Monday, January 23, 2012

Reduction is relative


So... my efforts to simplify my re-entry into American culture have led me to... Bombay?

No kidding.  After three months of Walden, I've moved back to India, this time temporarily, to help my parents get settled into a new life.  It was hard enough to make the decision to leave the first time, and the tides of fate have just pulled me right back into my adoptive home.  You can't make this stuff up

Though the country is the same, there are a lot of differences this time around.  For one, despite my efforts to simplify my life, I am now living in a 8,000 square foot super posh flat overlooking the heart of what I affectionately call Bombay's West Village.  I also come with renewed purpose in life.  I have started my Masters in Sustainable Design (two courses taken online, but it's a start), and I'm working with the Indian School of Business on a solar policy research project that I helped them design last year.

The refrain keeps beating in my head... "simplify, simplify, simplify" but it seems at odds with my current surroundings.  On Friday I met Mukesh Ambani, the world's 9th richest man.  His idea of a simple family home is Antilla, the world's most expensive single family home, clocking in at a mere $2 billion.  

At least that makes our 8,000 sqft home look humble by comparison!