Entreprenuerial Spirit

One of the things striking things about India is the incredible industry and energy of the people here.

Everyone’s bustling about; traffic is crazy; rickshaw drivers, store owners, and independent salesmen on the street are hustling constantly for business; I’m sure in many ways, the U.S. is just the same, but it’s seems somehow purer, not so packaged or regulated.

You want to set up a cart and sell coconuts or sandals or refurbished cell phones? Sure, go right ahead and good luck to you as you compete against a dozen other similar enterprises all within spitting distance.

Sometimes people complain that America has “gone soft;” that the so-called “nanny state” prevents us from exercising our entrepreneurial spirit; I dunno. In general, I’m all for laws and ordinances that protect people’s health and safety. But I must confess, I sure appreciate how vibrant and alive the street-level consumer economy is here.

I love how the alleyway after alleyway is lined with vendors vending everything from vegetables and fruits to sandals and shoes to DVDs and electronics and to the extent that paternalistic restrictions on people’s liberty in the US prevents this from happening, I think it’s a shame.

I rode my bike to downtown Mysore today to pick up a shirt I’d had made and also to just poke around and look at things. I decided I also needed to buy an adjustable wrench to I could tighten the oft-slipping headset on my rig, and it also occurred to me that I could use a new kitchen knife, the one in my apartment revealing itself as incredibly dull as I went to cut my breakfast pineapple this morning.

I threaded my way through crowded passageways to a street abounding with plumbing supply and hardware stores. It took a couple of tries, but I was able to find a place to buy a sweet adjustable forged-steel “spanner” (they call them, after the English influence no doubt) for just over two bucks. And a razor-sharp German paring knife at another place for a buck.

Not really all that much on my part, therefore, in the way of contributing to the life of the local economy; on the other hand, it seems perfectly vital already without my help.