India Warnings Or Dangers Tips by 850prc

A lot of independent business persons out there

India is a country of well over one billion people. From what I see, at least 100 million of them are independent businessmen and women, out there working on the streets. On the surface, this wouldn't quality as a warning.

BUT, many of these independent business persons are "in sales", so to speak, and their income depends on how many people they can approach and sell something to out on the streets. They may be selling postcards, books, jewelry and even entertainment... but they can be quite aggressive, or should I more correctly say "persistent". I didn't see anyone who was violent, but YES, they were "persistent". And just for definition purposes, persistence taken to its zenith can equal annoying, right?

The word used to describe these street sales persons is "tout", as in they're "touting" the merits of what they sell. Rajiv Rajawat, our terrific guide in Agra, had the following to say about dealing with the touts:

NO means maybe.
MAYBE means yes.
Yes means you're in big trouble.

His advice was to simply ignore them. Telling them no seems to bring the back and back for more. And for the most part, just shaking your head and walking by works. While we were in India, I only had to get tough with a tout once. We were in Jaipur and these guys had taken photos of the tourists on the elephants, the old prospective sale plan. Well, we didn't want the photos and ignored them. They kept after my daughter Sara and she said no and kept walking. When I saw them continue after her, I went and told them no. Then no again. Then ignored them, they kept coming. Finally, I put my arm on one guy's shoulder and yelled at him I SAID NO. NO. He was kind of unhappy with me, but it finally got the message through his head.

In most cases, the touts are just pests. In some cases, they can be dangerous. Some touts, at train stations, the airport and such, are offering their services to guide, or to help you find a hotel and such. Throwing in with these folks is always a bad idea. You'll end up at a subpar hotel, and will be wayyyy overcharged. Your luggage may mysteriously be lost, you know all the possibilities. Or maybe they'll get you a drink or something and soon - you are very very sick. There are scams involving touts and such in which they try to poison the victim, after which another helpful tout may offer to get you to a clinic. You can see where this is leading. So, beware of getting sucked into most "tout" schemes.

But everyone has to screw up once in a while, right? :) In the photo below, we see a young girl who, with her brother, were doing the native dance and music business outside a roadside restaurant called "Vegetarians Paradise". OK OK, she was very sweet, had a nice smile, and we did fall for this one. We heard their music and saw her dance. We posed for some photos and it ended up costing me about 150 Rs or so, US$3. As I was forking over the rupees, our driver (Hawa) came out of the building (he'd been having some tea) and saw me. He smiled the broadest smile, laughed a little and then just shook his head in amazement.

Do your best to ignore the touts.

Danger on the Roads, Part IV

If you are driving, or even planning a road trip, you'd better take the condition of the roads into consideration. When you are driving on all but THE most important national highways, you have to constantly be ready for potholes. And, the paving is inconsistent. You'll find long stretches of highways that are essentially gravel. So, plan plenty of time for your road trips, especially if you're leaving the main highways.

And, please slow down. You never know what's around the next bend.... anything from a herd of goats to a pile of concrete blocks.

Danger on the Roads, Part III

Besides sharing the road with horses, camels, cows, and even elephants, there's another issue to consider when driving in India.

The roads are very very crowded and space is often quite tight. You will literarlly find another car or truck's tailpipe inches from the bumper on your car. And when you're motoring along as some considerable speed, it's a bit unnerving to realize that you're one "surprise cow in the road" away from a massive pileup. And the bad news? There's not a lot you can do about it.

So, you might want to mentally prepare yourself to drive in traffic whereYOUwillBEveryVERYcloseTOcarsTRUCKSbusesANDallSORTSofOTHERvehiclesTOyourFRONTsideANDback. Breathe deep and try to relax. The driver should remain sober, but the passengers may want "one for the road". Literally.

OK, I was kidding....the last thing you need to do before driving or even riding in a car out on the Indian highways is to get liquored up. You need your senses. :)

Leave the monkeys alone

All over India, you'll see monkeys. They're in the wild of course, and they're also city residents in many places. There are species that have become quite "at home" living all around the human world. The word co-existence comes into play, and there may well be some quiet relationship between the monkeys and the humans in and near their world.

But you as the visitor.... it's a simple plan for you. LEAVE THE MONKEYS ALONE. I was warned by numerous guides and Indians, almost anytime we'd notice a monkey in town, or on a fence nearby. The monkeys may be cute, especially the little ones. And they may seem quite harmless and fun-loving. But, they have sharp, sharp teeth and are know to be very agressive if they feel threatened by your approach or interaction. The is especially true if you get near a mother with a baby... it's a good way to be savagely attacked, and bitten many, many times.

And of course, a few of these monkeys may be familiar with the rabies virus... something ELSE you don't want any part of.

So, the plan is simply. Keep your distance and watch them play. But, leave the monkeys alone.... unless you'd like to learn more about Indian emergency medicine.

Always room for more. ;)

I was amazed at how many people could share a ride in India. And while this is certainly economical and - I suppose - ecologically friendly, it does present problems. When you're following a truck loaded down with 30 or 40 people - in the back, on the roof, hanging off the bumpers, everywhere... well, you just don't know who might fall off and when.

In all seriousness, I actually never saw anyone tumbling from a moving vehicle. But, I certainly saw some passenger-packing options that would curl the hair of the average non-Indian. For example, how many people would you feel can safely ride on a motorcycle? And, I mean an average Honda Hero, maybe 250 cc.... not a giant Harley or BMW motorbike. My personal opinion is two persons...what do you think?

Well, the "record" that I saw in India was a family of FIVE riding on a motorbike. Dad was driving, with a young boy (maybe 6 years old) in front of him - holding the middle bar of the handlebars. Behind dad was another young boy, maybe 3 years old. And behind him is mom, riding side-saddle in a fancy sari - in itself a balancing feat that Ringling Brothers Circus would applaud. But there's one more.... she's holding a young baby, maybe 3 or 4 months old. They first caught my attention in traffic when I saw a bottle fall away from the motorbike. "Litterbugs" I thought and mumbled to myself. As we got abreast of them, I realized that the baby had dropped its bottle in the traffic, and as we were all moving at about 80 km/hour, they couldn't (or didn't) stop to pick it up. Truly terrifying stuff, all these people on one motorcycle.

I didn't have my camera read for the "gang of five", but I did squeeze the shutter on another group of "only" four on another motorbike. The photo accompanying this warning was taken on the highway between New Delhi and Agra.

OHSA and the Big Bhang Theory

If you're not an American, or even if you are, you may be totally confused by the title of this little warning tip. OHSA is the acronym for one of the ten zillion big-brother-state cradle-to-grave government-is-everyone's protector agencies that have sprung up in my country over the last 30 - 40 years. OHSA stands for the Occupational Health and Safety Administration. Their mantle is supposedly to make everyone's workplace safer. And while I'd agree upfront that a safe workplace is very very important, OHSA in the USA long ago passed the point of what is reasonable. There are rules on top of rules on top of rules on top of rules on top of rules... many of them, or even make that most of them, are complete nonsense. They're written not with "what is prudent safe practice" in mind, they're geared more to covering all possible bases so that

<> idiots will somehow not destroy themselves at work and
<> lawyers (God ... them) will not have anyone or anything to sue.

Well folks, it's a different story in India. You want to cook food in a restaurant? You'd better be careful so that you don't burn yourself because it's your darned problem. Do you work for a printing press? You might want to be careful with that paper-cutter, unless you're planning to go through life with one hand. You get the idea. In India, the prevailing attitude seems to be "take care of yourself". And, quite honestly, there's something refreshing about the degree of personal responsibility involved here. This is NOT a country where some boob gets a ten billion rupee settlement because they put hot coffee in a paper cup between their legs and got burned. :)

In the accompanying photo, you'll see a ladder. It's a crooked ladder. If you look closely, you'll actually see that it's about four ladders tied together. THIS is the ladder that was being used by the painters at the Nahagarh Ranthambhore Haveli in Sawai Madohpur. They were busily painting second and third floor exteriors, and they'd climb up this crooked line to get it done. This pretty much went on around the clock, 24/7.

You may wonder how in the world they can get anyone to go up on such a ladder. Well, it's all part of the Big Bhang Theory. I said bhang, not bang. You see, in India, bhang is a term meaning cannabis, or marijuana. Almost everytime I was anywhere near this crop of painters, I'd smell the unmistakable aroma of bhang. I went to college back in the 1970s and I know what it smells like, OK? I asked a couple of the painters if they had bhang and they smiled, nodded yes and even offered me some. It seems that they're much more willing to climb up that ladder and slap on a coat or two of primer after a good hit of bhang. And, when you think about it, it's probably not a totally bad idea from a safety standpoint. If they're going to fall three floors onto concrete, they're better off landing in a relaxed state. :)

I realize that my anti-OHSA rant may have offended some of you career bureaucrats out there, and I hope you can feel a thread of both sarcasm and humor in what I write. OHSA and such agencies do have their point and can trumpet their successes in America and the rest of the developed world. But, a little piece of me - perhaps it's my biology minor - tells me that OHSA and such efforts fly in the face of Darwin's Theory. The self-annihilation of idiots DOES contribute to "thinning the herd".

In the "isn't that ironic" department, I have written this tip on November 24, 2008. Today is the 149th anniversary of Charles Darwin's release of ORIGIN OF SPECIES, in which he put forth the theory of evolution. So, it's only proper that I be monkeying around with it here on VT tonight. <g>

Swastikas??? In India???

I had learned, years ago in my university studies of WWII, that the "Aryan" peoples were residents of India some 1500 years ago. They supposedly invaded India at that time, arriving from Central Asia/China. Long gone from the subcontinent, these "almost forgotten" people were referenced by Hitler and his Nazi regime in their efforts to construct a pseudo-science and history to support their purity and superiority of race theories. It's all noxious garbage of course, but history is sadly littered with despots and tyrants who created their own rules and justified their actions by rewritten and fictionalized history.

Some of the symbols of these ancient peoples have endured into the present time. One of these is the Indian version of the notorious swastika. Originating in the Aryan culture of long-ago, the swastika has morphed into use in the Hindu religion, where it is the symbol of the Sun-God Surya. It is said to represent his generosity and the direction of the swastika indicates the four cardinal directions in which sticks are placed for sacrificial fires honoring Surya.

As for its comparison to the Nazi swastika, Indians will quickly point out that the swastika of Surya is a mirror image - meaning that it faces in the opposite direction. And considering the hate and bloodshed that so many people associate with the Nazi swastika, the Indians are clearly a little edgy when visitors ask about the Hindu version.

The fact is that this ancient symbol was hijacked and converted by hatemongers in the 20th century and thereby has gained an onerous palour in many an eye. In India, it's a positive symbol of the predominant religion. You'll see it drawn and represented in many different places. You can see three examples below in my photos.

So, be prepared.... YES, that's a swastika that you're seeing. And NO, it's not THAT swastika. This one belongs to the Sun God Surya, and the ancient Aryan peoples. No connection to those murderers of the Third Reich.

Danger on the Roads, Part II

It's a fact of life everywhere... when you drive, you have to share the road. It's something that we, as drivers, get used to doing.

In India, let's just say that the size and scope of people, vehicles and other things sharing the road is much, much larger. Among the road users you'll find, even in large cities like Delhi and on main roads, are buses, lorries, road equipment, cycle rickshaws, auto rickshaws, horses, camel carts, tractors, combo tractor-truck vehicles that we labeled "Jed Clampett cars", pedestrians, dogs, goats, chickens, and even elephants.

We see insurance company commercials on TV in the US all the time. I've never seen one that involves a collision with an elephant. Gives a whole new meaning to "a damaged trunk", wouldn't you agree?

Be careful, the Indian roads are crowded and chaotic.

Danger on the Roads, Part I

Ever hear the expression, "look right and left, ahead and behind while in traffic? Well when you are driving in India, you might want to look UP as well. You will find some vehicles motoring along both in cities and on highways that are literally packed to the teeth with cargo. And, they are
lean
- - - - i
- - - - - n
- - - - - - - - g
(that's my cute way to write "leaning")

dangerously in one direction. Take a look at the photo below, taken on the highway between Agra and New Delhi.

This is India and you'll find yourself passing cars and lorries that are packed in such a way as to make you feel very uncomfortable... and you can't totally avoid them. But, for your safety and peace of mind, I'd endeavor to get past them and safely away as soon as possible.