indiablog

Thanks for following and especially big thanks to those who sent me messages saying you liked the blog and those of you who joined in. There is so much I could have done and could have blogged but didn’t! To allude to two such things now: the French woman who moved into the hut next to mine (I was invisible to her - wrong sex, wrong age) has given me much entertainment. She wears huge false eyelashes everyday, a Stetson hat, and a red lace bikini - tres chic. However she is a trifle haughty - wherever she is she clicks her fingers for the waiters - could be the beach, the huts or wherever. They say ‘yes ma’am’ but they don’t bring her what she asks for and she is left stranded, unable to walk the distance to the restaurant to get what she needs. It’s hilarious. And the burgeoning number of yoga resorts that are taking this area upmarket which I have come to heartily dislike - they only attract young, flexible, gorgeous types (so I can’t join in!) and they exude an air of exclusivity. I wandered into one the other day and was greeted with a big sign that said ‘No WiFi - we are ALTERNATIVE types'.

Indians have miracle consciousness. Miracles form a part of everyday life in a way that is alien to Western rationalism. Religious statues weep, drip blood, drink milk. Things that we might think of as coincidences in the UK are here thought to be miracles. There is a reason for this and it is that the fundamental tenet of Hinduism, which pervades everything, is that action follows thought. So if you don’t believe in miracles - they sure as hell aren’t going to happen. This capacity for belief stems from the personal relationship with the divine that most Indians seem to cultivate. The divine is really whatever you want it to be - including an entirely secular idea of connecting with the better part of oneself. And let’s face it in the West many people live their lives from a scientific, rationalist perspective - and yet somehow manage to combine this with a belief in the activities of a certain gentlemen who walked on water and fed five thousand people with five loaves and two fishes.

I was hoping whilst here to visit Pandurang Karpe who has the Three Chambers in his house - and miracles have been happening there! I would have loved to blog about that. But I haven’t been able to locate him so that will have to wait till next time. I’ll be back in February with Keith when we will be in another house with a mouse - followed by two nights in the fabulous Taj in Mumbai, which as anyone who watched Hotel India knows, is amazing!

Sorry for my silence of late I’ve been nursing a sore leg which I bashed on a rock, and generally trying to make my 58 year old body behave like the 18 year old one I would like it to.

I like Hinduism. I’m attracted by the rituals, the incorporation of the divine into everyday life, the blancmange temples that appear everywhere (see above for one such temple) and the festivals. The gods that represent different aspects of divine nature appeal to me, and I like the constant effort to seek the truth, the recognition of the divine in self and others and the attempt to connect it all up. But it’s a vast sprawling religion, the oldest there is I think, with no known founder and many interpretations - and it’s inclusive of all beliefs. So you can be a Hindu and think anything - and there are some pretty crazy sects around. When I was in Kerala I saw one such group parading young children around the streets apparently in trances with naked flames arising out of their heads. I think most religions have an extreme side. I remember the rumours during Tony Blairs government that he and Ruth Kelly might be members of the Catholic sect Opus Dei - which gave rise to the rather fetching idea that they could be tightening sharp metal chains around their thighs as a penance. They must have had to pull them very tight after the Iraq war.

The texts that Hindus derive inspiration from contain the germs of the modern caste system. Some think that this was originally an attempt to classify society according to occupation - not birth - but these ideas have hardened over time so that now one is born into a caste. I think it’s illegal now to recognise ‘untouchables’ but for sure there are people here whose lives are beset with heavy-duty difficulties. Beggars with young children walk around asking for money and water - water has to be bought as the stuff that comes out of the taps is orange. It’s a very hard life. Men and women work together building roads and laying drains for the new India. Home whilst doing this backbreaking work in the hot sunshine is a plastic sheet with two sticks propping it up. I think the going rate for this is about £2 a day. Dickens would have had a field day. And the middle class Indian ladies that retire to bed every time a social transgression occurs would have provided good fodder for Jane Austen. The caste system also forms the basis of some of the arts here too - forbidden love across castes is really the backbone of Bollywood.

I think Hinduism has had quite a profound influence in the UK. In the 60s The Beatles and others popularised meditation, Hare Krishna was a hit single and other Hindu influenced practices arrived in Britain. They brought with them the idea of looking inside, which I would argue has spawned the self- help movement. The spiritual quest is probably more popular in the UK now than organised religion.

In the UK I hate shopping. Apart from groceries from the local shops and the market (which I do like, because you get to know the shopkeepers and I like to support small local businesses and see them thrive) the rest of it I do online. The kind of shopping where you wander around, ‘looking for something’ - like a present, or clothes, is not for me. But in India it’s a wholly different experience - and I love it! For a start the price of everything is fluid and is set somewhere between what you would like to pay and what the shopkeeper would like to receive, and before you reach that point there’s a bit of theatre involved, which goes something like this:

How much is that? (Hesitates) 450 rupees fixed price. Oh too much for me (walk away). How much do you want to pay for it? No it’s OK it’s too much for me. Make me an offer. (Looks doubtful) 100 rupees. 100 rupees! I paid more for that from the wholesalers. We both know that isn’t true. (Laughs) come on give me your best price. My best price? (Thinks hard) I can give 125 rupees. Come on give me more than that I didn’t have any sales today (sounds pitiful). Give me 250 rupees. I have seen this for 150 rupees in Mapusa. Give me 200. My best price is 175. Ok for you because you are my friend 175 rupees. Shake hands and smile - everybody is happy.

It’s fun and it’s all done in good humour. Of course the shopkeepers want as much as they can get and they know Western tourists have a lot of money compared to many in India. But I have heard tourists offer the asking price and the shopkeeper being really miffed that the bargaining process was bypassed.