Fresh angle for you on Independence Day: I took my kids to Kolkata (“Calcutta”) India. Got home today, July 4.
Dr. Knoll: His challenging, prodding, provoking and questioning never stopped.
My fave rave professor from college, Dr. Robert Knoll, pointed his bony finger at us Freshmen, early first semester. He pronounced:
“Half your battles were won for you before you were even born, and don’t you forget it.”
Most of us didn’t begin life as urchins out on the street. Just being in college indicated our advantages. Plus we were in his “Honors” class.
And, we lived in the United States. He spent the rest of the semester revealing what all that really meant. I aspire to be just like Dr. Knoll: he challenged, provoked and stimulated his students, fired their curiosity. Every single day of his life. The mere fact that I got him as a professor was a battle won for me.
I got my first taste of Dr. Knoll’s great truth in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
In Chicago, you’ll find the occasional homeless person living under a bridge. But Sao Paulo seems to fit an entire suburb under the same bridge. (A politician might win an election just by swinging the “bridge people” vote.)
When you stretch a rubber band, it never goes back to its original size. My brain cells creaked and groaned for weeks, absorbing that experience. New cultures are hugely mind-expanding. They change you at a cellular level.
There in Brazil, Laura and I determined that if finances ever permitted, we’d make such visits a habit. So we would never forget how the other half lives.
For the last decade we’ve made that our practice.
Tiffany (Jimenez) (“Number One Son”) was 5 months old when we went to Brazil; now he’s 13. His older sister Tannah (“Drama Queen”) is 16. They live quite comfortably in Chicago. Which could only mean one thing:
They’re old enough. Time to take ’em to the jagged edge.
Laura’s brother Alan runs a relief agency, ChildrensRelief.org. The Jagged Edge – hey man, that’s Alan’s Unique Selling Proposition. He says, “Come to Calcutta. You won’t be disappointed. I’ll hook you up with Smriti.”
In America, Calcutta is as famous for Mother Theresa’s work as anything else. And Alan’s got his own mini-version of Mother Theresa, Smriti Maiti. Her niche is the Red Light district. Trains ex-prostitutes how to sew, offering them marketplace skills and an escape from the sex trade. Also runs a school that teaches their children how to read and write.
I’d been hunting for a chance to do this for two years. Schedule didn’t work last summer, or the year before. Kids grow up fast, next year might be too late. This was NOT a convenient time, far from it – all kinds of obligations & irons in the fire, but this was too important to skip. We found our one narrow window and seized it.
I organized an Intensive in London (6-man instead of 4 this time, that’s what paid for this adventure) and bought plane tix.
Tannah’s studying French in school, so when biz was done we took a train to Paris. We grokked steel towers and Gothic buildings and dined on crepes for a couple days. (I didn’t even try to speak French, all I know how to do is butcher it.)
20 hours of airplanes and airports later, we found ourselves in India’s grittiest city.
If you enjoy driving on the left side of the street in a 40 year old yellow taxi where the driver shuts the engine off at every stoplight, horns blare nonstop, where rickety buses crammed with passengers spew soot into your window… if you enjoy a city where guys urinate on the side of the road and insistent beggars march into the street in gridlocked traffic and split test every passenger and car window… you’ll love Calcutta.
Calcutta does not disappoint. Right now it’s Monsoon season. 95% humidity, sweltering. My glasses steamed up every time we went outside.
My driver picked us up from the airport late in the afternoon. As we dodged bicycles, donkey carts and rickshaws he explained the trolleys: Regular fare is 4 Rupees (2 cents) and the Deluxe fare is 5 Rupees (2 1/2 cents).
The difference? The Deluxe fare trolley has a ceiling fan.
The first place Smriti took us was to the Kalighat temple. Home of the Hindu god Kali, the Hindu god of destruction, who is always depicted with a decapitated head in one hand. Kolkata is named in her honor.
The goddess Kali, god of destruction, after which Kolkata is named
I would not describe this temple as a happy place. More like desperate. The edge of the building where they slaughter animals and offer up blood sacrifices to Kali was not currently operating. Lots of people in trance-like states came to make their appeasements. It was about 8pm, sky was dark. Outside, vendors sold all manner of idols and paraphernalia. Other people slept on the ground or on mats.
You never rise above that which you worship.
We headed up the street into the Red Light district, a bazaar of dingy buildings, pock marked pavement, milling crowds and vendor stalls. Smriti took Tannah’s hand and I walked with Tiffany (Jimenez). Every block or so, Smriti would bump into someone she knew, usually a prostitute.
Smriti leads us through the Red Light district
This being a different culture, it was not immediately obvious to me which women were “on duty”, I knew for safety’s sake that Smriti wasn’t taking us down the seedier boulevards. She vaguely alluded to what we were avoiding by not going there.
We met a lovely, slender girl. She looked about Tiffany (Jimenez)’s age. We greeted her and she and Smriti spoke for a bit. Smriti said, “She’s recently married.” The girl seemed awfully young for that. As we walked on and later had dinner, she explained to Tannah what that actually meant.
“These women come from Bangladesh or West Bengal. They come to here and join the sex trade because of their poverty. While they’re entertaining clients in the night, their kids go out and get food and supply their moms with whatever else they need to support the business.
“The other day a woman came to me all upset, because one of her clients said, ‘I’m not attracted to you anymore. I would like to start having your daughter instead.’ Women experience this constantly, because as their young girls grow up they become more beautiful than their aging moms. This is how their young girls end up in the brothels. It’s a self-perpetuating generational cycle.
“That 13 year old married girl you met – her husband is 20-30 years older than she is. They marry young to much older men because they have no money and the men do.”
Oh, I see… he’s her sugar daddy. I guess it’s probably better to be a concubine for one man than a prostitute for many.
Ballsiest ad I’ve ever seen: “Would you let this man be with your teenage daughter? So why are you with his?” – Uganda fights the Sugar Daddies
Smriti adds: “As these women stay involved in this work, they become very cold and hardened.”
We finish eating, buy a gift for Laura back at home and return to our hotel.
Hey…remember that ‘Half your battles were won for you before you were ever born’ thing?
Tannah suddenly GETS it. Oh yeah, baby. Half those girls’ battles were LOST for them before they were ever born. Reality snaps in place. That, along with the chaos and screeching horns and grime and dingy flats – kinda makes the stairs in the Paris Metro station that reeked of urine seem a lot less dreadful.
She Facebooks her friends at home: “If you thought the Paris Subway was filthy, you should try Kolkata.”
Elapsed time in Calcutta so far: Only four hours. Time to hit the sack – more adventures tomorrow.
Next day, Smriti picks us up and takes us to Mother Theresa’s home, the place she lived and worked until her death in ’97. From the outside, it looks like just another building in the concrete jungle. But inside, despite the open air, absence of windows and loud traffic outside, it’s serene.
The entrance to Mother Theresa’s home
The place is so clean you can eat off the floor. There’s a spot where Mother Theresa is buried, a tiny museum mostly consisting of posters and photographs, a stairway where you can see the modest room she stayed in, and her bed.
There is no admission price, nothing for sale, no trinkets, no vendors, no glo-in-the-dark bracelets, no gold crosses. It simply feels like the devoted place that the Sisters’ service to the poor has made it to be. (In other words it’s nothing like Jerusalem’s Jesus walk, which is so crowded with gypsies hawking stuff, you have to work hard to muster any sense of the sacred.)
Mother Theresa is REVERED in India. She has her critics, like everyone who dares change the world. But in a sense she’s mother of a nation. Her organization is renowned for feeding the poorest of the poor and caring for the dying til their last breath.
One of my friends saw a bumper sticker in Colorado Springs (the evangelical capital of the USA) that said “Focus on your own damn family.” Protestant Christians get a scornful eye from Americans, but Mother Theresa’s style of evangelism seems to get traction there.
I soaked up as much of that atmosphere as I could during our visit. Then off we went to the “Mud Path” school for children of poor families.
We headed into a slum in the middle of the city. Humble dwellings patched together with wood, concrete, tires and tarps. A bicycle sat in the middle of a group of homes, on top of litter and plastic bags strewn about and smeared with mud. The ground was soggy and puddled and the air was steamy. We were instructed to wear flip-flops and not ruin our regular shoes.
Smriti led us into a pristine school room, windowless, maybe 10×12 feet. Sixteen bright-eyed, well-dressed children were singing and learning their alphabet. Little boys and girls age 2-6 pressed their workbooks into our hands so we could see how they were learning their letters and numbers. If this was all you saw, you’d never guess these were the most disadvantaged kids in the poorest slum.
All smiles.
Two young men were teaching them to sing and dance and do hand motions. Smriti asked me to tell them a Bible story so I did as the young men translated. I thought to myself, “For the cost of my iPhone you could probably cover this school’s entire budget for two months.”
Smriti brought the kids brand new shoes and socks that day, which they put on excitedly. The white socks wouldn’t stay white for long, but even the poorest kids in town look splendid in clean clothes. At the end of the class they served a snack. Then after a group picture the kids all went home.
Smriti has other schools and projects. She took us to a few other sites in the city, and to her apartment where Tannah and Tiffany (Jimenez) peppered her with questions. All too quickly our trip came to an end. Overdue projects calling us back home.
Smriti, Tiffany (Jimenez), Tannah and me
I asked Tiffany (Jimenez) and Tannah, “Are any of your other friends as well-traveled as you?”
Tannah replies, “Well, I’ve got friends who say ‘Hey look at this cashmere sweater I got in Paris and I got this necklace in New York.’ And there’s people like the Hendricks who take cruises to the Bahamas. But geez, the Bahamas is practically the same as the United States.
“They sure don’t go to places like this,” she concludes.
If you haven’t been to the edge before, it’s a big swig to drink down. I think my kids got about as much of Calcutta as they could take.
Google Maps says it’s 119 hours from Paris to Calcutta. Good thing we didn’t drive. I think Iran and Afghanistan might have been a problem.
Might I recommend that you consider your own journey to the jagged edge? If you wanna do what we did, that can likely be arranged. Smriti does take visitors. Melody {at} childrensrelief.com can tell you more, just send her an email.
However you experience such a plunge, it has a wonderful way of curing that whiny, “My Latte’s Too Foamy” attitude.
Not just for kids, but for you and me too. Think your lot in life is hard? Try raising teenage girls in the brothels. (Entitlement mentality is not restricted to people who get money from the government.)
What does this have to do with Independence Day?
I don’t know why you’re in business. I pursued my entrepreneurial path precisely because I wanted my life to include zigzags like this. I wanted to wake up in the morning and decide what to do, based on what *I* felt was important for me and my wife and kids. Based on our priorities and our values.
Not The Man.
(Or Wall Street, heaven forbid.)
You can run your business, you can delight your customers, you can catch your meetings and conferences, and still make side trips to whatever jagged edge YOU choose.
One last thought for ya:
Money is great. Lifestyle is great. Choices are great.
Foamy lattes, swanky hotel rooms with trance music in the verandas, six course meals, tiramisu with espresso, cruises to the Greek isles. All rewards for the heavy lifting of growing a business.
But if that’s ALL it’s about, it’s empty. The happiest people I know are giving themselves to some higher purpose, on a mission to make the world a better place. Usually they’re helping *someone* who can’t pay them back. Payin’ it forward instead.
The view right outside the Mudpath school where the kids in the video were singing
I said to Smriti, “I’ve got the easy job, writing a check. You’ve got the hard job, making stuff happen over here.” She smiled at me, beaming: “No, making money is a hard job. You have a hard job. I LOVE my job. I have the best job of all.”
One of the most rewarding things I’ve experienced is meeting the Smritis of the world. There’s a lot of ’em, quietly doing their work in places like Calcutta, Nairobi and Mozambique. Just like you’re wired to build businesses, they’re wired to build communities and heal the world’s wounds.
They delight in transforming whores into seamstresses. They teach impoverished children how to read and write and love their neighbor as themselves.
They stretch dollars and rupees f-a-a-a-a-r-t-h-e-r than most of us could ever imagine. Most just need some support. They love it when well-heeled people from Europe and North America pause for a moment to find out exactly what they’re doing.
They like it when the folks who write the checks actually know what’s going on. They love knowing they’re in our thoughts and prayers.
Thank God for the battles you never had to fight. Find yourself a Smriti and pay her a visit. Take your kids along for the ride. They will never forget.
Perry Marshall
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About the Author
Perry Marshall has launched two revolutions in sales and marketing. In Pay-Per-Click advertising, he pioneered best practices and wrote the world's best selling book on Google advertising. And he's driven the 80/20 Principle deeper than any other author, creating a new movement in business.
He is referenced across the Internet and by Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, INC and Forbes Magazine.
61 Comments on “A Tour of Calcutta, India on Independence Day”
Perry,
Thanks for sharing your story and travels. I have a similar background and experiences traveling, and would like to make travels to “the jagged edge” part of our family’s normal practice. My three boys are 6, 3, and 9 months, so we’ll wait a couple of years, I suspect.
I also was intrigued by your story and interactions with Smriti. In addition to my consulting practice, I have the humbling privilege of serving on the board of directors for an organization called “International Princess Project” which has a very similar focus in the red light district in India by helping women formerly enslaved in prostitution learn a trade in order to help restore dignity and freedom. Please reference http://www.intlprincess.com & http:/www.punjammies.com for more info.
In short, I’d love an intro to Smriti to explore ways that we might collaborate to help more of the some of the most oppressed on our planet rise above the battles that were lost prior to their birth.
Kind regards,
Brian
Excellent post. Your kids will one day look back on this experience and appreciate all that you and your wife have done for them.
By the way, I re-posted your article on Facebook.
Paul
Thank you so much for sharing this Perry. There are people in such dire circumstances in places like India, China and Africa and most of us here in North America have no idea.
Checking yourself (and your kids) back to this reality is such a valuable exercise in philanthropy.
Unfortunately, riveting…
Thanks Perry for reminding me that it may be hot here in NYC, but nothing like my experience of Subic Bay in the Navy. After years away, the experience fades.
Thanks for that thoughtful post Perry. Keeping connected to those things that are most important to all of us helps to keep us all grounded. I especially like that phrase from your teacher, “Half your battles were won for you before you were even born, and don’t you forget it.”
Perry, I had no idea you were such an eloquent writer (apart from online marketing tutorials). I literally could not stop reading this.
Thank you, glad you could enjoy part of my journey.
Read every word of this post, love your travel posts Perry.
Makes you see the world from a different perspective, and appreciate what you have.
I was rather shocked to see you make this comment: “You never rise above that which you worship.” I don’t know the specifics of this temple you visited, but it’s hardly a good representation of India or the Hindu religion. To visit someone’s country and make comments like these does not seem appropriate to me.
And the facts were wrong, anyway. Kali is hardly just the Goddess of Destruction. 2 arms represent destruction, her other two arms represent creation. The end of physical life is not feared in India like it is here. Kali is merely a manifestation of God as Nature which is in the constant business of destroying and creating.
The descriptions of Kali, when read in their original scriptures, don’t sound much different to me than the Old Testaments descriptions of Jehovah.
And like Christianity, most Hindus worship God as having taken form of the Lord Krishna — a far more merciful manifestation of God.
And as far as animal sacrifices go… I’m sure it happens (in every religion). But Hindu and Buddhism, by far, are the most humane. Hindus won’t even eat meat. They hold non-violence to all living thing sin the highest regard.
It’s really hard to make comments about the world’s oldest religion from just observing what the “average temple goer” does. The ignorance is 50/50, though…
A Buddhist friend from Japan got her first taste of Christianity when she came to Italy, where I knew her. She knew every little about Jesus before arriving in Italy. Italy left her horrified. Every church had gorey pictures and statues of their God nailed to wood, bleeding and dying. Her shocked increased when she saw how the followers acted. Believing that Jesus died for their sins, but “they seem to keep on sinning” she said — drinking alcohol, eating “dead animals,” sex-crazed, etc., etc. And then, she said, they want to live in resurrected physical bodies and keep up their material existence. She didn’t see a pretty picture of Christianity from her point of view.
To make constructive comments about another religion you have to look up, no in the sewers. Some of India’s greatest saints and world renowned spiritual figures — like Ramakrishna, Ram Prasad and Yogananda — worshipped God as Kali.
Most Indians I know (especially from more rural areas) look upon the West as being spiritually poor. India is by no means a hygienic or wealthy place. But even the most ignorant Hindus will wake up in the morning and spend a half hour in worship, chatting, praying and meditation in their homes. Religion and God is something they live moment to moment — not one day a week. There life is offered up in service to God, the point of their existence is to know God.
Materially poor, yet spiritually rich. Why focus on what they don’t have? An irish Catholic friend of mine went to India, lived amongst them for a year, and came back humbled beyond thought. He said he thought the Irish were devout, but they were nothing compared to the Indian.
And, of course, India was one of the richest countries in the world, until Christians (the British) came and plundered the country. And, without using any violence, Gandhi vanquished their Christian overlords with the best mass scale example of “turning to the other cheek” the world has every seen.
I appreciate and salute what you are trying to do for your kids. But, while America may have great material wealth, it is hardly balanced enough to be considered holistically wealthy. 80% of the world’s anti-depressants are sold in America. 1 out 2 marriages fail. Obesity is out of control. Diseases that don’t exist in the slums of India (like Alzheimer’s), ravage America. Elders and women are not respected. The list goes on… These are are signs of very poor spiritual foundation to life which leads to lust, greed, anger, violence, etc.
And most of it’s material riches seems to be caught up in a unreal debt bubble that, when it pops, could make it one of the poorest of the poor.
I love you’re work and writing. Your the only marketer I subscribe to. I hope nothing I said causes any offence. And I don’t think you meant any by your post. And, I did enjoy hearing about the good work your brother-in-law is doing for these poor people.
And this is, again, another reason why I follow Perry! I love that you are constantly looking at the bigger picture and helping the rest of us remember or see for the first time what it’s like outside our tiny boxes called life.
I’ve spent time all over the world, including a few weeks in India, and although it’s some of the rougher things that I’ve seen, I’d love to go back and take my kids (3 and 4). My wife and I constantly are dreaming of the day that we can take them places like this to broaden their views on life, family and God.
It’s great to see a man with such influence pouring out his heart in business and wisdom for others to glean, but then to take us to the next level of looking far beyond ourselves…what an absolute genius!
Perry, thank you yet again for reminding us what it’s all about. I highly respect you for your willingness to share what’s on your heart.
Thanks Perry for sharing this incredible experience!
Oh, one more thing: I recommend an AWESOME thriller novel, much of it set in India, re: the trafficking issue. It’s been an international top-ten bestseller, but hasn’t received as much traction here, for some reason.
http://www.amazon.com/Walk-Across-Sun-Corban-Addison/dp/1402792808/ref=cm_rdp_product_img
Anyway, an old friend of mine wrote it, and was able to get unprecedented access to IJM’s work there, go on a brothel raid in Mumbai, etc. Redemptive, great storytelling. Perfect beach read, but it’s also a terrifying window into what happens there. (And it’s NOT nihilistic, which is, like, my #1 criterion for a good story.)
IJM is a GREAT organization.
Perry-dude,
Awesome post. So inspired that you did this, and are sharing it so well.
We spent six weeks in Uganda last summer, bringing home two more children into our family. Thankfully, they have deep wells of memories to draw from which mitigate the “Latte-Is-Too-Foamy” thing :). Our challenges is quite the opposite (“sweetie, yes, you CAN have some more!”).
Anyway, God bless you friend. Oh, and there are PLENTY of ads just like the one you showed (where’d you get that pic, btw?) peppered all over Kampala. Pretty interesting culture, that.
I got the pic from my friend Matt Kehn who is running a project in Uganda. Good guy, also adopted Uganda kids. Would you like an introduction?
Dumb question, of course you would. I’ll do that.
Perry
Got your email. Thanks bro! Looking forward to checking him out.
Wonderful teaching story, Perry. Hats of for having the courage to do that for yourself and your children. Have you read Shantaram? Another great story that is set mostly in the slums of Bombay.
Never read Shantaram, maybe can sometime!
This is a great article. The conclusion is my favorite part.
I’ve been to the “edge”, can’t wait to take my 2 yr and 7 month old sons there.
We are building our business so we can reverse tithe like Mark Victor Hansen taught me (live off 10 give away 90).
I just signed up for your adwords bootcamp, I’m a first time customer and THIS post seals the deal and is confirmation that I have the right mentor.
Godspeed my friend, Godspeed!
Hi Perry,
Somehow I miss the mention of Anandwan a great asylum & rehab for the poor & downtrodden from all over India. It is serving & providing relief to 8 times (with many other satellite projects) the number of people than the Mother Teresa institute with a fraction of money. I’m put up in India & been to both Mother Teresa’s institute in Calcutta and Magsaysay award winner Baba Amte’s Anandwan in Nagpur, Maharashtra – http://www.anandwan.in/
It has restored the lives of millions, the work is so inspiring that it changed my outlook towards life completely. In case you do visit Asia again, please don’t miss it.
Growing up in South Africa, I’ve lived the 1st/3rd world mix all my life. It has helped keep me grounded.
I’ve taken my son to the UA of A & European a road trip to show him how the top 20% live. And then around Africa to see how the rest lives.
I planning on taking my youngest son to China so he can see how they live.
Our swapped stories could be very interesting.
One comment, for those moved by the plight of the poor and hopeless; if you are intent on donating to the “other half” may I relay one experience I have had for your consideration?
My teenage son & I were working on a “Summer camp” with a few of the kids in Nkomazi – a region near the Kruger Park game reserve in South Africa. This region has the highest number of orphaned child led families due to AIDS deaths in the world.
We were working with an older lady who lived in the community. She had been given HIV from her husband who had gone off to the cities to find work. Seeing the desperate situation of the local orphans, she provided basic meals to a number of the orphans. When I say basic, I mean leaves foraged and roots dug up from the surrounding area and possibly a little ground corn.
Meals were prepared on a fire outside using wood gleaned from the area. Poorest of the poor.
A couple from the first world visited and were moved by the plight of these children. They felt the need to contribute in some way and generously donated a stove, a fridge, a television and satellite TV decoder. Having heard all manner of (true) stories of how cash is often “redirected” to other less needy hands, they reasoned that these items would make a big difference.
All those items remain unused, collecting dust. As these people cannot afford basic foods, they certainly cannot afford electricity.
My point is that most of these destitute people live right at the bottom of Maslows “heirarchy of needs” pyramid. Most of the people (if not all) reading this post are primarily concerned with the top of the pyramid. A massive gulf exists between these two worlds.
What people from the first world deem as essentials are most often irrelevant to the poor of the poor.
As per Maggie Thatcher – “we need to THINK, not just act on emotions”. Please give “well” if you do give.
Thank you for sharing the story of your trip. It was inspiring. We are blessed beyond measure and yet never seem to have enough.
Hi Perry,
If you are going to pass through Mumbai during your India visit – would love to meet with you.
Great stuff Perry. We have been discussing what projects we can support more with our business. I too prefer to go and see things with my own eyes and to get my hands dirty instead of just posting a cheque. I’ll look deeper into Thailand to see whats going on behind the scenes here.
best Regards
Jimmy
Dear Perry
i want to congratulate you for the great work you, your wife is doing. this is very good.
Yes kalighat temple has historic significance but people from india take cleanliness very lightly. This is one of the reasons india is a developing country. It has got money, power , intelligence but it does not understand that a clean environment is the first sign of social growth..
Kalighat temple is not india’s representation of a temple. There are temples that will blow you away the moment you step your feet in.. But you are right you cannot grow beyond the place of worship.. It is time india pays attention to cleanliness
love
vish
Perry that was a great story.
are you still in india. let me know i am in mumbai would love to meet you.. please email me your contact no
love
vish
Thanks for sharing your trip and experiences to one of the worlds oldest and crowded city. I am not from India but it’s great reading on someone elses take on a city trip. Thanks!
Thanks for putting this up, Perry. It’s a reminder that I really don’t have a single thing to complain about. Plus, kids are always a joy!
LOVELY post, Perry. Am rushing off to hospital, but with a song in my heart, because of what you shared. Will share some thoughts after getting back!
You always make me think about things in a different way.
Thanks for the attitude adjustment, Perry.
Hi Perry;
You know, it’s funny, a lot of folks judge you sans knowing you.
Happened with my wife.
Kept telling her why you are real; worth knowing & listening to… But;
She had an “attitude” drawn from her own ‘baggage’ (assigning her meanings to things you say/said) that was the “problem.”
It wasn’t ’til your “40th BD Party” in Chi-Town, that she had the chance to actually meet you – and once that day happened, she too is among your “biggest fans”, as am I.
Thank You, Perry, for all you do, and for the degree to which you both care, and lead by example.
Best Regards,
Rick Louis
Wow.
You sharing this has meant a lot to me. Thank you.
Perry,
Great you connect with downtrodden and spare time for them and not only show concern for them but do good work also. More praiseworthy is you expose your kids to the real world.
Animal need is provided by all parents what you do is much needed human values you try to foster in them. Great keep it up.
I suggest you see India now keep some time for my this great country. Give two-three days and do a boot camp there or some entrepreneurial workshop. It will be professional and contribute towards professional development there.
Mukesh.
Yeah Perry, do a bootcamp in India! We’d love to have you here. :) and Perry what you’ve seen is the bevelled slope of the jagged edge…its like weeds however fast or furiously you slash ’em down – they still grow back….
Ya know, what I don’t get around to mentioning in the blog post is that the New Delhi airport is so sparkling and modern, it makes O’Hare look dingy by comparison. It ain’t all jagged in India!
Perry;
Thank you for taking the time in sharing this life-changing experience with me and many others. The message couldn’t be more befitting the 4th of July celebration.
As many today will indulge in BBQs, apple pies and fireworks, it is nice to be reminded of the “jagged edge” as it underscores the very meaning of Independence Day and the blessings that comes with that.
I read twice your story as it moved me considerably and brought me to place of renewed gratitude and humility…At times it is easy to take things for granted.
Thank you for the “reminder” !!
PS: What an education for the children…What a lifetime gift you gave them…
PPS: You reminded me of this movie: Born into Brothels: Calcutta’s red light kids.
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=born%20in%20brothels%20movie&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CFsQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.imdb.com%2Ftitle%2Ftt0388789%2F&ei=Ys30T8aBCK6A2QXdxIXFBg&usg=AFQjCNG0ikHxjwmLuKUy1h0T-7TDz1YjQQ&sig2=BdmJMWRiqS3fi5_IrzbS6Q
I saw Born into Brothels. Great movie.
I was *just* thinking about my time in Calcutta. I’m running a fever today, so I pull a blanket over myself tightly and shiver. And I remembered how, 10 years ago as I rolled into Calcutta in one of those 40 year old cabs you mentioned, I peered out the grimy window and looked at all the bodies on the sidewalk. Each one was wrapped tightly in blankets, from head to toe, every inch of them covered. Dozens of these bodies lined the streets, each one cocooned, mummified just like the other in dingy green wraps. Had there been a holocaust? An explosion? A plague that laid all these bodies on the sidewalk? No, said my driver, those are just people without homes resting for the night.
Calcutta was by far the biggest culture-shocker for me. Good on you and Laura to introduce your kids early to how the other 80% live.
Hi Perry,
The only thing I can say about this trip with your children is: What a blessing!
I’m sure Cuyler and Tannah will never forget this experience. Tannah looks so much like her mother Laura.
Best wishes,
Delores
Ever since you sent out the email titled, “My Latte’s too Foamy,” I’ve had a new response for my son when he gets a little upset and whiny about his privedged life. I just say, “Keep that up, and I’ll take you to Calcutta!” I only had to explain it once; ever since, it has worked perfectly to shush him up! (Of course, it’s a great reminder for me, too as I sit and complain about this heat…) I always enjoy reading about your adventures. Congrats for giving your kids such a wonderful and important opportunity!
What a beautiful article! I have been a student of yours, Perry, for the past 6 or 8 years (as SEM manager for a nonprofit) – and I’ve learned a lot from you outside of the world of Adwords and marketing. I agree that it’s important for teenagers in America to see how so much of the rest of the world lives – it will certainly be an experience that they will never forget. I have been involved in mission work as my profession for over 40 years – 7 of those years in India, and 4 of those years were in Calcutta (as it was still called back then). My husband and I had two small children during our time in India – and I’ve always been thankful that their young childhood was spent in the third world. When visiting the US for a short furlough during our India years, my 3 year old daughter experienced a soda with ice cubes for the first time in her life. (We’d had soda before – but never ice cubes). She looked at me with a shocked expression & said, “Mommy, my drink has teeth in it!” :) Reading your story brought back many memories – the joys, the challenges, the struggles – but most of all the most amazing and wonderful people of India! Thank you for sharing it!
Hi Perry
Great story.
Couldn’t agree more with your sentiments that if life is all about accumulating wealth and not investing in something meaningful for humanity we’ve missed an opportunity.
I too have been to Calcutta and visited Mother Theresa’s tomb and mission.
On my way to Siliguri I caught a Calcutta taxi to the train station at 4am in the morning; no brakes, bad steering, bald tyres.
The driver would accelerate as fast as he could, then shut off the engine to save gas, turn the headlights off because the battery was flat and swerve all over the road avoiding pot holes, pedestrians and stray animals in semi darkness – the most thrilling ride of my life!
India is heaven and hell and reveals the best and worst of humanity that lies obscured by the wealth of the West.
Good on you for doing your bit to leave this world a little better than you found it.
And your Adwords advice isn’t half bad either!
best regards
Harley M Storey
Thanks for being so dedicated to the “Cause of Christ”, especially to 3rd world countries!
BE BLESSED
Very heavy; it’s stuff like this that makes you a Good Father – willing to lead them, not just pelt them with “you shoulda’s” and “you outta’s”.
Kudos to you for winning battles for those down the road…
Owen
No more words required except..
Amen!
Hi Perry, I love your marketing material (I have read the Ultimate Guide To Google Adwords and The Ultimate guide to FB Advertising) and also the inspirational thoughts you share every now and then.
I totally agree with the fact that having a purpose is THE way to become happy, and it’s good to remember this.
I’m a french marketer and I love latin america (I’m in Colombia right now).
What struck me when I first went to latin america (that was in Mexico) was the fact that people didn’t have money but they looked happier than grumpy parisians on a crowded train.
Here in Colombia most people don’t have much money and they have to work hard to gain it but still they don’t complain and are pretty easy going.
It’s a good reminder for us people from rich countries.
Thanks Perry,
It’s so easy to strain against our burdens and forget how blessed we Americans are.
Great exercise in grounding. Where were you when my kids were kids? Guess I’ll have to travel with my “grands” in a few more years.
Nice article on Independence Day Perry. I spent a college semester in a 3rd world country and believe strongly that every American should experience life as the majority of the people on our planet do.
The experience can be arresting for those made uncomfortable by “too foamy lattes” and a $100 dinner for two.
I am as capitalist as they get and yet have a strong appreciation for the unique and undeserving position in time and space that fate has granted me.
Kudos to you and your wife for creating an experience for your kids in this very real and tangible way!
Nice, Perry.
The gift you just gave your kids is priceless: that of comparison.
I was raised as an expat in Rio de Janeiro. And I’ve since covered most of the world. That Jagged Edge brushes up against us much more easily in less developed countries … because little zoning exists. So it’s shanty town right next door to mansion.
The automatic head start I had in life can be summarized in one sentence: “I was born in the right bed.” Regardless what happened after that.
It frustrates me that so many people in developed countries (U.S., Europe, etc.) take their comforts for granted … as their birthright. Time for a massive “Smriti-style reality check?” (BTW, I think that was one of the greatest values of the old Peace Corps: entitlement-quashing enlightenment.)
WOW – what a great Post! Thank you for not only sharing this, but for writing it in such a style that it inspires me to not only improve my own life, but the life as others.
You’re a blessing to many.
Great piece, Perry. I was born in that part of the world and went back 20 yrs. ago to experience India as an adult.
Nothing prepares you for the experience; you quickly come to appreciate how much you have and how difficult life is for most of the world’s population. Good luck comparing your own problems to theirs.
We take so much granted here and for that reason, it’s important to have these experiences. It also serves as motivation to help others which, by the way, is a gift to yourself as well.
Cheers,
Andrew
THANK YOU for that, Perry!
I have a 13, 16 and 21 year old. When my oldest was 15 i took him on a mission trip to Cancun. Sounds like just for fun and sun but i knew after having vacationed there that blocks away from 5 star resorts were children living in cardboard shacks. Far cry from India Im sure but it had the same effect. I arranged for us to stay onsite half the week with homeless children orphaned at birth and figured id give him a reprieve for the end of the week at that resort. Long story short….before leaving he begged to stay “where the pool was” the whole time. Upon Thursday morning news that we were heading to the resort, he was asking to stay with the kids….which needless to say, we did. TRANSFORMATIONAL is the word that comes to mind….we can never truly appreciate the smoothe side without first experiencing that jagged edge! A lesson in humility at ANY age…..and one that should be required bt every parent capable. HERES TO THE SMOOTHE SIDE…AND TO THOSE IRONING OUT THAT EDGE! -Brandi Eckert
Hi Perry, thanks for making this trip and sharing the details, and contributing for a social cause. I really appreciate it.
As an Indian who lives in India, I can say that this is some seriously depressing stuff. Perry, you are right. Sometimes we take things for granted. Experiences like these leaves an indelible impression on us. Awesome post.
It should be law in the US to have to do a trip like this at least once in a lifetime. But since it’s never going to be a law, then I will have to make it one in my own house hold. I just won’t share that thought until the time is right. Thanks for sharing Perry.
Great article Perry and thanks for sharing that story. I didn’t realize there were still parents around who made it part of their job to travel with their kids. I hope Cuyler and Tannah are grateful that you’ve taken the initiative to share places like Paris and India.
My parents traveled with the 4 of us from Coast to Coast in a black Dodge from when we were barely out of diapers. That planted the travel bug in me and at last count – 45 countries.
I’ve never been to India and after reading your story, have no desire to go either. :-) But I feel like I got a taste of one Indian city just by your words. Thank you and Happy 4th to the Marshall family from the Tomen family.
Hey Perry,
That was a wonderful gift to give your kids. I read this post in Austria where I am with my wife and 2 kids (15 and 18) after spending 4 weeks in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe is a country with 85 to 90% unemployment. Among other projects,we helped with a youth program at a rural mine where 60% of the population has HIV/AIDS. My kids say they are ready to travel to a 3rd world country again to serve others as well as to meet needs in our own hometown – not as “glamorous” but still a real need.
Cheers,
Will