RAVI SHANKAR

During our confusion at the Lucknow train station we are finally helped by a young friendly man named Ravi who reassured us we were on the right train and chatted with us on the long slow trip (we were five hours late). He's on his way home to Patna to visit his family for Holi. He shows us pictures of his family. As the youngest child, he was the only one born in a hospital, something he seems proud of. He has a fancy laptop and likes to talk about India's mobile network. He has been traveling around on some tech-related business for a year. Is he married?

"Maybe? I don't know? I am married, but it is much responsibility. You have your mother, father. All your family. Then one more. But now for one year I am all alone and very happy. I am like a king! Even when I have not much money I am still a king!"

We talk about our problems with bad advice. "You must understand," he says, "that many Indians are illiterate. Can't read signs. Don't understand their own language."

I asked him the rules of cricket and he tried to explain as best he could. "The thing about cricket is that it is very long. In the U.S. all your game are very short. One hour. Two hours. Football for 90 minutes. But Indians have lots of time. So we don't want our games to end. We want to watch. Four days. Five. It's okay."

While we were waiting for the late train, we had commented, "Why are we the only ones worried and wondering what is going on?" We mentioned this to Ravi and he laughed. "It is is the same as with cricket. Indians LIKE to wait. At the railway station, even in traffic. They like to sit in the shade, eat a snack. This is a good way to spend a day."