India is such a land of contrasts. I guess you could say that about lots of places, but here those contrasts are totally in your face. They are not subtle nuances of life.
We are here in Jodhpur staying in the ancestral home of Shri Bachraj Ji Singhvi, who was the commander-in-chief of the local Maharajah’s army in the area and the home has been turned into a hotel. The home was built in 1889 and five generations have lived here and grown up in this house. Ironically, the great great grandfather who had the house built never actually lived here, but he used it as a summer home and he lived with his troops at the post he commanded.
It’s a lovely “home,” as they call it. It’s actually a mansion and when it was built it was outside the city in a rural area. But, as we all know India grew in population and the home was engulfed in the poster child for urban sprawl, India style. Through the generations, the number of people living here diminished as the girls got married and went off with their husbands and the men found their professions and moved around the world.
The present owner and 5th generation family member to live here turned it into a “heritage house,” as they are called here in India. It still retains all the flavor of old Indian insiders. It is painted white, even though we are in the “blue city,” and has a three-tiered roof area for dining and relaxing in the evenings. Bougainvilla, Peruvian lily and hibiscus adorn the outside garden area which with its high walls keeps the outside world at bay. A good thing too since there is, as is typical, a very trashy area just outside the walls.
The inside areas are adorned with relics from family history, photographs from the generations, and artifacts that make the place look like you really are in an existing plush Indian home.. There are now 17 guest rooms and they are booked at a 2 to 1 ratio by foreigners to Indian nationals. There is an excellent restaurant to further consolidate the effect. The whole place has the feel of class and sophistication, and all this at $50 a night.
That’s the Yin and as soon as you go outside the walls and across the little entry way, you are immediately immersed in the Yang. The noise starts immediately. Constant honking of horns, the various sounds of the powered transportations from the little hum of motor scooters to the roar of the big trucks, with tuk-tuks providing a tuk, tuk, sputter, pop, tuk tuk sounds and they ply the streets trolling for fares. The voices of dozens of men attending little shops and stands along the road selling goods and services peal across the streets as they hawk their wares. The simple fact is that India is noisy, very noisy. There are not quiet moments on the street…not ever. We’ve been out in them from 5:30 in the morning until almost midnight and it’s the same. Constant noise. So here in India you can find places of serenity and peace, but they are far more scarce than the noise of the street.
India is simply alive, alive with a vibrancy that is unlike anywhere I have ever been and it is infectious. I won’t say that I like the constant noise, but it feels really strange when I enter the asylum of the hotel…the hotel feels unreal, otherworldly, whereas India’s streets where a billion people plus are, and they are indeed out on the streets…there is always a gaggle of people walking, either in town or in the rural areas. The women walk with colorful saris trailing behind them with the whoosh of cars flying by at speeds that should read: “do not do this within city limits.” It difficult for me not to feel connected to all this. I don’t really feel like a foreigner here. It all feels very natural and that the universe is in order. I am often asked what changes I notice in the 53 years since I was last here and honestly, I don’t see that many…some cosmetic changes, more people, more cars, more young people are choosing their mates, the IT industry here is huge, but India seems to be true to its core. This ancient land of different tongues and the princely states is still the same India as it was in the Raj, the British period. I don’t see or sense fundamental changes in Indian society.
I’ve never been anywhere I didn’t like, and I don’t favor one place over another, but India is certainly a place that stands for itself, it doesn’t blend like many European countries do, or even South American. I think it would be very difficult to come to India and not be engulfed by your surroundings. I’ve talked with many people who can’t get past the smell, the poverty, the trash, the noise, the constant crowds…they are unable to see India for what it is. A vibrant, energetic place where I feel “all in.” I just feel alive here.
Headline of the day: “Smelly poo forces Dubai bound flight to return to UK.”…..oops, somebody forgot to flush.
