Law, Partially

As is apparent from some prior entries, I’ve become a wanderer. St. Louis, Columbia, Paris, New York, Michigan, Iowa, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Bombay, who knows where else will be next. I don’t like to let the grass grow under my feet. Running around the world is exciting, but part of me longs to stand still and settle in the Midwest. On the one hand, I’ve become real good at making friends – I mean, you always have to make new friends when you move to a new place. On the other hand, I have so many friends spread so far around, any of whom I may never see again. And in a few years I’ll leave these Pittsburgh friends behind too. I bought a book in Delhi written by the famous British explorer Sir Richard Burton – not the actor, but a man with a fascinating biography nonetheless ( link here - the first entry is not the same guy, but the rest are). Sir Richard was a wanderer in the first degree, exploring the entirety of India and Africa for the Queen. He also posed as a Muslim and snuck in

This is a travel blog. Now I’m back in Pittsburgh. What I mean is, I am not traveling currently. So this blog is sort of on hiatus until I travel again and that travel experience is interesting enough to warrant blog entry. I do foresee a trip to New York City in October, and I also foresee a trip to the Seattle-Tacoma area around New Years. That trip would be to visit my good friend Josh, aka the MFG, an army man who just this summer began his station there. I sort of doubt much intellectual will happen there worthy of blogging. However, I’ll probably be going somewhere interesting next summer, but who knows where this place will be: London, Paris, Singapore, the afterlife. Namaste until then…

What was the number one highlight? Let’s say it was my trip to the villages around Latur. I gave a harrowing speech about the U.S. education system and how when there is no discrimination, children can study to become whatever they want to be: engineer, doctor, lawyer, pilot, astronaut. I also sang the Star Spangled Banner to a gathering of 25 village leaders, and yes, I fell flat on all the high notes. I was so drunk on my success with that song, I followed it up with Redemption Song by Bob Marley. I asked my CRY friends to tell the leaders in Marathi (the language the villagers understand) that Redemption Song is a song about the Jamaican people’s struggle. These village leaders were Dalits and embroiled in their own struggle – ie the struggle for basic human rights in their communities. And all weekend, the villagers treated me like the most revered celebrity. Maybe I will move out there for a short period of time – to write a report for CRY.

I don’t know if any Mariconians (as those who work for Marico fondly call themselves) will ever read this blog, but I’d like to throw a thank you their way. They gave me a desk, a computer, and a paycheck this summer to study whatever areas of Indian law fascinated me. I learned more than I expected to learn, not just about the whole of the Indian legal system, but some American law too. I exit India with a much greater love of the law than with which I entered India. And I wasn’t just learning Indian law, I was learning the entire Indian legal system as my Marico lawyer colleagues took me to the Bombay High Court, set me up with the senior advocate in Delhi (many thank yous also to Mr. Pratab – I hope to meet again someday) to set in on a session of the Indian Supreme Court, and all took time from their busy days to entertain my queries about Indian law and India. On my last day of work, knowing my fondness for that fat god with the elephant head who has a wife and rides a rat, my col

To anybody who read the Indian portion of my blog and didn’t comment, thank you very much for reading. I didn’t think any of my law student comrades were reading because none were commenting. I was pleased and surprised to return to Pittsburgh and learn that a few had actually been following my mild adventures. I thought I had been forgotten about…

I’ve been back in the States for two weeks now. Some Indian reflections are in order. Consider this closure. I think I’ve done all the things in the States that I had been dreaming of all summer. I’m drinking red European wine and eating European cheese as I type. (American wine and cheese were also dreamed about, but it just so happens that I’m going European tonight.) These items are prohibitively expensive in India, but at Costco in the U.S., they’re just the right price. I ate Mexican food at El Maguey. I saw friends and family. I spoke English, and everyone understood. As I type this, I’m thinking, being back home sounds underwhelming, and actually it probably is. I have unfinished business, it feels, in India. Eleven weeks just wasn’t enough time. I was intimidated by India when I first arrived there. What shocked and scared me most at first was the madness of the streets. People were walking on highways. Also on highways there were roadside stalls set up. People didn’t stop at r

This turned to be a pretty funny day, and I still shudder when I think how lucky I am I ended the day on a plane headed west. My last day in Bombay was Saturday. Friday night I stayed to work until 10:30pm trying to finish my work (especially since I had taken a 5 hour lunch break on Thursday with Christine). I even went in to work on Saturday morning, just to make sure my work was done enough. Actually, I have some significant portions to finish here in the States. I have no time for this, but I’ll make time. I was originally supposed to stay at Marico for another 4 weeks, back in those heady days where I thought I was traveling onward to Hong Kong from India. Had I stayed those 4 weeks, I would have finished more of my project. I am rather tired of Indian food, but just because I hadn’t eaten pav bahji very much and because it’s the last time I’ll have it in a while, I went to my office building’s cafeteria to get some pav bahji. Pav Bahji is a spicy tomato-based thick liquid eaten w