TechTalk

27/12/2007 In Just ! Me by Brad Slavin

Just leaving Jaipur the Pink City another Fort built by the brothers, sons, sisters husband of some Emperor of India from 300 years ago. I don’t want to sound cynical but we have probably seen 6 forts and twice that in Temples and Palaces. The reason for my lack luster attitude is not the locations or the architecture but it is really the similarities between these buildings. I am finding myself trying to find the differences between one fort and another, some subtle hint that in the fifty years since one was build and the other started that they learned something, changed something and were not doing the same thing the same way just in a different city.

Metal rings at the House of Commons on the exterior of the building indicated that when the House was in session that there were carpets draped from those rings to shield the goings on from the women in the crowds. They also protected from the elements and enclosed these great walls. Each guide has their own special way of doing these tours, some use repetition and others comparisons between this fort and that fort.

The huge differences in my unsophisticated mind are where the structures were build. In Agra and Delhi there are almost no hills or mountains, the land just goes on and on like an Iowa cornfield. But here is Rajasthan mountaintop Palaces and Forts are the pride of the city. Elephants amuse the tourists with tours up the windings paths to the encampments and down in the cities they haul heavy loads for the locals. I have said it before, but India is Incredible.

The balance and the harmony is just something that is indescribable, like an Indian G-d, there are many hands to India. One the one hand it is a shit hole; The smell of human waste in the alleys can be overwhelming, but you then emerge onto a bustling and relatively well lit, and clean street with name brand clothing outlets. On the other hand you see so many handicapped people that you want to just cry out for each of them, but then you see that the people that have no use of their legs have specially designed bikes that allow them to propel their load with their hands. A man without legs and a man with functioning faculties both deliver the same goods by bike up and down the crowded streets.

There is a fascination that I have with the balance; things just seem to work here. From the claustrophobic crowds all moving together like a school of fish towards the market without a complaint or care when then are bumped into. Or the way that using the sidewalk as a road when a cow decides to block the streets. The people just seem to understand that the inconvenience of loosing the sidewalk is nothing as compared to traffic stopping for five short minutes. For me, it’s the people. The sites are amazing and have to be experienced but it is the people that really stand out.

Our guide Sanjeev from Abyss Travel in Delhi has been absolutely amazing. His mantra seems to be “I am here to be of service to you.” And there is nothing that happens during the day that seems to take that serious small from his face. I still have some good old skepticism about the relationship that we have, but I have complete faith that being with him here in India is the best thing for us right now. His English is not great, but he makes up for it in driving acumen and knowledge of the scams and commission hungry guides. I know he survives on tips, his happiness is directly related to our happiness. I enjoy symbiotic relationships; they keep things in check.