India occupies only 2.4 percent of the world’s land area, yet it supports around 16 percent of the global population. With over a billion people*, its average population density is higher than any other nation of comparable size - andit continues to add the equivalent of Australia’s total population every year! It should come as little surprise then that this overpopulation leads to severe economic hardship and, in turn, to diseases which we fortunate Westerners seldom, if ever, encounter. So, I’ve been careful to be prepared for disease. Like most NHS doctors’ surgeries, ours dispenses free inoculations against the most virulent of the nasties to which the people of India are routinely exposed. Jabs against diphtheria and tetanus in my left arm and typhoid in the right meant sleeping on my back for a couple of ... read more

During our ’97 tour of Rajasthan, we visited the fabulous Jain temples at Ranakpur. After lunch at a nearby hotel, while photographing a colourful bird in the hotel’s garden, I found someone looking over my shoulder. It was a boy - aged nearly 14, named Lajpal, he told me in halting English. I took his photo, he wrote down his address. On our return to the UK, I sent him his photograph. Six months later, it came back - address unknown. So, I sent the photo to the hotel manager, asking if he knew this boy. It turned out to be his nephew. A brief thank you letter from Lajpal followed and, in subsequent exchanges of correspondence, his command of English and my understanding of his background continued to improve. I was as intrigued to learn ... read more