INDIA … “HOLY COW”

So here we are in India … I must admit I was feeling a bit apprehensive. ( that alone says a lot … since I am usually one to jump in head first and look back later. ) I had heard “not such great things” about India … how filthy it is, overcrowded, unbearable traffic … constant smell … you should not eat the food, you should take malaria pills before even entering the country because of the mosquitoes and you should not breathe the air … so after all that … you might likely conclude not to get off the ship at all … especially coming off a respiratory infection. But I was curious … we came all this way … we are here for 5 days … I needed to see the Taj at a minimum. So we jumped in … went to the Taj and then found our way around Mumbai.

And after all that, I can say the “not so great things” are TRUE … but … it is an amazing country and I fell in love with the culture and the people.

It all starts with a warm greeting … a nod with folded hands … “Namaste” … “Praise to you” or “Honor to you” … in India it is simply a kind greeting … not the overused “hip” term that is a fad in the US … used at the end of every yoga session.

Namaste … our introduction to India. ( This pic is from a fancy hotel we stayed at but it is typical for someone to bow their head and fold their hands acknowledging you. )

India goes back 9000 years. It was colonized by the Portuguese in the late 1400’s, started with the Dutch, followed by the Brits who had a presence for over 450 years. In 1858 the English took over governing the country but in 1947 Gandhi led a bloodless revolution gaining independence for India.

Today you still sense the British influence but gradually, it seems to be changing as the country reclaims its own identity. Mumbai, the financial center of India was known under colonial rule as Bombay … ( anyone around 60 years ago may remember that ) … Bombay was a name chosen by the Brits … so in 1975 they brought back its original name, Mumbai … as it is known today.

The population of India is 1.4B ( 23 Million more than China ) … the most populated country in the world. And with all those people …comes all that traffic … it is a problem … a mix of motor cycles weaving in and out, Tuk Tuks , cars, buses and cows … Yes Cows … that is another conversation.

Drivers are like NYC drivers … but kinder ( no middle finger ) as they cut in front of you at every opportunity … opening or no opening. They do honk horns ALOT but it is not interpreted as unfriendly … rather alerting someone where you are on the road.

Busses have an interesting system for dealing with the traffic, the honking and the cows. A bus has 2 drivers, “a team” … one doing the driving and the other who sits next to the driver … like a “copilot” … his job is to look at all sides of the road to be sure they do not hit anything. So as a passenger … as long as you do not look too closely out the window … it feels fairly safe. ( Better than my driving ). And of course it helps being the biggest vehicle on the road … so what appears to us as driving chaos … they are use to … and unphased. And there are surprisingly few accidents.

Today 81% of the Indian population is Hindu with 4.5% Muslim. ( They have the second largest population of Muslims in the world ) The remainder represent a mix of other religions. Most speak Hindi but there are 29 other dialects. Hinduism provides a strong spiritual foundation that guides their life, their culture and their value system.

Hindus believe “Cows“ are sacred and holy. Cows are close to God ( Holy Cows ) and treated like you would treat your mother. They would never kill a cow … and killing a cow … even by accident with your car … is worse than killing a person. Most families have a cow … but when the cow can no longer produce milk many cannot afford to keep it … so they release it to the streets. The community takes care of the cow … cooking for the cow and bringing it food. Sounds like a pretty good life to be a cow … they all look well fed.

As you would expect they do not eat beef, they will eat water buffalo … though most are vegetarians. Their tropical climate produces lots of fruit and vegetables … bananas, pineapple, papayas. They are the number one producer of mangos … shipping out 40% of the worlds’ supply. Fortunately … though the weather is hot … it is less humid than Southeast Asia and the rainy/monsoon season is from June to August when they get most of their rain.

Hindus believe in a cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth. It is about the soul … the soul passes through a long cycle of existence occupying different bodies. They also believe in Karma ,,, Karma is basically “do good and good will come back to you in this life or the next” … that is necessary to elevate the soul. Hard work and respect to everyone is expected.

Woman are greatly respected. ( Up there with cows ) and the mother plays a very important role as the nurturer of the family … everyone respects their elders and cares for them.

So the mother plays a big role in Indian society. India has an arranged marriage system … 85% use this system to find a partner. It is not like the TV show “Married at First Sight” … they don’t show up at the alter to see their spouse for the first time … instead they put ads in the newspaper for potential suitors and then the mothers of both the son and daughter work together to find what they believe would be a good match.

The children meet several times and if all goes well and there is a connection they marry. Divorce is infrequent and they claim the “unmatched marriages” have a divorce rate of 80% vs “matchmaker marriages” that tend to work for a lifetime. Typically after marriage they live near or with the grooms parents and the son and his wife are expected take care of his elders.

Weddings are big in India. 2000 to 5000 people attend over several days .. if you have only 500 or so you are basically considered a loser. ( I would fall in the loser category … I don’t even know 2000 people let alone 5000 ). A wedding is a huge celebration and many venues exist just for this purpose. The vibrant colors of saris and the jewelry are beautiful … a dowry of gold jewelry is presented for the wedding.

In everyday life people are fully clothed … None of this ripped jeans stuff, your butt hanging out or gym clothes.

Woman wear beautiful saris and men, pants and light colored shirts. The people seem very kind, patient and mannered … a novel concept for us … and you do not sense hostility, though they can be tough negotiators in business transactions.

Today they still produce many of the traditional crafts.

Hand woven silks, rugs, inlaid marble, jewelry and embroidery. They tend to use rich vibrant colors …

The detail of the work is exquisite and no longer produced by hand in most parts of the world …. It is truly a Mecca for the Arts.

So India blew me away … just loved it!!! Yes parts are still dirty, smelly and polluted … and you have to be VERY careful what you eat ( Tom can attest to that ) … but it is an amazing country with a grounded foundation in Hinduism. And where else could one imagine a bloodless revolution … the Indians are guided by strong spiritual values that will serve them well as the rest of the world continues to rage and boil over with hate. I can only say “Holy Cow” … Hooray for India.

NEXT STOP OMAN … DAY 131 to 133