Touring India – The first half

17 October
We arranged our tour through Glimpses of India (www.glimpsesofindia.com), which Doug found through the Rajasthan Tourist Development Commission (RTDC). For a reasonable price we could get a good introduction to a part of India (total cost about US$100 a day which covers everything other than lunches and dinner). Our driver and guides were important in building our knowledge of India. Since we did not want to be intrusive our relationships largely developed through the details they shared as we visited various sites. Our driver Rokash is a gem. He handles the potholes, animals, and multi-vehicular traffic with aplomb. He is patient and skillful in traffic jams. His English is limited (and our Hindi is non-existent), but he has thoughtfully pointed out sites along the way and given us some basic information about them.
Each of our four guides has given us new insights into India. Their comments build on each other and confirm our impressions. In Jaipur Dinesh (dineshsoni_70[at]yahoo.com) , who gives tours in French and English, introduced us to the flexibility of Hinduism and the goddess Cali, who permits the eating of meat, and another goddess who allows alcohol.
We learned that he gives tours in the Himalayas during the summer. The temperatures in Jaipur and the region are so high in the summer that the tourist industry pretty much dries up. (One guide said that during the summer the guides and hotel workers play cards all day, but the guides we have met pursue other income producing activities.) I mentioned Dinesh is an earlier entry – his wife does not work because she is “not educated.” And apparently his English is self-taught.
In Udaipur our guide was Mukesh (mukesh10dec[at]yahoo.co.in). We started the day at a temple and his extensive knowledge and command of the English became apparent. He was an excellent guide and added details of gods and temple life. The turbaned men who found around the temples are single, older men who spend their day at the temple. Off to the side was a kitchen where meals were provided to the poor – we didn’t see children eating there. (It may have been time of day or children may have other food resources. The schools provide free meals largely in an effort to encourage children to come to school.) Udaipur is a tax-free city and relatively prosperous. The city’s rate of school attendance is over 90 percent. Women n Udaipur may be a bit better off than in other areas we have visited. We saw a number of women on Vespa’s. We visited a contemporary art gallery, Bougainvillaea www.bougainvillaea.co.in . Doug pointed out it was the first shop where we saw a woman working in a professional position(she was the gallery manager). We have yet to see a woman working at a handicraft shops and except for the Ramada in Jaipur and the hotel in Agra, women have been virtually missing from the hotel staff. Mukesh mentioned the traditional castes – he is from the warrior caste. From our conversation I understood how our guides could say confidently that a certain handicraft had been done by a given family for generations. Mukesh’s family were tailors; we hypothesized that working as tour guide was a desirable profession for ambitious young men. Mukesh gives tours in English and German and he seems to his hand in several enterprises.
In Mount Abu it was Dalpat. He gave us a complete introduction to Jain beliefs traditional and contemporary. Traditionally Jains practiced “aggressive non-violence.” They went into business and provided goods and services to people who were not in need. To charge people in need for goods or services would be violent. Today Jains are among the richest families in India and known for being scrupulously honest. In an unexpected twist I learned although Jain women are well educated they stay at home and clean everything in the house every day. So floors, dishware, and the like get washed everyday whether they need it or not. Dalpat talked at length about caste and marriage. I have heard Indian mothers described as very strong; still it is disconcerting to hear tales of a mother threatening suicide if her son marries a person seen as beneath him or of a man telling his wife to be very careful if she is in the kitchen with his mother. Dalpat is hoping to complete a book on Jains for the tourist trade. What lies ahead wasn’t totally clear to me, but he has ambitions and talent.
Today our guide was Rajendesa Singh, a man closer to our generation than the other guides.
We had a long conversation about Hindu burial customs. Similar to Muslims and Jews, Hindus bath the deceased immediately after death. This may be done by family members, but if the family isn’t up to it, friends may bath the body. There are also burial societies for persons who die on the streets or in similar circumstances. The body then leaves the house feet first and is carried on a bier to the cremation site. Even to this day only men can attend the cremation. After the body is burned some ashes are gathered to be placed in the River Ganges (I had assumed that all the ashes were put in the river.) Similar to other religions the mourning period is one year during which the family members don’t attend festivals. At the end of the day we wandered through the market with Raj –from our walk we inferred that India has improved. Unlike our visits to Vietnam (2002) and Indonesia (in the 1970s) we weren’t besieged by beggars, cries of “hello mister,” or insistent invitations to take a look. Raj other profession is as a freelance translator; I believe that he translates for researchers who are interviewing local people.
We have learned so much from these four men we can only give a taste of our new knowledge here.