Update from Michael Richardson; International Anita Award Winner 2010
I hope you have enjoyed updates from my fellow travellers on our travels so far. So the following from me is more of a reflection of India to date rather than specific details. Obviously its going to be difficult to summarise, and also this will be a very personal account but I hope it will give you a flavour of my experience. At the risk of sounding like the tourist board, brand positioning it really is ‘India incredible India’. Many of us have been struggling for adjectives or superlatives to express this trip. Incredible is a word I use in its truest sense.
I am writing this on the Rajdhhari-Shatabdi Express from Delhi on our way to Jaipur – the Pink City. This is effectively the second leg of our trip so as we head north I anticipate many more new experiences. We are fortunate Aastha and Nidhi are with us, as the 4.30 am start and getting us to the station and boarded on this train is not for the fainthearted. This has been the case since our arrival. I am surprised at the amount of English, not only spoken but also signage; marketing advertising etc. This makes navigation and written communication less bewildering but trust me, with the culture shock you need all the help you can get.
So India, the topology first. It is incredibly flat. From what I have seen, there has never been so much as a gentle incline in any direction apart from perhaps the roads. As my fellow travellers may have alluded the roads as perhaps best described as work in progress. The same can be said of much of New Delhi. There is a fantastic amount of construction taking place.
One way to contextualise the City is the population. Marianne, a Dane from Copenhagen, hails from a country with a population of 5 million. Times that by 3 and you have the citizens of Delhi – 15 million in one city. You may have also gathered the traffic system is very different from what we’re used to. I’m not saying its bad, because somehow once I had released my white knuckles from the armrest you get a feel for it and settle into the natural rhythm of the flow. I actually believe with the volume and diversity of what is on the road there really is no other way. I am also convinced travel is significantly more progressive than London. I am unsure whether they drive on the left or the right. I think it’s the left as the vehicles are right hand drive, but there are frequent exceptions. The highway code, if such a thing exists, along with the road signs and markings are probably best described as guidelines rather than something which will be adhered to. I mentioned diversity. Travelling to the various projects we have visited by minibus has shown us everything from bicycles, trikes, motorbikes and scooters to donkey drawn carts, cars, 4x4s, elephants, camels and after sunset those glorious decorated trucks. I am constantly amazed by the efficiency of the bicycle. These trike contraptions can carry an extraordinary variety of goods, not only in terms of mass but also weight. It is not uncommon to see families of three or four on a scooter or motorcycle and Mr Honda should suitably happy his organisation has cornered the market. My favourite though would be the sartorial elegance of the ladies who sit side saddle behind their husbands dressed in full Saris with perhaps a hand placed on the shoulder of their man for the really big bumps. The speed everywhere is pretty constant – 32-38 miles per hour. This allows for the constant lane changing and merging. I say merging, this happens a lot at all junctions, lights, roundabouts [whichever way you decide to go round]. The right of way is determined by the volume travelling in any direction. You see a gap, toot your horn, and go for it. Rear view and side mirrors [if fitted] are display only items on all vehicles in Delhi. As I said initially this chaos seems fraught with danger but it works! There also appears to be what I can best described as a hive mentality. What I would consider near misses or close shaves are common place but result in nothing more. I have yet to witness anything that could be considered a road rage incident or accident. We just toot and keep moving. Anyway, this is not a road and traffic update. It would be remiss of me not to mention the warmth here and I am not talking in degrees of Celsius or Fahrenheit, however as expected its hot. With 2 weeks to go to the festival of Holi and the official start of summer, the population is still in’winter’. This is evident by the number of knitwear layers worn compared to our tshirts and the closure of the hotel pool. But over and above the weather, there is an overall feeling of ambient warmth and nothing to do with the spice content in our food.
Obviously our friends and colleagues from The Body Shop India have been fantastically hospitable and our associates from the projects have been most welcoming and pleased to see us. Everywhere I have been I have been greeted by warm smiles and nods hopefully its not ‘look at the huge Englishman’. Moving onto the food then, as those know me will appreciate I do tend to enjoy my meat. I must say with the cuisine I have sampled thus far has been exceptional. There is no discernible difference between meat and vegetables in terms of taste or texture. Both are equally delicious. In addition I did not appreciate how much of a social event food is here. We have been offered a variety of delights everywhere we go over and above our scheduled meals , another indication of the warmth and generosity shown to us. So, Delhi the geography, the road network, the cuisine and a snippet of the culture. Enough for now I think as I want to snooze while I have the chance. We have now changed state and we are in Rajasthan. Will share more soon.
Michael Richardson
