Temple Monkeys and Forest Monkeys

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On Thursday, we drove from Luni to Deogarh. We had few expectations -- Deogarh is not listed in our three travel books and we frankly, forgot why we had put it on our list. Perhaps the recommendation of Sandi's friend, Deb, in whose footsteps we are sometimes travelling.

Well, as is often the case, no expectations lead to unanticipated pleasant surprises. Deogarh is a town of about 10,000 people. The countryside is lovely as we approached it. We stayed in yet another converted palace owned by the Maharaja of Jodhpur, in whose realm it fell.

The palace had been in the family since 1670 and the geneology chart was on the wall to prove the fact. In 1994, when economic liberalization seemed to incent many to invite tourists into their lives, the place was fully renovated and turned into a magnificent hotel at the top of the hill.

This was probably one of my favorite days. It started badly, with a village visit that went awry, but got better as we visited a cooperative making durries -- no we are not bringing rugs back with us -- and a little pottery operation. It made me blush to think how hard I tried to get a potter's wheel going at home and with what ease the potter here, a young man, whipped off three pots within about five minutes.

Once at the hotel, we got a bit organized, had lunch and met Dallat, who was acting more in the capacity of tour guide than driver today - a role he relished -- for a drive to the country a few kilometers away and to a ruin that was being fixed that day by two men and two women in slow motion. The views were spectacular but the people were what made the experience. They delighted in being photographed and seeing themselves in full digital colour. With addresses exchanged, promised that will be fulfilled of pictures sent to them made their day. They laughed at us, particularly the women, as they could not figure out how women could be travelling without men. The fact that two of aren't married seemed to make them laugh even more!

We walked through the village which was one of our more pleasant experiences of markets and people. We spent a little money but it was a very low pressure environment -- nice for a change.

That evening, we sat having a drink and watching a local display of dance when one of the senior staff members asked if we wuold like to have the Prince join us for a few minutes. He did, along with his best friend -- the local elected politician -- for over an hour. We had a fascinating chat about economics (the prince has his MA in Economics but is now focussing on marketing the family's hotels). you see a differnet
India when you talk to one of the established families -- a life of privilege but also a life of deep hopefulness and confidence in India's future and how it can continue to move forward and take advantage of the opportunities it has with a young labour force and a fire in its belly.

Prince Shatranjai Singh ("SS" to his friends, and "Little God" to his staff) was a man of 41 and a natural raconteur. When talking about children, he described how in Deogarh, the community merchants and he met regularly to talk about children and begging. They all do it, but somehow the crys of "Pen, pen" or "rupess?" don't seem so serious here. He explains to the locals the difference between temple monkeys and forest monkeys. Temple monkeys wait for people to arrive and feed them. They are obnoxious, overbearing and assume that food is forthcoming. If not, they get unpleasant and mean. Forest monkeys, on the other hand, are self sufficient and can take care of themselves and their families through their own efforts. And from that, Shatranjai says, they can build a monkey empire. This is the lesson he tries to impress on his staff, the people of the village and merchants.

Our experience at the village near Luni that morning was of temple monkeys. The children were very unpleasant. When we did not have candy, money or pens, they started to pinch. I was only pinched twice but Tiina and especially Larrye, took the brunt of it. It got so bad that Larrye was shoved by some of the children and they tried to take the camera from her hands. Temple monkeys at their worst. We left immediately. But in Deogarh, they stand a chance at being forest monkeys -- begging is discouraged at the hotels and we hope that the kids will be self sufficient.

Forest monkeys must be happier in the long run.

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