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Published: March 13th 2009
You hear a lot of stories about India. Confronting, incredible, tough, traffic worse than anything else in Asia. We don't really know yet whether these things will be borne out by experience. But let me tell you how it has gone so far.
We arrived from Singapore at 11.30 pm on a Tiger flight. We were met by Anantha, Raghu, Dash and Shankar, loaded into our vehicle and delivered with efficiency down a wide and pretty empty highway into Bangalore. T and T were delivered to house of Illi and Vijaya. She is the sister of Ramakrishna who is the person who has been looking after us from Darwin. Pat and I were delivered to the house of Anantha who is the brother of Ramakrishna and who lives with his wife Sita and children Raksheeth and Manissa about 2 kilometers away.
Thus we began our time in and around Bangalore, a place that will live in our memories for a very long time as a place where there are people who look after visitors they have never met with generosity, humour, care and attention. It will also live with us in other ways, one of which may be reduced
Australia?
Lot of eucalypts here.by much exercise over the next couple of months. The food was magnificent and there was plenty of it.
The next morning the program started in earnest. We do have this program. There is much to see in India. There is no hope of us seeing it all or of doing it justice. Our hosts, though, have been very keen to ensure that we see as much of the good stuff that we possibly can. Ramakrishna has organised his family and friends to ensure that we are looked after on this part of the trip. Everyone has been given a task. Two families are accommodating us and helping us get around. Purushotham has organised our rail tickets for the first part of the trip and Vimala - the wonderful cook - worked hard to make our trip to the village a delight.
The family have also been keen to ensure that we are properly fed. This meant that we were a little later than the 'program' required in leaving Bangalore to travel to Chondur. First, we had to have breakfast. The menu had been negotiated by the Darwin and Bangalore connections. Then we were loaded with Ananthaa -
The Bull
Raghu, Dash, us and Anantha who was taking time off running his business - Dash - who was skiiving off school - and Raghu - who was taking time off his Masters Degree course to help show as around and interpret as needed. Shankar was our driver and will be for the next few weeks.
Chondur is the village that Ramakrishna, Vijaya and Anantha's parents - Mr Reddy and his wife- live in. He is a retired government servant and the village is the village of his paternal grandfather. Chondur is actually in Andra Pradesh whereas Bangalore is the capital of Karnataka.
On the way to Chondur we stopped by at a statue, if that is an appropriate description, or a massive bull. It had been carved out of a single piece of granite and is reputed to be the biggest of its kind in India and, I would hazard a guess, therefore the world. Not far from the Bull - I think he deserves a capital - we came to the first of our Indian temples. I can think we can safely assume that it will not be the last. We were fortunate on this occasion because Anantha organised a local guide
Lunch Stop
A good patch of shade is nice to find with good English, excellent knowledge and, what I am coming to appreciate, a delightful and I suspect, very much Indian, sense of humour. The guide was able to take us through the history of the temple, give us an insight into the magic of the place, explain carvings that might otherwise have left us wondering and give us a crash course in the deities of Hinduism. At this stage of our tour and knowing that we have many more temples to come, it was a very useful time for us.
Our first temple visit also brought to light the desperate need for change. Not change as in change in practices or anything like that. Just change as in small money. Those ATMs typically give you big money that upsets taxi drivers. We weren't too concerned. With our hired care we had no need of taxis - that is known by the technical term flashpacking. But we had reckoned without the temples. Why do you need change at temples? If your smallest note is 500 rupees - worth about $A16 and you have a string of beggars that all have something of an expectation? OK, you can walk past beggars
Some Smiles
All dressed up for the night at the temple because, after all, their country or at least their family should be looking after them, and perhaps they are, but what about the offering in the temple? Priest does his bit with the chanting, smoke, handing out the coconut drink and around comes a plate. Everyone else has a coin - never seen one before at this time - to put on the plate. Coins only go up to R5 and most people were operating with the R1s and R2s. Not so us. We over did it. Rich Westerners eh! Just dumb and ill prepared really.
Even further behind the program now we headed off to Chondur and made it there well after the appointed time. No problem though because lunch was waiting. We sat on the floor in the local style and ate in the proper Indian way.
The house of Mr Reddy and his wife is definitely the biggest and best in the village. It was built for them by their sons so that they could retire here away from the hassle of Bangalore. It isn't a normal village house insofar as it has all of the facilities that a couple from the city might need
On the Roof
It was cooler in the morning but a nice design idea for a house. We are gathering them. to live comfortably. Running water pumped from a bore to a header tank and gravity fed to the house, power that operates when the electricity authority decides to switch it on most nights. It is certainly a comfortable house and anyone would be well pleased to live there. Mr Reddy has invested in a couple of cows, which requires that he hire a cowman at about 500/- per week, feed etc and this provides the household with milk and, with luck, heifer calves.
This eating thing needs some additional explanation for those who have never experienced Indian hospitality. I am quite used to Indian food and love it when I get the chance to have some. The food we have been eating is different to just about anything I have eaten before. For a start, it is simply better. In the village we ate a number of what I would call courses. I wont try to describe the dishes. Others might but all was good, none was too hot for us but all were spicy and most contained chilli in some measure. Food was delivered in generous servings and then more was brought out. Our hosts were keen to
Morning
looking over the village feed us as much as we needed and we were polite, as well as just a little keen to eat some more of that delicious tucker. This was the pattern for every meal we had during our time in Bangalore and Chondur.
Eating with your fingers requires skills that need to be learnt. There are rules and if you forget them people turn their heads away or just laugh, discreetly. Your wife just hisses at you, but she eventually gives up. You never touch your food with your left hand - unless it is chappati or naan and then, if you must, you can put the side of your left hand on it to hold it still while you tear off a bit - you use only the fingers of your right hand, never the palm. You gather a mouthful in your fingers, mash it together a bit so that it doesn't fall all over the floor and then pop it into your mouth using your thumb to flick it in. Sounds easy and of course it is but there are issues. Very hot rice, wet curries, pieces of chicken that have to be smaller. Do you lick your
Art at the Front Door
We asked how it was done and the daughter in law gave us a demonstration fingers? Don't know. I do but I don't see anyone else doing it so maybe not.
After arrival in Chondur, and a late lunch, a bit of chat and so on it was time to go to the temple. The family temple was in the next village. This was the village of the maternal grandfather of our host. The temple was a small one and very old. It was the ancestral temple of the family and it had, over the years fallen into disrepair. This was a matter that Mr Reddy and others were keen to address. The priest wanted to do 'puja', that is, the ceremony that would bring the attention of Krishna to us - in a positive way I trust. We had seen this done already in the earlier temple but at this one we received the full performance together with major chanting, smoke, fire, coconut drink, food offerings and the daubing of 'kum' on the forehead as a mark of blessing, I believe.
After the ceremony we sat in the outer area of the temple and talked to the local farmers for an hour or so. Matters ranged over matters you would expect
Lovely Lady
Photos are normally a serious business but she was accommodating - the price of vegetables, irrational government decisions about power supply, difficulties of pumping water, infrastructure issues, children leaving for the city, education of children, health, politics - just what every other group of farmers anywhere would discuss I suspect. But, instead of meeting in the local pub, we had this discussion in a cool and almost serene area outside a church that doubles as a community meeting and function area.
We were all in need of a walk and so the car took some home the long way and the rest of us walked back to our village through the fields, on the way passing people wending their way home with goats, buffalo and cattle, little old ladies banging tins and shouting to keep the birds off their sunflower crops that were ready for harvest, men heading to local water sources with towels over their shoulders for their abulutions, kids doing what kids do. All in all a peaceful, comfortable place to be.
Back at the village and preparations for another meal were in full swing. The matriarch of the house was assisted in this task by Vimala, the 'second daughter in law' of Mr Reddy who
Patricia and the Kids
This happens all of the time. had been brought in for the occasion of our visit. All through these preparations a loudspeaker system would occasionally burst into action imploring someone to do something or go somewhere. We were told that this was to get people to go to the temple and that it often happened.
Mr Reddy was keen for us to drop down to the temple for a 'couple of minutes'. We were reaching our temple tolerance level but 3 of us went to the temple for a short visit. Turned out that most of the village was there and just about all of the children. We were treated to a series of dances performed by the children under the direction of the three, and sometimes more, older men.
Unfortunately, I had committed the sin of sins and forgotten to carry my camera but Barnes had his. The scenes of the glint of his spectacles being the only thing showing through the ocean of laughing, excited children all clamouring to see the photo he had just taken or was about to take was heart warming. A procession of children went to considerable effort and risked the discipline of the dance masters to dive
over to us and introduce themselves to us, smile and, occasionally, if they were brave enough, touch a beard.
There clearly had been training going on and a the girls particularly had gone to a lot of effort to scrub up. We were told that they did this sort of thing quite regularly whenever important or significant people were in the village. When we asked how often that happened we were told, though, that important people didn't come very often. We were eventually torn away to go back and have dinner.
That night we slept on the flat roof of the house under the stars. Peaceful and quiet - except for the occasional dog barking and cool. In fact, during the night it did become quite cool up there and we were all up early.
Next morning the farm walk around and through Mr Reddy's 20 or so acres of fields took us on a 2 hour walk around rice paddies, ground nut plots that are waiting for the rain, orchards, vegetable gardens with chilli, egg plants, beans and a variety of other vegetables. Farmers are battling an invasive prickly weed that grows into a large 2
Looking Down
A smile on Mr Reddy in a photo. This doesn't happen often. meter high and wide bush and is very difficult to kill. They are holding it out of the best land but it is taking over the less productive land and reducing the available grazing area for goats and cattle considerably.
Flood irrigation is still the method of choice. Some of us had a quiet weep at the amount of precious water that is being lost to production through evaporation, seepage and simply over watering in some crops while others were famished. There is a desperate need for drip irrigation and miles of poly. Apparently the government does provide a significant subsidy but it is hard for farmers to take it up both because, when you are so dependant on a crop, taking a risk with new technology is hard and, I guess, because it is good to see plenty of water flowing through the crops.
Mr Reddy explained that he had either exclusive or shared use of 3 bores. These could only run for the few hours a day that the power was on. During this time the bores pumped water in to tanks - what we in the NT might call 'turkey nests' - and from there
The farm
I just love walking around farms. Leave temples for dead. the water was moved by open drain to the place it was required. The system works but not efficiently and there are significant areas of land that could be more productive. And farmers here need every break they can get. In a very interesting sidelight we later met a senior development officer for a neighbouring region who explained that the government was very keen to reduce the load on the water table and that the only way they could achieve this was to cut the power so that bores cannot pump. With appropriate irrigation infrastructure it seems likely to me that it would be possible to reduce water usage by at least 50% and possibly a lot more.
Farmers in this country are on the bottom of the pile. There are a lot of them and they compete heavily with each other to sell their produce. They may get very little for it and the work is hard. Infrastructure is always an issue. Education of the children is difficult and other services are affected by the same economy of scale issues that affect rural services everywhere. But, would I live in a city if I had the option of
A Good Drink
They cost about 10/- each or less than 30c living in a village?
Back to Bangalore and another magnificent lunch at Anantha and Sita's place. Here we met Raksheeth. We had been told that he was very upset that he couldn't stay awake for us on the night we arrived. He made up for it when we met him. A bright, friendly boy with strong interests and opinions and the knowledge to back them up he was able to debate issues ranging through politics, science and India geography. Raksheeth was pretty well our constant companion through the rest of our time in Bangalore and we appreciated his help and friendship.
Off in the afternoon to the biggest Hare Krishna temple around. A massive edifice, modern and very well attended on a hill in a prime location in the centre of Bangalore. I suppose somewhere in my mind I had known that there was more to the Krishna worship than a bunch of people walking through shopping centres in strange robes chanting but this brought it all into sharp focus. They have plans to build another multi-million dollar complex which looks for all the world like a major theme park. It has to be said that there is
Maharahah's Summer Palace
Why did they leave them in place for so long? At least Indira took them on. a pretty serious commercial focus with this particular branch of the faith.
We hit the shops, of course. Purchases were made. Trish picked up a top. Pat tried on some. I picked up a 'genuine' Timberland jacket for $30 thus replacing 2 others that will now be packed around a fragile article we have picked up and sent on their way back home. (The other jackets have done nothing wrong but replacing 2 with 1 makes good sense in terms of the pack.) A nice restaurant was selected for our dinner by our hosts, considerably nicer I might say than what we might have selected for ourselves. The party included the four of us with Anantha, Raksheeth and Dash at this time.By the time we made it home we were knackered - but that may have had something to do with the Kingfisher. We had been abstemious since leaving Vietnam.
Next day was full on Bangalore tourism. Anantha had finally had to go back to running his business so our guides for the day were Raghu and Raksheeth with, of course, Shankar behind the wheel. We hit the Summer Palace of the Maharajah - a typically over the
top place that makes you wonder how Indians put up with them for so long furnished with loving attention to what might be called lecherous art (technical term that). Then on to the Science and Techonology Museum where Raksheeth had a ball.
After a full day we made it back to Yijaya and Ille's place to meet an old school friend of Ramakrishna's who has arranged a car and driver for us to take us on our South India leg. Arrangements sorted and we were invited to go to Illi's club for a meal. That we did having a nice meal and a number of drinks. Finally home ready for an early start next morning to drive to Mysore.
When we rolled down the road to Anantha and Sita's where we were staying - having dropped off T&T - the road was blocked. A major party - or in the local vernacular, a function - was underway. This involved a lot of people, flashing lights adorning the house, flowers everywhere, a large marquee constructed somehow in the backyard and many people - or did I mention that? For those who have been to Walker's at New Year, just
House Warming
In the foreground - missed a bit - the fire for puja of the new house. multiply by at least 10, including for the noise. Pat and I were sort of invited but it was also suggested that we might want to get some rest. So we sort of did.
The function was actually a housewarming but it was so much more than an Australian housewarming as to not be in the same league. Ceremonies had to be performed. A 'puja' had to be performed in the living room of the house involving the lighting of a fire in a sand filled container of bricks in the main living room. Another one was required in the kitchen. A cow was brought to the house and into the entrance. I think it was milked. Milk had to be spilt inside the kitchen to ensure that the kitchen would always operate properly.
All of this happened at various times during the night. Approximately, once every hour bells had to be rung, drums beaten, horns sounded, chanting was required and a considerable amount of shouting was needed. The last major part of the ceremony for the night started at about 5.00 am and continued to 6.00 am. We were to leave at 7.00 am or thereabouts.
We dutifully were ready to go at a bit before 7.00. First though we had to meet many relatives and go over to the house across the road to have a look at what had been happening, take photos and such. The house is the house of Anantha's brother in law and Sita's sister. The housewarming was to continue all day and at about 10.30 am the 'second shift' of relatives and friends were to arrive - many of whom were also members of the first shift but now rested and ready again for action.
We were all fed another breakfast - just to be sure - and were told that we had plenty of time to eat it. We could stay all day if we wanted. After goodbyes we hit the road at 9.00 ish thus bringing to a conclusion one of the most memorable couple of days of our lives.
With any luck we will see our new friends again and this time in Australia. We should probably put our families back there on notice that to achieve the same level of commitment, generosity and care as has been delivered to us will require major effort.
At the Cricket
Didn't see a match but got in quickly to see the ground and a bit of the practice Ramakrishna requires special mention. He set up and managed the whole thing, including while we were there, passing on instructions and advice daily, even hourly. He made it his and his family's mission to make our stay in India a great one and he did it extremely well. Our heartfelt thanks to him.
And yes: we have seen spectacular temples, old temples and new temples; we have been hung up in the Bangalore gridlock that can turn a 10 minute journey into one of 2 hours; and we have been confronted by poverty and the distance between rich and poor. All of it is incredible but none of it compares with the people we have met.
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Sarah
non-member comment
Sounds very lovely! Unfortunately I don't have a spare room... but I'm sure I could take a few days off work and go sightseeing with random visitors. And, also, my friend who taught me to eat with my fingers says - if it's too hot to touch with your fingers, then it's too hot to put in your mouth.