Letters: July 2008

While initially I was captivated by the title of the feature article “Why We Travel to India,” (May 2008) as I read Shekhar Deshpande’s essay I was disappointed and dismayed at the article’s slant, equating travel with imperialism, arrogance and destruction of the very cultural phenomena that the traveler seeks to appreciate.

The article argues that travel inflicts misery, diminishes culture and degrades people and the sites one visits. The natural extension of the argument is that we should leave the great monuments to the Rajahs and Moguls who created them; that people from Gujarat should not go to Goa and Rajasthan is just for the Rajasthanis.

While it is true that popular sites, whether in India, Europe, Asia or anywhere else in the world, attract the souvenir peddlers, beggars and any number of craftsmen and women who, understandably, try to make a living off those visiting, the foreign influxes of cash can help not only to preserve the monuments, but also to promote pride and appreciation among the people who created them. To have one’s children, who were born and grew up outside of India, admire the beauty, symmetry and history of the Taj Mahal and connect with their heritage is immensely satisfying.

Almost all the travelers we met in India were warm, open and curious, whether they were resident Indians visiting sites outside of their local areas, NRIs and their children visiting the land that gave them their identity, or westerners who were there looking for a spiritual journey or, like the rest of us, simply opening their hearts and wallets to the unique experience that is India.

Last year was my first trip to India as an adult. My family and I read articles, blogs, communicated with people who shared their travel tips and ideas, booked train tickets, researched hotels, etc. India was fascinating, the people friendly and as curious about us as we were about them, the sites magnificent and we did everything we could from running the flags at the Wagah border to visiting the temples of Khajuraho, the ghats in Varanasi, and traveling the Rajasthan Golden Triangle.

We found craftsmen who, on the street with primitive tools cooperated with each other to fix hopelessly broken sandals and backpacks; guides who with pride and joy explained the intricacies of how and why masterpieces were created; hustlers who obviously enjoyed the chase and laughed with us when caught; and villagers who took us into their homes. If we took photographs of people we asked them for permission, and it was gladly given.

We were moved at how the locals dealt with the many seemingly homeless children. Taxi drivers and shopkeepers, regardless of city or locality, were polite, sympathetic and called them beti and beta, even if gently ushering them away. We did try to get the local price for admissions, not to rob the country, but to see how well we could pass as true desis. If we succeeded, which we often did, we donated the difference to charities or to local temples.

We went to a couple of malls out of curiosity and frankly it is naïve to think that they were built for tourists. We saw no foreigners there. Most travelers prefer to go to local markets and restaurants to absorb the flavor of the country. We met a French family that was taking a side trip to visit a school run exclusively by children with the goal of donating to and supporting that effort. We met Germans, Brits and Americans, and almost everyone appreciated the culture and attempted to be as un-intrusive as possible. In fact, the only negatives we saw were the inevitable red splotches, even at major historical sites and monuments, from locals spitting beetle nuts.

It is unimaginably arrogant to think that the relatively small number of tourists can so impact a country that it loses its identity, its culture and its soul when decades of foreign rule could not do so. What Deshpande saw was most likely a country coming to grips with balancing its traditions with the growing distribution of wealth and prosperity.

I, for one, encourage as many tourists as possible, especially the children of NRIs, to enjoy rural India before it modernizes. Apart from helping the locals and bringing in much needed foreign currencies, the look on their faces as they come to grips with their rich heritage will be well worth the price of admission.
Jan Vyas, Via email

Let me address one potentially inflammatory aspect of the travel habit of Indians (“Why We Travel to India?”). Whether one is at the Grand Canyon or some other great place, one can always count on having the experience ruined by people more intent on talking loudly and photographing the scene than on actually contemplating the beauty around them. And yes, most of the loud people are fellow Indians.
I took my daughter to the underwater aquarium at Sentosa in Singapore to discover that she could not see anything because of all the cameras being shoved up against the glass of the tanks. My fellow Indians doing this do not seem to care that other people were there too and may wish to remember something other than the loud-decibel nattering and the backs of people’s heads. The travel experience is regularly shattered by the inconsiderate behavior of tourists who think only of themselves.

Please let’s think of how we appear to other people when we travel. I see so many articles praising the up and coming Indian. Let us think too of how arrogant and self-important we may seem to others.
S Radhika, Via email

I am responding to Vikram Parikh’s letter (June 2008) on the cover story “Why We Travel to India.” While I do not deny that some NRIs display a superiority complex because of their economic success abroad, I have found that the basic problem with the Indian community is the lack of civil sense and utter disregard for their fellow citizens.

A few years ago, I took a trip to Australia and New Zealand with an American tour company. A group of Indian tourists (from India) joined the tour in Christchurch, New Zealand. They misbehaved so badly during the tour that I felt ashamed and avoided socializing with them. None of them knew anything about punctuality. Despite repeated polite warnings of the tour director at every stop, they would not observe the time in returning to the bus. As a result, a couple of them almost missed the bus. When the tour director was on the microphone explaining the tour details, some of them talked loudly, sang songs or turned on mini tape recorders to listen to Indian songs. They had no respect for their fellow passengers or the tour director. People have a habit of spitting wherever they can in India. If I politely request them not to spit, will I be branded an arrogant NRI? Sure I will, because spitting in public is quite normal in India. When will our community learn to be civil?
Rusi Tavadia, Novi, Mich.

The cover page of the june 2008 Little India starts with the vulgarity titled “Let’s Talk About Sex” and inside it show vulgar photos in the designated article. You term the magazine as family oriented.

I was more shocked with the painting of M.F. Hussain depicting a nude “Bharatmata,” which you had published. Another article talks about a Hindu Swami accused of child abuse.

It is utter disgrace that our own Hindus are doing this. What are you trying to show? It seems you have the lowest self-esteem and can’t think anything positive. No one dares to publish anything about Jesus, the Pope, Christianity, Muhammad, or Islam, but everything bad about Hinduism and Hindus is all right?
Alok P. S. Chauhan, New York, N.Y.

Thank you for your open discussion about sexuality. As a second generation Indian American, I can take pride in our cultural and artistic history. For the first time, I didn’t have to feel squeamish about Khajaraho or the Kamasutra, of which I knew very little, but am asked frequently about. I am better equipped to deal with those questions with confidence now.
R Sheth, Via email