India - observations

Observations on India

Indian hotels are ridiculously stingy with loo roll. In fact, we have twice been handed plasticky, cheap serviettes when we’ve asked for toilet paper.

Loo roll

We carried a plant round from Bikaner onwards. Bobby our driver spotted some plants for sale on the side of the road and decided he wanted one. He settled on a snap dragon which had about three flowers and which Baby D proceeded to knock off. We took it from Bikaner to Alwar without leaving it behind anywhere. We later found out that Bobby returned to Bikaner with another customer and left it there. 

Indian people are psychic. Baby D and I have both noticed this. When we want something, say, in a restaurant, we will mention it to each other and it will appear seconds later. On the houseboat in Kerala, the boat driver knew exactly what was wrong with Baby D even though he hadn’t even mentioned being ill. I wish I could remember other examples, but it happened several times.

Top right - Top Dog

Puppies and dogs. Everywhere.

Yet another selfie

It didn't matter where we went, Indian people wanted selfies with us and we often got videoed without our knowledge or permission, which drove us mad. We were told it was because many Indian people live in rural areas and never see white people apart from in films and so we were all like Hollywood actors to them...obviously. I got to the stage where I felt like a piece of my soul was being taken along with every picture.

Possibly more animals than people

Many Indians revere most animals and a lot of people in India, being a predominantly Hindu country, are ‘pure’ vegetarian. But the driving, the litter and the pollution mean that animals are the first to suffer, and cows that are allowed to roam freely in the street, tuck into a carrier bag or five for dinner.

Men do what we would perceive to be traditionally women’s work. It is not unusual to see men ironing clothes on the roadside and all the tailors we’ve seen have been men. The room cleaners in the hotels have always been male – maybe that’s why the bedsheets are always dirty! Ooh controversial…

Jalebi

Diabetes is a big problem in India and it’s not surprising with the amount of sugar people seem to eat. Bobby used to stop on average 10 times a day for chai and a tiny cup consisting of about 2 mouthfuls would have about 3 teaspoonfuls of sugar. When we asked for a small amount of sugar, they’d put 2 and a half in instead. We took to asking for no sugar. As for the desserts in India, gulab jamun, which is an oily milk and sugar ball. Jalebi, which is deep-fried sugar and of course, hello to the Queen. Sorry, no pic. I ate it too quickly.

Many believe that snakes and tortoises live to 5000 years old.

Proper old

 

Although most people we met in India came across as friendly and kind, we were aware that a ‘no cheating, no eating’ mantra exists for the poorer community and we grew increasingly cynical about certain people’s motives. I thought that was a shame and we had to remember that many of the people we met had nothing and even so, they didn’t complain. So if they can make an easy few quid ripping off rich tourists, they will and it's not going to bankrupt us. Even the beggars try to take advantage. We offered a young woman a banana and she turned her nose up at it and instead demanded our oranges. Who said beggars can’t be choosers?

The art of squatting

Everywhere we went, we saw people sitting around, squatting. They made it look so easy and it’s not something we do comfortably in the West. We were told that they are used to it in India as they squat to use the toilet and it’s actually very comfortable for them. We were also told that if we practise squatting every day for half an hour, for a month, we would master it. We haven't started yet. It hurts.

Pretty things

In India there is a constant quest to make things look pretty. Clothes are hung from trees to decorate them, Christmas decorations are left up for months and lorries are painted bright colours, or have brand names, football club logos or gods painted on them, along with garlands of flowers tied around the wing mirrors.

Bromancin'

It's a common sight to see guys in India holding hands, hugging and kissing and it's nice.

This ugly baby really needed make up

Babies are often seen wearing black eyeliner round their eyes, sometimes with eyebrows painted on and often with black spots on their face. I have heard this is to ward off evil but I have also been told it's to enhance the baby's beauty.


Thank you India. Till next time.