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India is not the cleanest country I have ever visited, in fact it seems to be quite acceptable for everybody to just discard their rubbish where they stand and in a country of 1 Billion people that adds up to a lot of crap laying around in the streets. In some cities it is asstounding how much rubbish is tollerated. Chennai is a huge city and spans a massive area, it took us 1 hour on a bus to get from the centre of town to the city edge. Along the way we passed tons of discarded waste some times up to knee deep in the gutters and pushed to the sides of roads. Mamallapuram which is a coastal fishing village/ semi resort town suffering from the same problem except the rubbish wasnt limited to the streets, it spilled on to a potenionally beautiful beach. The amount of rubbish on the beach did detract from the serenity and picturesqueness ( if thats a word) of the place and left you feeling a little bit disappointed. Not only is rubbish a problem but men, never women, are quite happy to urinate wherever they stand, in full view even on busy thoroughfares. Again with the population of some of the cities, this leaves a constant wiff of warm piss in the air, it is also not uncommon to see somebody deficate in public thankfully this a rare accurance but you do see the evidence in unexpected places. Stray dogs are another problem and the ammount of rubbish on the street seems to correlate with the amount of stray dogs running around. The streets of Chennai , Mamalapuram and Ponducherry are full of dogs, these are not pets but strays that either fight or mate all night, which ever they choose to do they choose to do it at full volume and the nights are rarely peaceful. But here in Madurai where the streets are cleaned every morning by a band of mostly unseen labourers it is unusual to see loads of rubbish on the streets. This doesnt mean that the inhabitants use bins on the contary there are no bins to use, they still throw their rubbish where they stand it just means that somebody is employed to come and clean it up, which really isnt such a bad idea, it keeps un skilled workers in a job, keeps the streets clean and it keeps the dogs away.
Regardless of how dirty the streets may be the Indian people are impecable, their clothes are clean, their hair is perfect and everybody is constantly looking their best. The women in their colourful sari's and salwar karmeez are immaculate, their poise and dignity is something to behold. The men seem to have an unoficial uniform of long sleeved shirt and trousers (occasionaly jeans) but again there is never a hair out of place. With regard to mens fashion it would seem that the moustache is the most highly regarded piece of attire, you must have one. Pubecent boys with a sprikling of bumfluff on their upper lips will risk looking rediculous for the chance to show the world he is nearly a man. And the real men wouldnt dream of not having a well kept, well groomed and sometimes publically combed moustache lest they be mistaken for a sissy.
If a moustache declares you a man then its tight trousers pulled way up high that signifies that you are in a possition of power, this goes for both men and women. The higher and tighter the trousers the more important the possition you hold must be. When you combine high, tight trousers with a well kept bushy moustache then you know you are witnessing some one of great importance and they should be treated with respect reflective of their apperance.
The indian people are generally friendly , approachable and happy to help actually you dont even have to approach them, they will often walk straight up to up and ask you 2 questions , where are you from and what is your name, if the conversation flows then I may get asked if I am here for the cricket and perhaps further on if I am married. When a small child comes up and wants to test out their English language skills they will often end the conversation with a request for a gift of a pen thats all nothing more, just a pen. If only we were all that easy to please.
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enis
non-member comment
Hi there Daz, the description you gave of Chennai contains some extreme cultural and environmental contrasts. Such an unexpected pleasure to recieve a window on place so far removed from my current daily realities and as always much app
reciated.Cheers guys,Keep travelling well.