Go to India. an illustrated to-do list

Young 2008

6/2/08Abandon your soles.

6/3/08Discover the ultimate in travel shoe technology.

6/5/08Take a taxi.

(remember to look up)

6/4/08Visit the new arrivals.

6/6/08Modify your volume.

6/7/08Be patient.

6/7/08Do not feed the forlorn finch or demure doggy.

6/7/08Compare real trees with lifestyle trees.

6/7/08Eat pro-life ice cream.

6/8/08Place mangos in rows of 8.

Count to 544.

6/8/08Stay dry.

6/8/08Don’t believe the sign.

6/9/08Talk to strangers.

6/10/08Don’t be afraid.

6/11/08Plug in your palm tree.

6/12/08Have a seat.

6/12/08Visit an authentic English home.

6/13/08Hear an echo.

6/13/08Build a new you with bamboo.

6/13/08Bump into your new neighbors.

6/14/08Read the city as a lifestyle text (or write a billboard requiem).

A lot can happen over coffee. Start something new. Come fall in love. Use me. Play Life. Good looking rascal.

I stopped pretending I was someone else when I was 8. Buy me something. Beyond. An idea can change your life.

Intelligence has its rewards. Knowledge is wealth. Revolution. Style Fest. Designer Ethnic. Changing fashion for a changing nation. Atmosphere. A rare acquisition. Invented for life. Exotic lifestyle.

Vanishing fast. Eat fresh. Chisel. Rejuve. Renew. Refresh. Feeling tired is now optional.

I know what you did last summer. It’s all happening in your neighborhood. Mayfair Towers. Kumar Elite. Authentic English homes. Beautiful inside.

Life. Start living. First Citizen.Not for the masses. The ultimate blend of lifestyle and business. You cannot go wrong. Soul Space.

Stop imagining. See it for real. Home is where I love to be.

When people talk about luxury residences they are referring to you. Discover the new you.

Building your World. Building New India. Welcome to heaven. When you know. Indian Terrain. Willis Lifestyle. Come together. Life is complete. Unwind like never before.

The perfect way to leave behind that imperfect day. We are glad you are smart! Kiss the taste of love.

The most sophisticated way to get to the top. Experience freshness. Expect more from us. Now fall in love.

Bite in. Chill out. Open people. Shop more. Relax. Take a break. Have fun. Happiness. Indulge.

Add prestige to your life. Take off towards a dream lifestyle. Identiti. You just gotta have it. For your kind of home. Barriers break when people talk. 1000 Happy Family Members. Different by design. Come, let’s make the world

a safer place. We help you buy. Stuck on you. Is it you? A day well spent. There’s a faster way to climb the corporate ladder.

The Falcon is coming soon. This is life.

6/14/08I Heart Electronic City

It is information security week at Electronic City and the air smells of Hawaii. This week employees must participate in online interrogations to uncover potential compromises in the safety of the data on their machines and their minds. Delivery trucks bearing silver tanks of purified water spill over onto the perfect pavement. The buildings are pale lavender like a little girl’s raincoat. My host shepherds us along the meandering paths bisecting sprawling lawns with painful slowness. We walk an osteoporific shuffle. We are presented the various amenities as if Nathan and I are shopping for a future retirement

community. “What we lack in attitude, we make up in numbers” says S. We are not allowed into the offices.

But we ride the elevator up Tower 14 and I drink water from the cooler. I notice that the conference rooms are named after famous scientists. The Newton room is currently available. I can see the border of the SEZ from the balcony. There is a store to buy blue jeans (which can be worn on Fridays). There is a place to take naps (with the permission of your supervisor). There is a basketball court, a table tennis room and a yoga studio (fitness is encouraged). There is a library, but we are not allowed inside (testing happens biannually). There is a food court (there are so many choices). There are storefront-size posters of what I assume are supposed to be employees featuring close-up shots of blissful, fair-skinned faces. They are tagged with slogans that I have sadly forgotten. So I will make some up! They read: “Better work. Better life.” “Together as Teams.” “The

Spirit of Excellency.” “Achievement-Ready.” “Future-Proof.”

We sit at the Barrista [Baah-ree-stah], the Italian coffee chain. A paper placemat lists dictionary definitions of espresso drinks accompanied by a pronunciation guide (how considerate). A. treats us with her Sodexho coupons. The largest latte I’ve had in India arrives on a plastic tray in a paper cup. There are two packs of sugar, a lid and a fork. (Did they run out of spoons and stirrers? Or is the extra surface area of the fork teeth preferable for swirling the sweetener?) I want to take a picture of this still life. (But I am not allowed to take pictures. Even employees are asked to disable the cameras on their phones. I regret that I left behind my tracing paper and charcoal sticks. Perhaps I would be allowed to take a rubbing of the Belgian block paths?)

Our tour is over.

We collect our electronic devices at the security cabin. We ride one of the red, Volvo, Infosys buses back into town. We pass little commercial strips of banks and travel agencies that punctuate the farmland-cum-real-estate. We pass the new Harvard Medical Hospital and the E City Dental Center. Billboards stand like polyurethaned cattle. The sloganed bystanders to new

development.

Authentic British homes (townhouse still available on the corner of Kensington and Cornwallis). Italian villages (“You’ll be saying ‘Ciao’ instead of ‘Goodbye’). Greek temples (The Prestige Acropolis, next door to The Forum Mall). Space for your children to play and run (“I love the outdoors”). Everything you could ever desire (“Yes, it’s possible if you invest regularly”).

2 & 3 BHK Deluxe Apartments. Ready to Occupy.Just 2 KM Before Electronic City. Very Close To . . . INFOSYS, WIPRO, HP, SIEMENS, BIOCON. Amenities for your added comfort. Club House. Swimming Pool. Jogging Track. Health Club with Gymnasium. Indoor Games. Multi purpose hall opening to the Terrace Garden. 6 Passengers Lift (2nos) and 2 separate Stair case. Posh Lobby. Power Back up for Pumps, Lifts and Common Lighting Area. Intercom with Security. Internet Connectivity. Creche Facility. Landscaped Garden. Actual

Photograph Shot at Site. Exclusively marketed by Homeland. Honesty. Integrity. Reliability.

6/15/08Eat lunch.

6/17/08Take your styrofoam for a walk.

6/18/08Go to school.

6/19/08Gaze towards heaven.

6/20/08Live on the edge of lifestyle.

6/21/08Buy fabric.

6/22/08Paint and draw.

6/23/08Be slim and beautiful.

6/24/08Get taken for a ride.

6/26/08Smuggle a crow in your laundry bag.

6/27/08Snack on geometry.

6/28/08Gather leaves.

6/29/08Go shopping in the forest.

6/30/08Turn out the lights.

7/2/08Forgo your right of way to the

potato-bearing bicycle on the way to the Gucci Store.

7/4/08Visit the Citi of Joy.

7/3/08Live the movie.

7/5/08Choose a new subject.

7/6/08Dry your clothes.

7/8/08Eat a veg grilled cheese at the lilac sandwich stand.

7/9/08Walk to the station.

7/10/08Find a good place to study.

7/11/08Imagine the city as a pastry.

7/12/08Live forever.

7/13/08Cut out an article about 22 stray dogs poisoned

in Navi Mumbai. Cheer yourself up by painting the blind man wearing all white and a fuchsia shawl

perfectly folded into a triangle and elegantly draped over his shoulders.

Find no clear motive.

7/15/08Open new doors.

7/16/08Plant a flower patch in your taxi.

7/18/08Get strung along.

7/19/08Upholster your rick as if it were a diner.

7/20/08Wear pink shorts.

7/22/08Say it with pan.

7/23/08Discover that your tailor has a dirty little secret.

7/24/08Get sold for 60 rupees with your sandwich.

7/25/08Celebrate Bike your Boxes to Work Day.

7/26/08Wear orange dresses.

7/29/08Walk on walls.

7/31/08Admire the cleaning lady’s sense of style.

8/2/08Wait.

8/3/08Rest.

Go Home.