5 April 2016

Our travels in India are coming to an end and the closer we get to coming home the hotter it gets.   Yesterday it was 41c. and it looks like it will continue to be hot until our departure.

This sounds rather clichéd however it must be said; the contrasts in this country are confronting.  This is a country with nuclear power and nuclear weapons and yet wheat is harvested by hand.  India has a space program which it is difficult to reconcile when you see the poverty in the rural villages.  There are massive mogul palaces that were once decorated in gold and the Taj Mahal a wonder in marble.  No photograph depicts the Taj in its true glory.  However, when you step out of the green spaces of the gardens surrounding the Taj Mahal you are again confronted by the noise, the smells, congestion and grime of the city of Agra.

Recent Observations

Road workers

Women working on the roads wearing saris with hi-vis vests over their saris – something you wouldn’t see in Australia.

Government Signs

If your household is below the poverty line the government will provide subsidised rations to ensure people don’t starve.  A sign will be painted on the front of your house declaring you are receiving these benefits.  Imagine a sign on the front of your house for all to see declaring the people inside receive the old age pension or maybe are on unemployment benefits., it would never happen

If you are on a government sponsored employment program your name will be listed on a sign in a prominent part of the village telling all you are employed on that program.

These are seen to be a quite reasonable practice in India, something which we would find to be a complete breach of our privacy.

The Evil Eye

Most trucks and car are decorated with tassels under the vehicle and sometimes around the Windows.  The tassels are for decoration but more importantly to keep the evil eye away.  Bald tyres and overloaded trucks are quite acceptable so clearly the evil eye is far more potent than unroadworthy vehicles.

The roles of men and women

All hotel staff that are visible have been men. They collect the baggage, wait on tables, clean the rooms and generally manage the place.  There is occasionally a young woman on reception and often omen in the gardens.

All the historic photos in the old heritage hotels are of the conquests of men.  Polo, tiger hunting, and the photos of the ruling maharaja, all men.

Everything looks old

 

Regardless how new things might be, buildings, roads, trains, cars and trucks, everything looks old before its time.  Shiny new trucks or cars are never seen.  Maybe because everything is so dry and dusty and now is the end of the dry season. Maybe everything in India has a hard life.

Religion

There are 33 million gods in Hinduism.  That’s more than a God for every man, woman and child in Australia.

So here’s a thought.  Everyone in Australia could adopt their own Hindu god, have their own religion and then declare tax free status. There are plenty of gods to go around.

Probably in response to Hinduism, the Buddhist and Jain faiths have no gods.  This is India; one extreme to the other.

Window Shopping

I thought the roads in Scotland and England can be narrow.  India leaves them for dead.  Our bus took on some narrow village tracks that allowed us to window shop from the comfort of the coach.  With all the people, cows, motor bikes and merchandise he was still able to negotiate roads one car wide with buildings right to the edge of the gutter. 

The Role of the British – I’m going out on a limb here but…..

One thing you must give it to the British, they united this place.  They probably became the common enemy back in 1947 which ensured India could develop a sense of nationhood and to become united to be rid of the British.

You must wonder however if the British had not unified India where would it be today?  Maybe a sub-continent of many small counties none of which were economically sustainable.  Before the British India was made up of so many princely states all of which were busy building bigger and bigger palaces and going to war with each other.

It was the British investment in the archeology of India that ensures we get to enjoy the Taji Mahal and so many other wonders.

History

It’s fascinating that the history of India includes links to Genghis Khan. The palaces and forts are decorated with precious gems from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq.  The mirror works comes from Aleppo in Syria and so it goes on.

Sadly, we in the west generally only know of these countries through reports of war, destruction and displaced refugees.

Driving in India

Road rules – based on Darwinism and survival of the fittest

White lines – for aesthetics only

Indicators – superfluous; never used

Rear vision mirrors – what?

Cows on freeways – of course, why not

This piece was tapped out on a coach ride between Agra and New Delhi