In one of our past posts, one of our good readers told us that he learnt more about India in the past three months reading our blog than in his entire life.
While certainly flattered, I have to say I feel quite the opposite, i.e. I have the feeling that three lives would not be enough for me to really understand India.
(Continues...)
All Calvin & Hobbes’ readers do well know that to attract a tiger you need a tuna sandwich. But how to spot a tiger in the absence of a tuna sandwich? We discovered it on Saturday...
On Saturday we visited the Ranthambore National Park in Southern Rajasthan, the closest place to Delhi to spot tigers (but still, eight hours by train!).
Initially a bit skeptical (at least I was), we liked the park very very much. The scenery is extremely suggestive: the park develops itself around the ruins of the Ranthambore Fort, a 10th century fortress located at the top of a rocky hill in the middle of the jungle, and it is spotted by the remains of ancient temples and mosques, now covered and half-hidden by the vegetation in a landscape that somehow evokes the Jungle Book.
But how to spot one of the 42 tigers in this 1,332 sq km park? The guides of the Forest Department that kindly accompanied us explained that each animal of the jungle (birds, monkeys, deer, etc.) that sees a tiger emits a dull sound to inform the other animals that a tiger is nearby. The set of this sounds, called ‘the call’, help identifying the location of the tigers in the park.
Well then, following the ‘calls’, we wandered in the park for hours in search of tigers. We saw plenty of monkeys, alligators, thousands of different birds, a number of different antelopes, a leopard (extremely rare!), warthogs - but, as far as tigers are concerned, alas, only their tracks (and faeces)...
But be sure we won’t desist, and we will certainly come back to continue our hunt - next time with a tuna sandwich!
Seven months and 136 posts ago we started this Blog, initially as something absolutely temporary. Basically we wanted a space where we could easily upload pictures and other stuff from our wedding, and to which we could redirect people without the burden of communicating individually with everyone. As we were not technologically proficient enough to design our own website, we identified the blog as the easiest solution.
In time, the Blog changed a bit its function, and from a virtual archive, it became more and more a sort of virtual diary, or, if you prefer, a common mailing list: a space where we could collect and share our daily stories, our thoughts and reflections, and - by doing this - keep updated and keep in contact with our families and with the friends spread around the world. After hours sit in front of a computer in fact, we didn’t always have the will (and the strength) to spend additional time writing emails telling the same things to different people. And at the same time, time difference did not always make easy to simply chat over the phone.
Anyway, to make it brief, in the past months writing a blog has become a nice hobby, and often an opportunity to reflect on things and details that otherwise would easily pass away and be forgotten (a special thanks to Emanuele for his encouragement to start first, and to persist later).
Despite my initial enthusiasm however, I recently lost a bit my motivation as - not receiving many feedbacks* - I had the feeling I was writing more for myself than for the others - and that therefore the main purpose of the Blog got somehow lost**.
However, people hurried to reassure me: “Even if we don’t leave comments on your Blog, we do read it”.
Truth or adulation?
We decided then to set a small program to count the number of visits on our site. Don’t worry, your anonymity will be preserved, but at least we will know that, even from far away, you are following us. And this cheers us up!
(*) For those who wished to leave a comment on our Blog but had difficulties in doing it, you’ll find a step-by-step guide on how to post a comment on this blog in one of our past posts: http://www.matteoandmathilde.com/2009/12/how-to-comment-on-our-blog.html
(**) We would like though to thank once more our six ‘official’ followers: Clemence, Mathilde, Laura, Brice, Hu8o, and Pakto
The week end we were in Jaisalmer, was also the week end of Juve-Roma 1-2, and Inter-Milan 2-0. You all know my football faith, but for those who do not know Riccardo, I have to say that - regretfully - he is a ‘gobbo’ (‘humpbacked’, the friendly epithet by which Juventus’ supporters are commonly known in Italy).
In the world of the mobile telephony, we didn’t have much difficulty to get to know the results of the matches, even in the middle of the Thar Desert. You can then well imagine the different moods in which Riccardo and I woke-up on Monday morning when we received the long awaited sms.
Riccardo is, no question, a nice fellow, but - I discovered during this trip - he is also what we friendly call ‘un gran bastardo’ (‘a dear bastard’). Well then, look at what he did while I was away from the camp for a morning walk in the desert: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYIzGPJKviA
He calls it ‘capacity building’…
One of my favourite movies was ‘City Slickers’ (‘Scappo dalla cittá’), the story of three friends in the middle of their mid-life crises who decide - to temporarily escape their problems - to spend a vacation together playing to the ‘cow boys’ - and join an organized group who has to move a herd of cattle from New Mexico to Colorado. During that trip they have to face a number of unforeseen events, by overcoming which they eventually overcome their crises.
One of my favourite scenes in that movie is when the three friends, after having led the herd across a river in flood, proudly gallop together through the prairies singing softly the soundtrack of the Magnificent Seven...
I always dreamt to find myself in the same situation, and - with all the due differences - I had this opportunity last week, when we decided to venture in the Thar Desert on a camel. After a couple of hours of quiet ride on these loose-limbed animals in fact, we suddenly went wild and started a wild run in the middle of the dunes, inciting our camels in an improbable Hindi... an incomparable feeling of freedom!
(If you want to know who actually won the ride, check http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLmZxRwbzBI ).
We spent then a wonderful night around a fire under the stars of Rajasthan, eating dhal and chapati, and trying to teach ‘Bella Ciao’, ‘Fiume Rosso’, and the Chinese national anthem to our guides (two young kids not older than 12-13 years).
The following morning we arduously went back to Jaisalmer on the back of our camels, suffering the pains of hell for our sore bottoms.
It was beautiful overnight excursion and we spent a wonderful night - but, while massaging our butts, I was sadly observing we are not cut for the adventure anymore...
As for Jodhpur, the view of the fortress of Jaisalmer, which stately rises from the dusty and stark plain of the Thar Desert, is pretty impressive.
But the two cities are quite different. While in Jodhpur the prevailing color was blue, here everything is sandy-yellowish. And while Jodhpur’s fort basically contains the maharaja’s palace only, Jaisalmer’s fort is indeed a true citadel, with still inhabited houses, and ‘true’ people (and not tourists only) wandering about the narrow streets and alleys.
And, for us ‘visitors’, this is perhaps Jaisalmer’s main charming and, at the same time, frustrating aspect. Charming because it makes Jaisalmer ‘real’, and not just an open-air museum. Frustrating because it is indeed a pity to see amazingly beautiful buildings, houses, balconies, etc. surrounded by garbage, bad-smelling, and falling into ruin...
But this is perhaps an element that should help us to look at India without the ‘tourist’ lenses, and remind us that India, despite a steady 8% growth in the past years, is a country where 830 million people (75% of the population) live with less than 2 dollars/day, and where 45% of the households has still no access to water and sanitation. These people live in Jaisalmer as well...
January 26, 1950: India’s Constitution came into force, and India became a republic. Since then, January 26 is national holiday: Republic Day.
January 26, 2010: taking advantage of the Republic Day's long week-end, we decided to go discovering Western Rajasthan: Jodhpur and Jaisalmer.
After a neverending trip by train (15 hours, including three hours of inevitable delays), Jodhpur appeared to us almost as a mirage. In the middle of the desert, the view of Mehrangarh - the fort that dominates the old city of Jodhpur - is terrific. The massive walls appear to be all in one with the rock from which they rise. And as you approach the fort, you can't avoid to feel a bit intimidated.
But as much as frightening the fort appears from the outside, equally enchanting the maharaja’s palace looks from the inside. Skilfully fret-worked walls, coloured windows, beautifully decorated interiors... the best that Marwart art can offer.
We left Jodhpur only after few hours to be able to reach Jaisalmer by the night, but very happy to have chosen to stop in this city during our trip.
Matteo, Mathilde, Riccardo and Patricia are back from a four-day trip in western Rajasthan (Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and the Thar Desert, almost at the border with Pakistan) - tired but happy*.
We’ll post our stories and pictures in the next days. Now, straight to bed...
(*) A special thanks to Veronique for this very nice present
Les M&M’s never stop exploring.
We just finished our last laundry from Kerala a couple of days ago, and we are about to leave again. Destination: Jodhpur (the ‘blue’ city) and Jaisalmer (the jewel of the Thar Desert), in Rajasthan.
We will leave tonight and be back on Tuesday eve, as always with plenty of pictures to show and stories to tell…
In one of my past posts I happened to compare Delhi to Rome. Actually, Delhi in December and January is much more similar to Milan in winter. Cold, closed in a thick fog that causes the cancellation of dozens and dozens of flights every morning…
Everyone complains: the Indians, the foreign… while politely nodding to everyone, in truth, deeply inside, I don’t dislike it: I feel like home…
Back to Delhi after our trip to Kerala, we started the exploration of our new hometown again. And last week-end we visited the Lotus Temple, one of the landmarks of Delhi.
This is an incredible architectonical structure: inspired by the idea of a lotus flower, its design comprises 27 free-standing, almost 40 m high, marble-clad “petals”, which surround an internal dome. Impressive.
But more than the impressive architectonical style of the building, we were fascinated by the message that this construction brings along. The Lotus Temple is a gathering place open to all, indipendently from their religious beliefs - or any other difference. People of any religion can enter the temple and worship their respective Gods - side by side.
In a country whose history is marked by religious conflicts, and where religious tensions are still very much present under the surface, we found this place inspiring: a physical space of tolerance and respect…
We have finally uploaded the pictures of our trip to Kerala.
Check them at: http://picasaweb.google.com/mmmarchisio - and vote your favourite one!
Our last stop of our trip in Kerala was Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary (and Tiger Reserve), a national park created around an artificial lake resulted from the construction of the Mullaperiyar Dam. The result is indeed very scenic: a sort of prehistoric landscape, with hundred-year-old trunks emerging from the waters of the lake.
There, we saw buffalos, warthogs, monkeys, deer, thousands of birds, one elephant - but, alas, none of the 42 tigers of the reserve.
We left tropical Kerala and went back to cold and foggy Delhi, looking forward to the next trip (next week-end to Jaisalmer, in the Thar desert, Rajasthan, famous for its sandcastle and the camel market).
From Cochin, we left the coast and we moved inland, up to the Western Ghats, the lush mountains where the British used to build their summer houses.
Here, our first stop was Munnar, famous for its lolling hills covered by tea and spices plantations.
We were literally hypnotized by this landscape. For those who have never seen tea plantations, these look like a thick carpet that makes hills looking soft and puffy - like in a fairy tale.
And you feel liking diving (and swimming) into this ocean of green...
Indians’ skills as traders are well-known. And in Cochin we had a practical class of trade and commerce from those masters of sales...
We were wandering about Bazaar Road in the old town in Fort Cochin, when our attention was drawn by two men who were loudly discussing just outside a rice shop, in front of two dozens of bowls of different varieties of rice. Intrigued by the situation, we quietly got closer and observed the discussion. The two men were clearly conducting a negotiation.
As minutes passed by, we got more and more involved in the negotiation, and we started ourselves asking questions on the different types of rice: name, quality, properties, etc. After a few minutes of explanations, we decided to purchase some red rice from Kerala, and we asked the price.
- 22 rupees* per kilo - said the merchant.
- Ok, one kilo then - we answered.
- Sorry, no ‘one-kilo’. Seventy-five kilos.
- ???
In response to our puzzled expressions, the merchant explained us that he was a wholesale dealer (rivenditore all’ingrosso), and that the minimum sale was seventy-five kilos. A bit disappointed, we asked where we could purchase one kilo only of that rice, and the merchant pointed ‘Melvin Store’, the shop just opposite his, on the other side of the road.
Relieved and cheered-up, we crossed the road, we entered ‘Melvin Store’, and we asked for one kilo of the red rice from Kerala. An errand boy weighed the rice, wrapped it up, and given it to us. We had already ready the 22 rupees to pay, when the merchant of Melvin Store said: “25 rupees**”.
Half-surprised and half-annoyed (“the usual Indian shopkeeper that want to cheat the white tourists”, we thought), we said that we just came from the shop in front, and that the price was 22 rupees/kilo there. It was not a matter of the three rupees more, but a matter of principle: we wanted to be treated as all Indian purchasers!
Emotionless, the merchant responded: “That is a wholesale shop. This is a retail shop. 25 rupees”.
In vain we tried to bargain, using all our weapons: winking, humour, indignation... The price remained 25 rupees, and 25 rupees we paid.
And so, we had our class of trade and commerce. But as for those classes that leave students not fully convinced at the end of them, we didn’t quite understand why on earth the rice’s price increased by three rupees for just having crossed the road!
(*) 0.48 US$ or 0.33 euro
(**) 0.55 US$ or 0.38 euro
Matteo, Mathilde, Silvia and Chiara on a tuk-tuk
Dinner at “Old Port & Sea Food Hut”
As for its people, culture and traditions, ‘diversity’ is the main characteristic of Indian cuisine. Ingredients, spices, preparation techniques, and, ultimately, tastes, vary very much from region to region. Travelling through India is not only a cultural experience: it is a culinary experience!
Southern Indian cuisine in general, and Keralan cuisine in particular, is well renowned in the country. Characterized by seafood and by the abundant use of coconut, often served in banana leaves, we found Kerala food fresh and tasty.
We thus confirm Kerala cuisine reputation: we had excellent meals almost everywhere, and we all gained a couple of pounds (though lost the last day when we got an intestinal virus). The award for the best dinner was unanimously given to “Old Port & Sea Food Hut” in Cochin.
Kerala’s undisputed main attraction is its “backwaters”, an extensive network of lakes, lagoons, and canals that develops for hundredth of kilometers inland between coconut palms and rice fields. And in Alleppey we rent a local boat and spent a day (and a night) exploring this labyrinth.
Perhaps deceived by the descriptions in the guides we read before the trip, we expected the backwaters to be a very pristine and wild environment. In fact it is deeply anthropized, with villagers that have built houses on every embankment, strengthened every bank, shaped canals almost everywhere…
But far from being disappointed, we were on the contrary very impressed by the capacity of these people to adapt their lifestyle to this environment, and, at the same time, to shape and transform this environment to adapt it to their needs…
You can have very interesting discussions with Indians on a variety of subjects, like religion, culture, society… There are however certain topics that it is better not to touch if you don’t want the conversation to catch fire and get stuck.
Indians in fact become extremely sensitive and nationalistic on certain topics. One of these is the English colonization and its legacy. You can easily discuss for hours on whether the English did anything good for this country or not without reaching any consensus.
So, while it is pointless to argue whether the Indian railway system has been developed thanks to the British or whether the Indian would have developed it anyhow, it is undeniable that this network is impressive for its extension and capillarity.
We had our first experience on an Indian train to go from Varkala to Alleppey. 108 Km, 2h 20 minutes (+ 50 minutes delay). Almost as fast as my scooter…
While in Varkala, we also went to see a performance of Kathakali.
Kathakali is a traditional Keralan dance-drama, usually based on the Hindu epics. Drums and singing accompany the actors, who tell the story through a well codified hand gestures and facial expressions*.
The preparation for the performance is as interesting as the performance itself: the actors spend hours painting their faces (a piece of art themselves) to become the heroes and the demons of the plays…
We enjoyed this form of art that we didn’t know. And, once more, we were very impressed by the cultural diversity and richness of this country…
Our first stop in Kerala was Varkala, a former fisherman village situated on the edge of a cliff on the Lakshadweep Sea. Supposedly alternative and “fricchettona”, we found it in truth pretty touristic (but we have to admit we happen to be there probably during the most touristic week of the year).
In Varkala every individual basically offers two activities: ayurvedic massages and yoga. We tried them both.
The ayurvedic treatment was... an experience. You enter in these ‘ayurvedic centers’ and you are accompanied in a lumber-room that looks more like a torture room than a massage room: barred windows, suffused with light, a tough examination couch and a wooden stool in the middle, ropes and chains hanging from the ceiling and from the walls...
Then you are asked to undress (no changing room), and once you are naked as a worm, you are first massacred (the picture above is not a joke: they literally walk on you for half-hour), and then - once reduced to pulp - taken care of.
Apparently ayurvedic massages provide you with a number of benefits, including giving your sexual vigour back. Well, I only woke up the following morning covered with bruises and aching all over*...
(*) No worries, Silvia and Mathilde had a much more gentle treatment and actually enjoyed it very much
As far as our yoga experience is concerned, we will talk extensively about it in other posts. Just for the record, this was Silvia’s baptism to yoga - so, if it is true that our personality is strongly influenced by our prenatal experiences, then don’t be surprised if in twenty years from now Pesciolino 2 decides to leave Italy to retreat himself in a yoga ashram somewhere on the Himalayas...
A very happy new year!Matteo, Mathilde, Silvia and Chiara are back from Kerala with plenty of pictures to show and stories to tell.
We will post them, little by little, in the coming days. So, keep an eye on our blog!
Mathilde, Silvia, and Matteo (and Chiara from December 29) go to Kerala, the thin strip of land between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats in Southern India.
We’ll start from Trivandrum, almost at the Southern tip of India, and then lead north. We’ll spend a couple of days in Varkala basically relaxing: swims in the Ocean, ayurvedic treatments, massages, and yoga. From Varkala we’ll go Alleppey, a Venice-like town set around a grid of canals. There, we’ll rent a houseboat and we’ll explore Kerala’s backwaters, an infinite labyrinth of rice paddies and coconut groves that from the coast develop far inland. We’ll then continue to Cochin, a melange of Chinese, Portuguese, Dutch, Jewish, and Muslim influences, where we’ll meet Chiara. After having said good-bye to Silvia, we’ll move inland to Munnar, famous for its gentle hills covered by tea and spices plantations, and then we’ll conclude our trip in the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary, where we hope to meet tigers during one of our trekkings in the jungle...
Les M&M’s will be back on line on January 4, with plenty of pictures to show and stories to tell.
A very merry Christmas and a happy new year to all of you. And a jingle from ‘Panjabiland’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zg_102NnRw *
(*) Thanks to Gislain for the reference...
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… e guardate un po’ cosa ci ha portato!!!
Dopo un viaggio-odissea cominciato nel gelo di Malpensa e proseguito tra interminabili code ai check-in, lotte con assistenti di terra delle compagnie aeree di mezzo mondo tra le urla di migliaia di altri passeggeri inferociti, incontri con hostess gentili e steward intransigenti, infinite attese nelle sale d’aspetto dei terminal di mezza Europa, etc. Silvia è atterrata questa mattina a Delhi, alla fine con sole sei ore di, tutto sommato, accettabilissimo ritardo.
Siamo molto felici che Silvia sia arrivata… e che il suo bagaglio non sia andato perso in questa epopea!
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In one of my past posts I happen to say that the traffic in Delhi is the worst that I ever experienced. However, since then I kept on thinking what was making Delhi traffic worst than the traffic in Rome, Izmir, Bogotá, Accra, Lagos, Marrakech - or any other city where I drove...Not the fact that vehicles do not respect the right of way (common feature in all these cities). Not the fact that cars, trucks, mopeds, and handcarts (and bikes, and dogs, and pedestrians) recklessly zigzag like restive horses (as above). Not the fact that it’s not infrequent to (almost) clash with other cars (or buses, or trucks) coming in the opposite direction in your same lane. Not the cows (and the camels, and the elephants) that roam in the roads (idem, idem, idem...)
For weeks I looked for an example that could show why Delhi traffic is different. And I finally found it.
Sewa Nagar, level crossing. Cars, trucks, mopeds, and handcarts chaotically line up on the left lane (here in India you drive on the left) while waiting the train to pass. The same happens on the other side of the level crossing. Minutes go by.
And then, suddenly, cars, trucks, mopeds, and handcarts from the rear of the queue start overtaking the line of cars in front of them and mass on the level crossing on the right lane. The same happens on the other side of the level crossing. In just a few minutes, on both sides of the level crossing, a hoard of honking cars, trucks, mopeds, and handcarts entirely occupy every squared centimeter of the road, from left to right, and for hundreds of meters behind.
Finally the train passes. The level crossing opens. And…
[...]
But don't worry too much. It is proved that any human system, in the absence of rules, automatically creates a subset of (tacitly shared) norms, habits, conventions to self-regulate. So, be reassured: that mess eventually got solved, and people in the end got where they had to go. That's India.
But to draw a lesson - The secret to drive (and survive) in Delhi traffic is to understand that set of tacit norms, habits, and conventions. In short, the secret to survive in Delhi traffic is to start thinking like an Indian… And it is with this attitude that every morning I approach my scooter. And consider every ride a learning experience. If the way people drive reflects their most profound nature, every ride on my scooter offers me an opportunity to get more and more into the soul of this country…
After Pakto (our first - and still unknown - follower) and Clemence (the first friend who signed in our blog), les M&M’s welcome Mathilde, Laura, Brice, and Hu8o among their official ‘followers’.
Thanks to you and thanks to all those who discreetly follow our adventures. It’s our way to (try to) keep in contact with all of you. And thanks to those that through their comments cheer our days up, and - even from far away - keep us company…
Several of you complained that they wish they could comment our posts, but could not. I made a trial, and have to admit the process is a bit ‘farraginous’. But here below a step-by-step guide on how to post a comment on our blog:
- Click on “Comment” at the bottom of the post you want to comment
- Write the comment in the “Post a Comment” space (hope no problems until here…)
- Select your profile: you have several options. Choose “Anonymous” (this is the easiest option; below some more 'advanced' options*)
- Click on “Post your Comment”
!!! Careful here, here it comes the tricky part !!!
- Most likely you will receive a warning: “Your request could not be processed. Please try again”
- Do not desist: click again on “Post your Comment” (this is where most people get stuck)
- Now: a window with a Preview of your comment should appear, and a request for “Word verification”
- Re-type in the proper space the colored word that appears under “Word verification”
- Click on “Post Comment”
- Now your comment should be published**
(*) Select your Profile - Advanced options: You can also select the option “OpenID”, and write your name (or pseudonymous). Your comment would then appear as written by you (or by your pseudonymous). For those who have a Gmail or a Blogger account, you would probably find among the various profile options the one with your name. As above, if you select that option, your comment would result sent under your name.
(**) For the benefit of the meticulous, I leave you the link to a comprehensive ‘Beginner guide on how to comment on a blog’, found, just to be original, on someone else blog: http://darraghdoyle.blogspot.com/2008/05/how-to-comment-on-blog-beginners-guide.html
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