Shaj Mathew is a seventeen-year-old high school senior from Maryland. When he’s not in school, he reads The New Yorker and talks soccer on his website. He was most recently published in the online literary magazine, The Millions. You can reach him at shaj.mathew@gmail.com.

If you would like to guest blog for My Wonderful World, please contact Sarah Jane: scaban@ngs.org.

The quintessential Indian car, the Hindustan Ambassador has remained popular despite an influx of new foreign imports.

Um…is that cow going to move?

The engine of the Toyota Innova (think Sienna lite) stutters to a low growl, providing an ambient backdrop in the few seconds of peace. Then a succession of high-pitched, squeaky horns arrest me, and I’m subject to the whimsy of my driver, whose vertiginous lane-changes (every few seconds at least), predilection for honking (often for no apparent reason), and blatant disregard for the few traffic regulations (which may or may not actually exist) make your average Grand Theft Auto player seem like an overly cautious motorist.The cow moves; we veer back on the road; I close my eyes.

Dear God, I don’t want to die young – really.

Continue reading “Geography is Human. Geography is Mumbai.”