one weapon that was like a combination of a whip and razor wire.  Talk about nasty!  This guy was whipping this thing around at hypersonic speeds.  There would be no way to get inside those defenses, unless you just tackled him and accepted the multiple cuts that would undoubtedly be inflicted on your body.  In the grand finale, he whipped this thing pretty close to the faces of those of us in the front row.  Such behavior would never be tolerated by the insurance company or lawyer of a stateside performance theater. 

You see tourists being floated down a river, nary a life jacket in sight.  Most people drive motorcycles with sandals and sans helmets, often carrying their wife and baby girl on the back.  The doors on two of the guest houses we have stayed in can be locked either from the outside or the inside with a sliding hasp lock, so if Matt were to leave the room while Catherine was in there, and absent-mindedly lock the door behind him, she couldn't get out (think fire).  By the way, I actually did this a few nights ago (without the fire), causing Catherine to be a bit late for dinner.  You can imagine the chuckles amongst our international bevy of house guest companions, my chagrin and Catherine's exasperation.

You would never see such a thing as a lock that could lock someone IN in my country, except in prison.  Why the stark difference in attitudes and practices?  I think it has to do with lawsuits.  If a western hotel had that kind of lock design on their doors, they would eventually get sued into non-existence.  Lawsuits here in India get tied up in court for decades, and winning or losing depends on who you know and how much cash you can put in the judge's pocket (although honest judges exist - especially in Kerala - I think that they are still few and far between).  And I'm sure that we have dishonest judges in my country, but I'm also sure that the percentage of dishonest judges is much much higher in India.  I have no special expertise, I've just been reading a lot about it.  See The White Tiger and In Spite of the Gods, The Rise of Modern India.

We're staying in Fort Cochin, right on the Arabian Sea.  We ate lunch overlooking the water, with a gentle breeze.  Tell you about it later, Catherine is waiting for me.  She shops and explores while I type, which makes us both happy.