War or no war, it’s that time of year again.
So far as I am able to judge, nothing has been left undone, either by man or nature, to make India the most extraordinary country that the sun visits on its rounds. Nothing seems to have been forgotten, nothing overlooked.” — Mark Twain
Well, Twain may have known otherwise,
but growing up in India, to this writer, like most Indian Americans, India
was just India, home. There was the big undiscovered world outside and
then there was India — just Here, home.It was an electric fan whirring noisily overhead in the Delhi heat as one did homework. It was the street food in crowded marketplaces. It was walks at sunset at the Gateway of India during occasional visits to Bombay and the bracing mountain air of Mussoorie during summer vacations in the hills. India was simply home, the place where one lived, a swirl of familiar places and people.
It is only when Indians travelled abroad that awareness dawned of its sheer magnitude, its incredible colors and scale as if one were magically flying above it, taking in an aerial view of the subcontinent. It may sound like a paradox, but living in the West one seem to have got to know India so much better. Part, of course, has to do with nostalgia — that sweet malaise, which affects just about every immigrant. India seems just so elusive, seductive, drenched in a longing, which colors every memory and experience from the past. Anything with the word “India” alerts our radar.
But part also has to do with the voracious appetite for the intricate details of India that the West seems to have: after all, how many Indians first saw the multiple marvels of our home country on the Discovery Channel or on National Geographic? Whether it’s the tigers of Ranthambore, the camel fair at Pushkar, or the snake boat races of Kerala, chances are we viewed them first on American television.
Many of us got our first glimpse of icons of Shiva Nataraja from the Chola period or Mughal miniatures at the Metropolitan Museum of Art or Asia Society. The wealth of coffee table books on Indian subjects from antiquities to textiles, the enormous number of travel articles in publications from The New York Times to Vanity Fair, all open windows to the many wonders of India.
But instead of these armchair travels, why not catch the many pleasures of India in real time? Come summer, like migrating birds, Indians head homewards to reconnect with parents and extended family. Over the years most have gone directly to their hometowns without exploring the larger India surrounding them.
But just think of the possibilities!
India is several countries, several centuries, several cultures rolled
into one. It has 29 states and six Union Territories, each with its own
idiosyncratic culture, crafts and cuisine. Stretching from the snow clad
Himalayas to the tropical rain forests of the south, the country encompasses
every climate. The figures are mind-boggling: India is 3 million sq. km.
It has 49,000 species of plants, 81,251 species of fauna, including 11,228
species of birds, 372 species of animals and 2,546 species of fish. It
has 84 national parks and 447 wildlife sanctuaries covering over 150,000
sq. km. And then of course, imagine the drama of a billion people swirling
with their own dreams and ambitions. It’s a little like opening Baby Krishna’s
mouth and seeing the entire universe inside.The North beckons you to Delhi, Haryana, Chandigarh, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttaranchal and Uttar Pradesh; the West Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa, Daman and Diu, Madhya Pradesh, and Chattisgarh; the East West Bengal, Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands; and the North East Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim. Then one heads South to Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka. Imagine the countless colorful worlds within each, the sparkling cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore and hundreds of others, along with thousands of small towns and green villages. Can one really see all this in one lifetime?
Well, the good news is that gradually NRIs have started exploring the marvels of their own homeland. As Indian immigrants have made it in America, many more are journeying back to experience the country’s tourist meccas. As their American born children grow up, they too are curious about the many places they have only read about. Three decades ago, travel in India might have been rough, but now, thanks to international tourism, India bosts the most sophisticated travel amenities. Now might be the time to introduce the family to the India that travelers from Huen Tsang, Marco Polo, and E.M.Forster to Jackie Kennedy, Goldie Hawn and Sting have raved about.
These are not of course the best of times: America is at war and travel is about the last thing on people’s minds. Yet war or no war, summer is round the corner and tens of thousands of Indian Americans will head to India to connect with family, no matter the risks or the economy.
“It’s not as good as it should be, but we’re expecting things to improve after the war is over,” says Krishna Arya, regional director of India Tourism in New York. “Americans are also still traveling, but it’s less now because of security concerns. NRIs are, however, traveling to India. All the Air India flights are going full and this week the airline is adding another flight from Newark.”
Arya adds, “India is one country that offers everything that you want to see from the Himalayas to the beautiful beaches, palaces, forts — history, nature, culture — everything is there. People from India who are living in the U.S. have probably not seen different areas in India, but now amongst the NRIs we have very affluent people who do go for holidays to Europe and Africa and we would like them to travel to India for leisure. So whether it’s the NRIs or their children who want to experience the culture, we have many possibilities and opportunities.”
India has certainly become a comfort
zone for tourists, because the travel infrastructure is now in place due
to the large influx of international tourists and business travelers.
At the same time, corporations in India are also organizing incentive
travel for their employees and domestic tourism is also growing.Palan Katgara, head of the New York office of TCI, which was established 103 years ago in Bombay and is currently the largest privately owned travel company in India, says, “Definitely the war and the economy have affected the travel business. We are down almost 50 percent and those who are traveling are mostly NRIs or Americans who have experienced the country before and so are not hesitant to travel there right now. Things are going to come around and India in the long run, in our judgment, is going to do very well.” Chandan Sen, director of Mercury Travels Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Oberoi Hotels and Resorts, which has been catering to both mainstream and NRI tourists for 14 years in the United States, says: “Travel has been very badly hit. The mainstream business, which is our livelihood, has really suffered post-Sept. 11. India is seasonal travel from September to March and just as the war started, we were getting to the end of our tourist season. In the last three months people have canceled trips and the economy has slowed down. If the war gets over quick, we’ll have some time to recoup and reconcile and figure out how to place ourselves in the marketplace.”
For the NRI market, summer and winter are the peak times so May through August are crucial months. The NRI traffic has been impacted too and has declined from last year, but there are hopes that by December, which is a favorite month for travel with Indian Americans, things will pick up again.
Katgara has observed a sea change in the NRI attitude toward tourism: “We are seeing a very positive change in the NRIs. Indians have realized that India is a great destination for them, not only to visit friends and family but also for sightseeing trips. They are staying at the best hotels and traveling with large families, six, eight, 10 people.”
He adds that the popular places currently are the Golden Triangle of Delhi-Agra-Jaipur, Kerala and Lakshdweep. Travelers to South India are also taking a few days off in the Maldives Islands and Sri Lanka, close to the tip of India and newly basking in peace, is also an option.
“The NRI share of the market is growing and there has been a very steady and healthy growth over the last few years, especially amongst the younger generation,” says Sen. “A lot of awareness has been created through campaigns and the Internet is a boon for young adults who have been looking for information. They don’t want to just go back to the family, but want to venture out and see a little bit more of the country. The under-30 crowd from colleges and universities talk to their friends and word of mouth brings them in.” The student crowd often stays in first class hotels, but also is into adventure travel and the options include mountaineering, trekking and river running, including rafting, canoeing and kayaking. Places like Garhwal and Kumaon regions of Uttarakhand and Kullu-Manali, which are in the foothills of the mountains, are great for trekking.
There are at least 100 different programs
depending on the difficulty of the trek you want to take and the number
of days you can spend,” says Sen. “Mercury has its own separate unit of
mountaineering and adventure and over the past three years has conducted
camps at the base of the River Ganges in Shivpuri. This has become a hot
spot just by word of mouth. We pitch our own tents next to the roaring
Ganges. Cooks are there to cook the food, and the camps have yoga and
meditation too. The most exciting part for these young adults is to go
whitewater rafting, crossing rapids.” Since most students can take off just 15 days and intend to spend at least a week with relatives, Mercury has devised four week-long Golden Triangle tours, allowing travelers to choose a trip which is closer to their hometown: the North triangle is the Delhi-Agra-Jaipur; South is Chennai-Bangalore-Cochin; West is Bombay-Aurangabad-Goa and East is Calcutta-Bhubaneshwar-Varanasi.
What kind of hotels do the students prefer? Says Sen, “India is a place where you have hotels from $25 to $250 a night. We custom design the program on the budget they have, starting from first class to super-luxury hotels.”
Although the luxury resorts were designed for foreign tourists, of late many NRIs, professionals and corporate people, are catching a few days at these resorts. Sen says, “It’s a very healthy growth. The numbers may not be that big yet, but the growth is very encouraging. We are finding another trend amongst NRIs, a couple of families are traveling together. They form a group and they get a lot of advantages such as group fares, discounted hotel and air travel, so it’s a very smart move and good for everybody.”
Katgara has also seen Indian physicians combining business and pleasure as TCI organizes continuing medical educational tours for physicians of AAPI, in which the trip becomes a tax write-off for doctors and they getsadded work credits at the same time while having a nice holiday. The trip has to be pre-approved by the institution and pre-certified by the physicians’ CME program.
He points out that Body, Mind and Soul tourism featuring Ayurveda is also booming in resorts: “Indians are going in for these. People are reading up and doing things, it’s really catching on with NRIs. Yoga and meditation may be more popular with Westerners, but ayurvedic treatments, which offer solutions without any side effects, are catching on with NRIs too. The movement started in Kerala, but has now spread to many parts of the country. Almost everymajor hotel now has an ayurvedic center or a spa.”
One of the hottest health spas is Ananda,
nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas in Rishikesh, a 45-minute flight
from Delhi. Awarded the Best Spa by Travel & Leisure and Conde Nast Traveler, this 21,000 sq. ft spa is built around the 100-acre palace and estate of the Maharaja of Tehri Garhwal, and overlooks the Ganges. If you’re looking to de-stress or to remake yourself, this is the place with everything from yoga, Ayurvedic programs and both Western and Oriental therapies.
Health and fitness is big and the luxury hotels cater to this trend. All the Oberoi resorts have state-of-the-art spas, which are operated by the noted Banyan Tree and these have been written up extensively in the Western media. At the spa in Rajvilas, for instance, you can get just about every treatment, including “Solah Shringar,” a prenuptial beauty treatment for the bride that comprises of full body exfoliation with sandalwood and turmeric, followed by an Indian head massage and a full body massage with perfumed body oil.
The Hyatt Regency in Kolkata has Club Prana with a gym room, spa pools and treatment rooms, a beauty salon, a swimming pool and tennis and squash courts; Park Hyatt Goa Resort & Spa located on Arossim Beach, in the southern part of Goa, is designed with a Portuguese village theme, and features a village plaza with numerous restaurants, bars, shops and entertainment as well as its own chapel and movie theatre. It is also home to Sereno Spa, a 28,000 sq. ft. indoor and outdoor space that offers holistic treatments and therapies, which integrate Ayurveda and Yoga with contemporary spa principles of thalassotherapy, aromatherapy and energy.
Tamara is a new ayurveda spa at the recently renovated Taj Malabar, in Cochin, Kerala, part of Taj Hotels, Resorts and Palaces. The hotel overlooks the sea and breathtaking backwaters of Kerala, which is supposed to be the birthplace of ayurveda. Tamara provides authentic ayurvedic treatments under the supervision of resident ayurvedic physicians, who customize treatments, and is managed by the Ayushman Ayurvedic Trust, one of the leading purveyors of holistic therapy in India. The spa offers one- to 7-day packages year-round, which cover rejuvenation treatments. The Taj Malabar is the group’s second hotel featuring an ayurveda spa, and The Ayurveda Centre at the Taj Residency in Calicut, Kerala opened in 1999 While spiritual tours, adventure sports and wild life tours are popular with westerners they have not caught the imagination of most Indians. Though young Indians are into trekking and whitewater rafting and other sports tourism, most NRIs prefer to relax at deluxe properties at traditional circuits like Agra, Jaipur and Goa.
The new trend in Indian tourism is
the many new luxury resorts and palaces and NRI travelers are quick to
snap up the discounts between April and September, when hotel rates are
as much as 50 percent lower. (In places like Darjeeling of course, it
is high season at that time.) Even Palace on Wheels — the legendary royal
train across Rajasthan — drops its rates in April, although the train
does not operate from May to August.India has just about every kind of hotel and the leading ones compare favorably with the best in the world. The major players are the Taj, the Oberoi and the Wellcome groups, along with the ITDC, Hyatt, Marriott and Hilton chains. Hyatt is undertaking a major expansion program in India and will have six properties by next year. Three hotels opened within the last year, and a fourth is under development. Bernd Chorengel, president of Hyatt International comments, “India has been a development focus for the past several years.”
Hotels are recruiting international architects and landscape artists: the Hyatt Regency Mumbai for instance is created by three teams, Skidmore Owens and Merrill of London, Hafeez Contractor of Mumbai, and interior designer Bilkey Llinas Design of West Palm Beach, Fl. The Grand Hyatt Mumbai, which is scheduled to open in 2003, will be part of a mixed-use development with a large retail shopping complex and 150 apartments. Long-term guests can check in at the fully serviced Grand Hyatt apartments, studio, one, two and three bedrooms, which come with an equipped kitchen.
While India has many new beach resorts, luxury hotels, business hotels, palace hotels and boutique hotels, the largest number of new resorts are coming up from Oberoi Hotels and the Taj Group. In 2003, Taj Hotels, Resorts and Palaces, which comprises of 50 properties in 34 locations throughout India and an additional 12 properties abroad, celebrates its 100-year anniversary.
These resorts are not to be found just
on the beaten track. How about the Maldives? Taj has opened a second resort
there, the Taj Exotica, a deluxe five star property Located over a half-mile
stretch of blue lagoon, it is a private getaway on one of the many tranquil
islands of the Maldives, and is a 20-minute speedboat ride from the Male’
International Airport. The secluded retreat features intimate thatched
villas with private plunge pools and a breathtaking honeymoon suite. The
stone floors are imbedded with glass inserts to catch glimpses of the
many exotic fish that swim below. “We’ve created a resort which offers minimal structure yet offers the very best in luxury accommodation and allows a constant interaction with the ocean,” said Salil Dutt, general manager.
“The Maldives is the ideal location for honeymooners, couples that want to renew their vows, water-sport fans or simply travelers who want to enjoy peace and tranquility in an exotic location.”
The hotel features Mandara Spa, with a range of therapeutic treatments, including traditional Asian therapy as well as a combination of five different massage styles, which integrate traditional Asian therapies and beauty rituals with classic European spa techniques. Want to stay in a real palace and be maharaja for a day? The newly renovated Taj Lake Palace in Udaipur is an island unto itself, seemingly afloat on the still blue waters of Lake Pichola. Originally built in the 18th century, the hotel continued to serve as the summer residence of the maharajas of Udaipur until 1955. Reconstruction work began in 1959 to convert the palace into a hotel, and in 1971 it became one of Taj Group’s flagship properties. 1n 1983, the hotel gained worldwide recognition as one of the scenic locations in the James Bond movie Octopussy.
Along with the many heritage palace hotels that dot the country, there are several amazing new resorts that recreate the style and architecture of the maharajas, but embed it with super-modern conveniences. The Oberoi Group has perfected this art, especially with its Vilas properties — Rajvilas in Jaipur, Udaivilas in Udaipur and Amarvilas in Agra. These are the kind of retreats emperors and maharajas might have built had they lived in the year 2003: rich medieval architecture and detailing, but with jacuzzis and plunge pools and unlimited Internet access. They signify the new breed of small luxury hotels that are created on an intimate scale.
Dimple Kapadia and Rajesh Khanna’s
daughter Twinkle.Want the lotus-eaters way of viewing the Taj Mahal without stirring from your bed? Then you need to book a room at the Amarvilas in Agra, located just 650 yards from the seventh wonder of the world — all 112 rooms offer views of the white marvel. You can catch it at dusk or dawn or even by moonlight right from your room. This beautiful new resort has landscaping, which integrates terraced lawns, geometric pools and pavilions. The luxurious Kohinoor Suite has a separate living room, dining area, study and private terrace, all of which offer views of the Taj Mahal.
Udaipur, regarded as the most romantic city in Rajasthan, has been called the “Venice of the East.” Besides the real palace hotels, the new gem is Udaivilas, which is created in the traditional Mewari (of the Mewar kingdom of the Sisodia dynasty, who ruled Udaipur) style, using traditional building methods and technologies, with domes, arches, pavilions, turrets and jalli screens. There is also a Candle Room, a miniature “Sheesh Mahal” or glass palace that shimmers when candles are lit.
Vanyavilas, in Rajasthan, is located on a 20-acre site, adjacent to the famous Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve and National Park, and is reputed to be the first luxury “Jungle Camp” in India. The resort has 25 luxury air-conditioned tents on 20 acres with many trees and extensive natural flora. The pleasures include wildlife viewing expeditions, elephant rides, tennis and a spa, but also a chance to see the elusive Bengal tiger, leopards, monkeys and over 270 species of birds.
Another thriving segment of NRI travel is the wedding and honeymoon crowd. For some time now, NRIs have been conducting the weddings of their children in heritage palace hotels in Rajasthan or in luxury hotels in major cities, where the wedding crowds literally takes over the hotels for a week or so. Weddings are also being held in the ancient fort resorts like Neemrana and Samodh in Rajasthan as well as Goa.
Young Indian Americans have discovered
India as the ideal honeymoon spot. Their parents might have honeymooned
in a fast-disappearing heavenly Kashmir, but the new generation can travel
to the languid backwaters of Kumarakam in Kerala where something akin
to the seductive shikara boats of Kashmir can be found. The Casino Group
and the Taj Group both have romantic retreats spread all over the backwaters.
Goa, with all the luxurious resorts including the newest, Taj Exotica,
can dish up quite a honeymoon. The Oberoi Vilas properties also have special
honeymoon packages where between the luscious rooms, candle-lit glass
walled bathrooms with sunken baths, and the soothing spas, the new couple
may never want to return to the real world.Some NRIs are even going for dental safaris! Dental implants, newer crown and bridge dentistry procedures, ceramic laminate veneers, laser dentistry are all being offered by the Pradhan Dental Center in Mumbai along with a customized travel plan in India. Dr. Suchetan Pradhan, who also heads the department of dentistry at Hinduja Hospital, along with several dentists came up with the idea. “A huge spectrum of smiles of models, Bollywood stars, TV personalities are our creations. We saw from the early 90’s a great upsurge of patients from foreign countries, mainly U.S., U.K., Africa, coming to India solely for treatment purposes,” he says.
“Nearly 20 percent of our practice is based on dental tourists, because we offer quality treatment at a fraction of the cost in the West. As you can well imagine if a person needs reasonable amount of dental treatment, he can have a holiday, get his treatment done and still save a lot of money.”
Dental tours! Now we’ve seen it all!
But in India, something new, something
weird is always happening, connecting the present to the past. Recently
a British ship wrecked late in the 18th century was discovered on a coral
reef off the island of Bangaram in Lakshdweep Islands. The Indian navy
has salvaged canons, porcelain and brown glazed pottery among other things.
Yes, history continues to teem underground. Other major excavations are
planned off the Mahabalipuram Coast near Madras and for the mythical city
of Dwarka, which like Atlantis, sank into the sea. In a novel experiment,
a Bangalore IT company is recreating the architectural splendor of Hampi,
the seat of the mighty Vijaynagar Empire, to showcase the site as a tourist
destination. There is too much to see in India and not enough time to see it all. The lost glory of the 17th Century Red Fort in Delhi built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan is being restored, and water is once again flowing in the ancient moat. Even the fountains in front of the Rang Mahal are “playing” again and artisans are busy restoring the semi precious “pietra dura” (inlay) work in the Diwan-e-Khas. A secret tunnel, which once connected the fort to the Yamuna River, forgotten for years, will soon be re-opened. One could soon walk this forbidden tunnel and end up at the bank of the holy river.
India is full of surprises. Where else could you get authentic French baguettes in an Indian bakery and see French architecture all around you with “Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite” engraved on the gates of the town? This bit of France in India is the town of Chandranagor in West Bengal and indeed, one octogenarian Bengali resident, Kalicharan Karmakar, still receives a pension from France!
So many untold stories, so many surprising
facts are hidden away in dusty towns and remote villages. The thick undergrowth
of the lush Arunachal Pradesh rain forests harbor the smallest deer in
the world, the leaf deer, which weighs just 11 kgs! And new pleasures
for the traveler are being created every day. Guwauhati, a century after
the first picturesque train rolled down the Lumding-Badarpur Hill section
of the Northeastern Frontier Railway, is to be transformed into a tourist
attraction. The 183 km long scenic hill section dotted with over 586 bridges
and 37 tunnels has the uniqueness of a jungle safari. A vintage steam
locomotive adds the finishing touch to this “Jatinga Steam safari,” which
is all set to carry tourists in the days to come.And let’s face it; India
is still one of the biggest bargains in the world. Eight dollars wouldn’t
get you a yellow cab from uptown to downtown in New York, but it moves
you all the way from Delhi to Jaipur in a brand new air-conditioned luxury
Volvo B7R bus in five hours — and they even throw in a delicious free
lunch!
If your appetite has been vetted, check
out the website of the Indian tourist bureau at http://www.tourismofindia.com/Look up their intriguing booklet, Incredible India — 101 Things To Do for such ideas as a 22 carat gold facial at the Shahnaz Herbal parlors in India with pure gold gel and cream to stimulate blood circulation and lymphatic drainage; or visit the oldest restaurant in India, Karim’s, in Old Delhi, close to the Red Fort, and sample their kofta, peppery ground lamb tenderly embracing a boiled egg; and succulent chicken yogurt laced with spices that burst upon the palate like star shells.