Like a King?

I have seen some very disturbing poverty- homeless elderly and children. Neglected animals. People living in trash. Slums that cannot even be described. There are also strange grass huts in the middle of the city- across from some of the most expensive office space in the country (expensive even by Norway standards). On the other hand, I have been told that in US currency, there are more millionaires in India than there are people living in France. That the middle class of India is the same as the entire population of the US. Of course, there are a billion people here, so it is all relative.

What I was not prepared for is the servants. We have a driver and a maid/cook that takes care of everything. Our driver always opens the car door- and closes it. I used a restroom in a restaurant last night, and a guy in there turned on the water for me, pressed the soap button, and dried off my hands with a fresh towel- then opened the door for me. They expect no tips. Our maid works nonstop, but always has her head down and never makes eye contact. She almost appears uncomfortable if I thank her for anything. I have never seen anything like it. Our driver shuttles us around, and waits in the vehicle for hours while we conduct our business. He never says a word.

I do not know what to think. The rationale is these people need jobs- hence all the service-related work. But still, I can refill my glass from the bottle, open my own doors, and so on. I guess we provide service like this to customers in the US- but that is more related to a business transaction rather than one's lot in life. And I believe the US has its own form of a class system. We still have the right schools, the right jobs, the right contacts, the right neighborhoods. There is less of it in Norway, but shades of it exist everywhere. Here, there are no apologies.