India is a dream destination for a lot of travelers, but most foreign tourists don’t ever get a taste of what it’s really like to live in the South Asian country. Home to more than 1.3 billion people, two-thirds of which live in poverty, India is a unique nation hosting a huge variety of ethnicities and languages. Keep reading to find out what it’s really like to live in India.

A School In Rural India

The standard of education in India is quite different from what many westerners are used to. There are four levels in the school system: lower primary, upper primary, high, and higher secondary. While most young children attend primary school, less than half of the country’s adolescents attend school from the sixth grade and up. Most of the students who drop out are from disadvantaged groups and lower castes, as well as rural areas. Public education is free in India and compulsory for children up to the age of 14.

Schools that aren’t privately funded might not have the facilities that western schools have. There are also typically high student-to-teacher ratios, meaning students are less likely to have one-on-one time with the teacher that is sometimes required to meet their individual needs.

This image shows an outdoor classroom with double or triple the amount of students than you’d find in typical classrooms in countries such as the United States.

Life In A New Delhi Slum

New Delhi is home to over 160 billionaires but the city is also riddled with poverty. These photos show what life is like in a New Delhi slums, which are located throughout the city. By definition, a slum is “a residential area where dwellings are unfit for human habitation by reasons of dilapidation, overcrowding, lack of ventilation or sanitation facility and having driving water facilities in unhygienic conditions.” The most prominent slums are found in Shalimar Bagh, Kirti Nagar, Munirka, and Kusumpur Pahari.

The people who live in these conditions have to deal with excessive garbage and a high risk of contracting mosquito-borne or water-borne diseases, community toilets with faulty pipes and broken cubicle doors, schools with no electricity, and cramped houses.

The second photo shows a butcher’s shop in a slum that would be considered unhygienic by western standards.

Traffic And Pollution In Jaipur

There are parts of India that boast impossibly beautiful scenery. But the country is also plagued by two huge problems: traffic and pollution. Because India is one of the world’s most populated countries and one of the world’s most polluted countries simultaneously, locals are forced to deal with congested traffic and poor air quality.

This photo of Jaipur highlights the traffic problem, reinforcing how tricky it can be to get around. The cloudy atmosphere visible in the photo also shows the low air quality that locals are surrounded by every day.

The high levels of pollution in India can be traced back to several causes, including thriving industries that require the burning of coal and wood, a large number of vehicles on the roads, forest fires, and even dust storms. The toxins in the air result in high volumes of respiratory patients being admitted to hospitals throughout the country.

An Indian Hospital Ward

This photo shows an Indian hospital ward, which can often look quite different from a western hospital ward. Top-quality healthcare that rivals healthcare in developed countries is available in India but there is a large discrepancy between the services offered in urban areas and those offered in rural areas. There are also lots of differences between public and private healthcare.

The poorest people in India don’t have access to private healthcare, which is far more adequate than the public healthcare that’s provided. Most Indians also lack health insurance, and many that do have access to health insurance have theirs provided by their employer.

Those who live in poverty-stricken states tend to have less opportunity to access healthcare, as do those in rural areas. Due to overcrowding in India, many hospital wards are filled with people sharing beds, as we can see in the image.

A Bustling New Delhi Market

New Delhi is home to a number of traditional markets, many of which provide overwhelming and exciting experiences for foreign tourists. But locals are used to the conditions of most market places, which are typically overcrowded, loud, and disorganized.

Although some Indians do their shopping in modern stores, many rely on these age-old markets for their basic necessities. As the country progresses, more and more Indians are choosing to do their shopping online, but it doesn’t look like traditional marketplaces will ever become obsolete in India.

The image shows shopfronts and street vendors selling edible goods and people navigating the market on foot, bicycle, and motorbike. It captures the hectic and unique ambiance that you’ll often find at traditional Indian marketplaces.