US Consul General of Mumbai: Heartbroken about leaving the city

Edgard D Kagan. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar

Mumbai was knee-deep in water, when US Consul General of Mumbai, Edgard D Kagan, first experienced its resilience. The diplomat was barely a few days old in the city when, on August 29, 2017, a torrential downpour caused parts of the suburbs to flood. "I was trying to take the Eastern Expressway through Kurla, and got caught in one of the highway overpasses," Kagan recalls. "What I remember was how people from neighbouring areas waded through water, bringing trays of chai for those [stranded] in the cars. They had no idea who anybody was, and some of their houses were also flooded, but they still came out. It's then that I had this great feeling about this city."

Two years on, as Kagan prepares to leave for New Delhi, where he will continue his work in India, but in a bigger role as Deputy Chief of Mission, US Embassy, his love for Mumbai has grown manifold. That doesn't make leaving any easy, says Kagan, when we meet him at the US Consulate in BKC. "I am heartbroken," he confesses. "My wife, children and I were all very happy here. It's hard to leave a place, where you are so happy."

With just another week to go before his last day, Kagan is busy juggling professional and social commitments, alongside packing duties at home. Only a few days ago, the US Consulate on its YouTube page, shared a seven-minute video of 'a day in the Consul General's life', which begins at 8 am, and inadvertently spills over to the evening. Kagan admits he has now become the quintessential Mumbaikar - toiling, celebrating and exploring.

"I think some of the ideas that we had about Mumbai were right, and they were based on talking with friends who were from here, and obviously reading books. Our idea was that Mumbai was this mega city with tremendous energy and drive, and a great cultural imprint, because of Bollywood," he says. "What we didn't have a sense of, is the feel of it. The level of enthusiasm and excitement the city has is just extraordinary. This is a city that truly never sleeps. It's a place, where anytime, be it day or night, people are doing things. I wasn't also prepared for its beauty. I catch my breath each time I cross the sea link, or drive along Worli Sea face, seeing it at 11 pm, packed with people, who are just walking along and enjoying… that's what I love."

Kagan says that Mumbai also taught him to shed some of his inhibitions. "In a lot of other places, I get nervous in crowd events. But, somehow, that doesn't bother me here, because people are so warm and nice… there's a remarkable lack of menace." His three children, in particular, took a shine to the place, sooner than he expected. "My oldest son, who is 16, tutored maths at a home for abandoned girls in Dharavi. It has been very good for him; teaching other people is a great way to make you think about how you learn. We would go there every Saturday, and after class, even play with the girls. Last year, they tied me rakhi," he says, showing us the strings on his wrist. "Each time I think about it, I choke up a little. In some ways, it is a microcosm of how we felt in India."

In the short span of their stay here, his youngest son, 12, also became "cricket-obsessed" - unusual for an American. "I still remember when his mother signed him up for cricket as an after-school activity, he threw a giant fit. But, within two months he loved it. Even among his friends, when they play this competition on who could name the most IPL players, he wins, and he is really, really into it. He loves reading up on its history and following on matches," says Kagan. "I think it's great for us, because there is no better way to connect with a society than through a sport, that people are passionate about."

The family has also been actively engaged in the Versova and Mahim beach clean-up drives with activist Afroz Shah. "I love the idea of people coming together as individuals, not directed by anyone, not with a huge organisation and making a difference," he says, of why he joined the campaign. As Consul General, Kagan was responsible for representing American interests and promoting US-India relations in the Western states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh. "I really wanted to build on the extraordinary goodwill of Americans and Indians. I think this is a relationship based on people-to-people ties, and that was priority - to make sure that we were doing the right things, in terms of connecting with the public. In some ways it was relatively easy, because people in India do follow the US very closely. In some ways it was hard because obviously, it's a massive place, and it's hard to figure out the best ways to connect," he says.

"I think we have done a relatively good job, but not as much as I would have liked to," Kagan says, while appraising his own work since he joined in 2017. "Part of it is because we came here thinking we had three years." The biggest challenge of his term, however, was tackling the ongoing trade issues with India, and questions about the H-1B visa. "With H-1Bs, no matter what we say, people are convinced that the programme is changing. We have been very clear that there are no fundamental changes to the programme. And I think, the numbers bare that out. But people just don't believe."

In trade, he agrees, that tensions have increased, especially after the withdrawal of benefits to Indian exports under Generalised System of Preferences (GSP). "But in Mumbai, people understand that we wanted negotiations and we tried very hard to get it, and because that didn't work, there were consequences. I think the challenge is not that we have problems - yes, we always have problems, and the closer we get, the more likely we are to have things that we disagree on. The real challenge is to be ambitious, and to recognise that the Indo-US relation is absolutely critical for the next 30 years. India is a place where there is a lot of work to do, but it's definitely worth doing. I believe that when the history of the 21st century is written, the single-most important chapter is going to be about the Indo-US relationship. If we get it right, the impact that we will have is going to be incredible, and if we get it wrong, both the countries and the world will suffer. So, there is a lot of pressure on us."

Kagan, who joined the foreign service, because he loved history as a kid, and "wanted to figure out how I could do the kind of things that I read about," says that New Delhi will be a new ballgame for him. "We are excited and nervous at the same time, but hopeful we will connect with Delhi, like we did here." "But I think for us, Mumbai is always going to be in our hearts. And we are leaving a part of our heart here."

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