India: A Feast for the Senses, often overwhelming...
My sister and I just got back to the U.S. from a high school reunion in India - we were in Delhi, Manesar (Haryana), and Kerala, and I still feel overpowered with the sights, sounds, and smells!
Sunsets, Massages, da Gama
We enjoyed the beach at Kovalam: the warm water, silky sand, and dramatic sunsets are such a contrast to the gray freezing water - even in the summer - of the Atlantic Ocean in the northeast U.S.; the little houseboat rocking in the backwaters at Alleppey; the Ayurvedic massages with hot scented oils being poured down one's back and fragrant rose petals to soak one's feet; and historic old Cochin with its Chinese fishing nets, synagogue*, and Vasco da Gama Church, now (ironically) Anglican!
Yeah, da Gama would be turning in his grave that his former burial place is no longer Roman Catholic! The Portuguese took his body away and reinterred him in Portugal, unlike St. Francis Xavier** in Goa. To think that, even before da Gama landed in Cochin in the 15th century, the early Jews and Christians had already arrived in India, fleeing persecution. (One wonders if it was a different country then, perhaps more welcoming to foreigners and minorities)!
Pollution at a Critical Level
The traffic and pollution in Delhi have reached a critical level. One of my friends and a former colleague from the New Zealand High Commission, is suffering from advanced lung disease and is tied to an oxygen machine. His doctors think his irreversible breathing problems (only a small portion of his lungs work) were caused by the ever-present smog, the dangerous particles from diesel fuel, and driving a Vespa scooter for more than 35 years. We were sad to see Rajan so diminished.
When we arrived at Indira Gandhi Airport, you could see and smell the smoke and haze. According to a State Department official who visited Delhi during Diwali, the sources of pollution are wide ranging: crop burning, vehicles, construction, fireworks, and (worst of all), poor people burning non-biodegradable trash, including plastic and rubber, to keep warm.
My acupuncturist told me that southwest China has seen the rise of alarming new sinus cancers that may be caused by particle pollution from construction sites. Is India going the same route?
Currency Crisis
The demonetization of 500 and 1,000 rupee notes on the eve of our visit caused all kinds of hassles. We were lucky to have a friend who brought rupees to our hotel, otherwise we would've been in dire straits! There were press reports of people dropping down dead while standing in lines outside banks, queueing up for hours (often unsuccessfully) to change their money.
We visited former BBC chief of bureau Mark Tully - who still does programs for the Beeb - and his partner, Gillian Wright. Tully agreed that otherwise smart and savvy Indians have a bee in their bonnet when it comes to the PM and his policies; they refuse to acknowledge that the government messed up and caused a currency crisis because of poor planning. Gillian, who writes Urdu books, had spent the morning trying and failing to get money out of a bank in Nizamuddin and then Parliament Street, and was not happy.
Public Hygiene
It is wonderful to go back to one's country of birth and who wouldn't be proud of India's successes! But public hygiene is still a major issue. I've not seen so many people peeing in public as I did in New Delhi! What's happened to Kanyakumari (Cape Comorin) is another disaster: it could attract the same level of tourism as, say, the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, but it doesn't. It needs investment, planning, and heightened public awareness.
Other developing countries have made huge strides in improving sanitation. According to a study I saw at the World Bank, only 1 percent of Chinese and 3 percent of Bangladeshis relieve themselves outdoors compared with half of Indians. It is a question of both attitude and access. Constructing and maintaining millions of toilets in India would cost a lot of money; however, a survey found that many people still prefer going to the bathroom outdoors!
Tourism Infrastructure
I visited the Vivekananda Rock Memorial in the 1980s when it was still fairly pristine, with the waters of the Triveni Sangam (the Bay of Bengal, Arabian Sea, and Indian Ocean) meeting at Cape Comorin. It was a spot where one could immerse oneself in romantic, mood-enhancing sunrises and sunsets! Sadly, much of Kanyakumari is now like a public latrine with mounds of trash, broken down stalls, plastic litter, and vendors cluttering up the place. To add insult to injury, an entire wardrobe of discarded saris, half saris, "dupattas," underwear, "dhotis," "chappals," and sandals had been abandoned and draped all over the rocks - just where we were trying to view the sunset!
The problem may be with Tamilnadu and the deterioration of tourism infrastructure - or just infrastructure in general. I remember how efficiently-run the hotels of the Tamilnadu Tourism Development Corporation were in earlier decades and how closely the TTDC worked with the Archaeological Survey of India to create the right kind of environment for historic and cultural sites. On the other hand, the same cities that I visited in Kerala in the 70s and 80s have progressed in ways that Tamilnadu hasn't. Maybe it's the high level of literacy in Kerala but, whatever it is, it's working for the state.
Jayalalitha
The Chief Minister of Tamilnadu, Jayalalitha, passed away while we were in Cochin. Life came to a sudden halt in Tamilnadu where politicians (many of them former film stars) are revered like minor deities! I recall when a former Chief Minister Annadurai died; girls at Nirmala College, Coimbatore were throwing themselves on the floor in hysterics! When MGR (also a CM) died, mourners were just as melodramatic and unhinged! That's Tamilnadu politics! But Jayalalitha was one of a kind; we may never see her like again.
As I write this, it is a frosty 17 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 8.33 degrees Celsius!) in Washington. After the balmy weather in India - the temps were in the 80s in Kerala and 60s in Delhi - this is like a punch in the guts, a shock to the system! I can't stand it! I need to head back!
Ludi Joseph
Washington D.C.
December 15, 2016
* Check out the photos: "Jew-Town" and "Jew Town Road" would cause a few worried eyebrows to be raised in the U.S. And be branded anti-Semitic! But folks are less P.C. in India!
**Legend goes that the Portuguese colonists tried several times to bring Francis Xavier's body back to Portugal from Goa but, after a series of unfortunate events, they decided that the perfectly preserved (although emaciated and shrunken) body did not "want" to be returned. It was declared a miracle! Millions of pilgrims have viewed the remains of St. Francis which are kept in a casket in Old Goa's Bom Jesu Cathedral. It is more than 500 years old.
Check out my blog post on New Delhi from two years ago!
My sister and I just got back to the U.S. from a high school reunion in India - we were in Delhi, Manesar (Haryana), and Kerala, and I still feel overpowered with the sights, sounds, and smells!
Sunsets, Massages, da Gama
We enjoyed the beach at Kovalam: the warm water, silky sand, and dramatic sunsets are such a contrast to the gray freezing water - even in the summer - of the Atlantic Ocean in the northeast U.S.; the little houseboat rocking in the backwaters at Alleppey; the Ayurvedic massages with hot scented oils being poured down one's back and fragrant rose petals to soak one's feet; and historic old Cochin with its Chinese fishing nets, synagogue*, and Vasco da Gama Church, now (ironically) Anglican!
Yeah, da Gama would be turning in his grave that his former burial place is no longer Roman Catholic! The Portuguese took his body away and reinterred him in Portugal, unlike St. Francis Xavier** in Goa. To think that, even before da Gama landed in Cochin in the 15th century, the early Jews and Christians had already arrived in India, fleeing persecution. (One wonders if it was a different country then, perhaps more welcoming to foreigners and minorities)!
Pollution at a Critical Level
The traffic and pollution in Delhi have reached a critical level. One of my friends and a former colleague from the New Zealand High Commission, is suffering from advanced lung disease and is tied to an oxygen machine. His doctors think his irreversible breathing problems (only a small portion of his lungs work) were caused by the ever-present smog, the dangerous particles from diesel fuel, and driving a Vespa scooter for more than 35 years. We were sad to see Rajan so diminished.
When we arrived at Indira Gandhi Airport, you could see and smell the smoke and haze. According to a State Department official who visited Delhi during Diwali, the sources of pollution are wide ranging: crop burning, vehicles, construction, fireworks, and (worst of all), poor people burning non-biodegradable trash, including plastic and rubber, to keep warm.
My acupuncturist told me that southwest China has seen the rise of alarming new sinus cancers that may be caused by particle pollution from construction sites. Is India going the same route?
Currency Crisis
The demonetization of 500 and 1,000 rupee notes on the eve of our visit caused all kinds of hassles. We were lucky to have a friend who brought rupees to our hotel, otherwise we would've been in dire straits! There were press reports of people dropping down dead while standing in lines outside banks, queueing up for hours (often unsuccessfully) to change their money.
We visited former BBC chief of bureau Mark Tully - who still does programs for the Beeb - and his partner, Gillian Wright. Tully agreed that otherwise smart and savvy Indians have a bee in their bonnet when it comes to the PM and his policies; they refuse to acknowledge that the government messed up and caused a currency crisis because of poor planning. Gillian, who writes Urdu books, had spent the morning trying and failing to get money out of a bank in Nizamuddin and then Parliament Street, and was not happy.
Public Hygiene
It is wonderful to go back to one's country of birth and who wouldn't be proud of India's successes! But public hygiene is still a major issue. I've not seen so many people peeing in public as I did in New Delhi! What's happened to Kanyakumari (Cape Comorin) is another disaster: it could attract the same level of tourism as, say, the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, but it doesn't. It needs investment, planning, and heightened public awareness.
Other developing countries have made huge strides in improving sanitation. According to a study I saw at the World Bank, only 1 percent of Chinese and 3 percent of Bangladeshis relieve themselves outdoors compared with half of Indians. It is a question of both attitude and access. Constructing and maintaining millions of toilets in India would cost a lot of money; however, a survey found that many people still prefer going to the bathroom outdoors!
Tourism Infrastructure
I visited the Vivekananda Rock Memorial in the 1980s when it was still fairly pristine, with the waters of the Triveni Sangam (the Bay of Bengal, Arabian Sea, and Indian Ocean) meeting at Cape Comorin. It was a spot where one could immerse oneself in romantic, mood-enhancing sunrises and sunsets! Sadly, much of Kanyakumari is now like a public latrine with mounds of trash, broken down stalls, plastic litter, and vendors cluttering up the place. To add insult to injury, an entire wardrobe of discarded saris, half saris, "dupattas," underwear, "dhotis," "chappals," and sandals had been abandoned and draped all over the rocks - just where we were trying to view the sunset!
The problem may be with Tamilnadu and the deterioration of tourism infrastructure - or just infrastructure in general. I remember how efficiently-run the hotels of the Tamilnadu Tourism Development Corporation were in earlier decades and how closely the TTDC worked with the Archaeological Survey of India to create the right kind of environment for historic and cultural sites. On the other hand, the same cities that I visited in Kerala in the 70s and 80s have progressed in ways that Tamilnadu hasn't. Maybe it's the high level of literacy in Kerala but, whatever it is, it's working for the state.
Jayalalitha
The Chief Minister of Tamilnadu, Jayalalitha, passed away while we were in Cochin. Life came to a sudden halt in Tamilnadu where politicians (many of them former film stars) are revered like minor deities! I recall when a former Chief Minister Annadurai died; girls at Nirmala College, Coimbatore were throwing themselves on the floor in hysterics! When MGR (also a CM) died, mourners were just as melodramatic and unhinged! That's Tamilnadu politics! But Jayalalitha was one of a kind; we may never see her like again.
As I write this, it is a frosty 17 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 8.33 degrees Celsius!) in Washington. After the balmy weather in India - the temps were in the 80s in Kerala and 60s in Delhi - this is like a punch in the guts, a shock to the system! I can't stand it! I need to head back!
Ludi Joseph
Washington D.C.
December 15, 2016
* Check out the photos: "Jew-Town" and "Jew Town Road" would cause a few worried eyebrows to be raised in the U.S. And be branded anti-Semitic! But folks are less P.C. in India!
**Legend goes that the Portuguese colonists tried several times to bring Francis Xavier's body back to Portugal from Goa but, after a series of unfortunate events, they decided that the perfectly preserved (although emaciated and shrunken) body did not "want" to be returned. It was declared a miracle! Millions of pilgrims have viewed the remains of St. Francis which are kept in a casket in Old Goa's Bom Jesu Cathedral. It is more than 500 years old.
Check out my blog post on New Delhi from two years ago!
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| Sunset, Kanyakumari |
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| Remembering Vasco da Gama |
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| Plaque, St.Francis Church, Cochin |
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| Exterior: St Francis Church |
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| Exterior: Synagogue, Cochin |
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| Street Sign, Cochin |
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| Street Sign: Jew Town |
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| Houseboat, Alleppey |
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| Vivekananda Rock Memorial |
