WISDOM: "Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather an intention to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming - 'Wow, what a ride!'"
SOUL TRAVEL: INDIA: NOISY, CHAOTIC AND WONDERFUL: PART I
OBSERVATIONS
India is noisy and chaotic. By all reason, half the country should be deaf and the other half, road-kill. I traveled approximately 2400 miles by car throughout Southern India. This requires putting your faith in your driver and the universe, and trying to stifle exclamations that involuntarily take the Lord's name in vain as you miss by inches: pedestrians (there is no such thing as a pedestrian right-of-way); motor scooters (often with two adults and two children piled on them); cows (totally oblivious to traffic); tuk-tuks (a 3-wheeled taxi of sorts); bicycles (often so loaded with items for sale, I wondered how the driver could see, much less maneuver or stay upright); and cars, very large trucks, and buses (the drivers of which seem to enjoy playing "chicken.") Anything with wheels sports a loud horn which is gleefully tooted, blown or squeezed once every ten seconds - no, make that 5 seconds. Horns appear to be the principal means of traffic control. Conclusion: Traveling in India is not for the faint of heart.
Once you adjust to the noise and chaos, you can begin to appreciate the richness of India. The country probably has more World Heritage Sites than any other country in the world. Among its offerings are: magnificent temple art and architecture, diverse cultures (there are 38 principal languages), large populations of Hindus, Moslems, Christians, Jains, Sikhs and Buddhists, history that begins before Christ and includes the Mughal empire, Marco Polo, the spice trade, the Chinese, French, Portuguese, Spanish and British presence, sultans and maharajahs. (A maharaja is a Hindu king; a sultan is a Moslem king.) It is difficult to explain or transmit a smidgen of what I saw, felt and tried to absorb. The panorama is overwhelming and there is no way to do it justice. I look forward to going through 75 rolls of slides to live the trip once again and try to gain some global sense of it all. Sharing so many memorable experiences and images with you will be a great source of joy for me.
Following are some initial observations:
1. White skin, blue eyes and light hair arouse lots of curiosity. In the South of India there are less European and American tourists than in the North. People tried not to get caught staring but stare they did. Children surrounded me, wanting to shake my hand and try out their halting English. "Where from?" What's your name?" "How are you?" Some even wanted my autograph. My guide said I would be the talk in their homes for weeks. One day we parked the car in back of a school. When we returned to the car, the children flocked three feet deep to the open windows, smiling and waving and shouting their English questions. A group of uniformed school children encircled me at the caves in Ellora, frustrating the teachers attempt to explain the sculptures and history of the caves. He finally gave up, but looked on smiling as I shook lots of hands and answered questions for several minutes.
And they love to be photographed. I will never forget stopping to photograph a schoolyard full of uniformed children with their rather humble school building in the background. It took about 30 seconds after someone spotted my camera for all of them to line up as though I was taking the school picture. I doubt whether the military could get a group of trained soldiers to fall into formation that fast. It wasn't exactly the photograph I had anticipated, but it will always make me smile.
2. Reading the local newspapers was a source of entertainment. Their use of English often sounds archaic to American ears. Someone who had been murdered was "done to death," a funny play will "relax your nerves," a makeover for Sonia Gandhi was a "grit and grace" look, and a store brochure claimed their silks "clad you beautifully and present you charmingly cute for any occasion." (Being "charmingly cute" was never a goal of mine.)
Excerpt: "If Arnold's (as in Schwarzenegger) maverick style worked, why can't we have a stylish Indian politician. Individuality is the new trump card. It's the Americanisation of Indian politics where the look is as important as your slogan."
And only in India would you find the following news item:
"PRECIOUS DUNG - Dung is being sifted to retrieve 1,722 small diamonds that a cow accidentally ate a few weeks ago. The diamond merchant dropped a bag of stones on his way to meet another merchant. … a cow found the stones to its taste. Since operating on the cow would have angered many, it was decided to purge the stones out of its system. The cow was fed lots of grass, grains and fruits, and a vet gave it laxatives. 360 diamonds have been retrieved so far."
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3. I have never traveled to a country, including Italy, where the name Quattrocchi was notorious. The following headline appeared in the Times of India. "Can the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) get Hold of Quattrocchi?" It seems that Rajiv Gandhi, son of Indira, married Sonia who was an Italian. Ottavio and Maria Quattrocchi were very close friends of the Gandhis. Rajiv, as you know, became Prime Minister after Indira's assassination and Quattrocchi was a key player in an arms deal (the Bofors case - 1987). Quattrocchi and Rajiv were accused of fraud. Rajiv was assassinated (1991) and only "last week" was cleared posthumously of charges of corruption. But Quattrocchi fled to Italy (after "exploiting a legal loophole" ) and the Indian police want him. Italy won't turn him over. His assets outside of Italy have been frozen ($6 million) and a Red Corner notice issued which means that the police in any part of the world should be able to arrest him. (I'm not sure even Tom Clancy has heard of a Red Corner notice.) Every time I registered at a hotel, I explained I was, to my knowledge, not related. It always generated great mirth.
4. More politics: Sonia Gandhi is gathering a lot of political support. She heads the Congress Party. The Congress Party is not currently in power, and there was talk of her running for Prime Minister. The BJP party ( Prime Minister Vajpayee) is claiming she cannot run because she was not born in India. That issue filled the newspapers while I was there. The high court ruled her country of birth is not an issue. She is an Indian now. The BJP is still trying to use the issue against her.
By the way, few Indians, it seems, have very much faith in their government. "Corruption is rampant," I heard time and time again. I had been impressed over Vajpayee's efforts to put an end to the Kashmir crisis, but the Indians I spoke with felt it was only a political ploy because an election is imminent. Although they seem to respect Vajpayee, one person said he was not his own man. Sonia is a rising star, as are her son and daughter. It seems highly likely that, some time in the future, she will become India's Prime Minister.
5. So, what about the poverty? Before I left on this trip, some asked me, "Why, India?" Someone else said, "I wouldn't go to India." These comments are pregnant with a lack of understanding and assumptions that India is about poverty, disease and filth. Three years ago I traveled to the North of India. There is poverty in some of the cities of Northern India that defy one's imagination. One sees deformities that are unknown in our culture. (It was still a fabulous trip!) You do not see so many of these extremes in the South. The state of Kerala, for instance, has the highest standard of living in India and the cities are impressive and clean. I was surprised. There are comparatively few beggars. In Kerala, very nice homes line the roads through beautiful rubber, cocoa, spice, tea, tapioca, coconut and banana plantations. I ate fresh vegetables, fruits and ice cream-things that had been off limits in the North. I did stick to bottled water and did not eat from street vendors. I did not get sick. Many of my accommodations were grand, all were acceptable. (By the way, Kerala is listed as one of the top 50 destinations in the world by National Geographic.)
For some, third-world travel is just too uncomfortable. For others, it is rejected because of narrow vision. Third world travel requires you to open your heart, put things in perspective, look past what you may not want to see, and not judge a country's past, present or future. Only then can you appreciate and respect the marvelous man-made achievements, the beauty of the people, their culture, their landscape, and the dimension each country brings to the world, for better or for worse. The point is to see, to understand, to enrich your own spirit and to help the world understand us. I find third-world travel especially intriguing because the places are so different from my world. I hope there is a lot more on my horizon.
April Museletter: Bombay - The Taj Mahal Hotel to the Fish Market. Have a great month.
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WINGS Vol. III, No 2, March, 2004
