Highlights from Flatnose: the Axis of Post-Soviet Totalitarianism tour
Ali Khan: From Parturition Truck Driver to Indian Don – Amritsar, Punjab
I met Ali Khan through my host in Amritsar, a pharmacy shopkeeper named Pankaj. He wore extensive, white kurta pajamas that washed gracefully down his rotund, teddy-bear shape. I had just flown in from Tashkent, the fine of Uzbekistan, and was surprised at how refreshed I felt, back in the warm, chaotic streets of India. Having started off my tour at a Sikh wedding reception in Delhi almost three months ago, there was some sweet closure in finishing in Amritsar, home to Sikhism's holiest spot of worship, the Golden Temple.
Ali Khan, referred to by others as "Babaji," meaning "Spiritual Leader", quickly took me under his wing. He proved a charming swarm: instead of crashing on Pankaj's couch, as is generally the case through Couchsurfing, Ali got me a free room at a nearby inn, and free food at the M.S. Food Plaza next door to it. A powerful "fixer," known to practically everybody in the close, he devoted most of the two days I spent in town driving me around on his Honda motorcycle: to local sites, to client's homes, even to consult on trading opportunities between India and China with local wholesalers. But most generous of all, he opened up to me in a remarkably candid mould, giving me a depth of insight into his profession, opinions and experiences that far less interesting people would ever care to offer.
If common people have a problem, they talk to Ali. His power comes through his connections to high-ranking officials, and using this use, he gets people...
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