8/9/2019 India in Living Color

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India 2010Exotic flavors, incessant noises, frenetic drivers, lovely people

Tuesday, July 27 – Bangalor e 

7:07 pm 

Slum Dog Millionaire has nothing on this brave team of two Americans,one Romanian and two Indian brothers. As the power flickers in my 

Bangalore hotel room, I now have the much anticipated and impossible

role of recounting a few of the thousands of observations, impressions and

deprivations experienced over the past two weeks. What a ride it has

been! First impressions for this newbie? People here are extremely visual.

 They will look at you, staring even, as if seeing an apparition, not too far

off the mark as many have not seen a white person up close and personal.

Our skin causes many young children to run away crying to their mother,

as I experienced several times today. The dogs bark incessantly when we approach..

 The next move is mine, if I will meet their gaze, smile and lift my hand( s ) in a Ghandi prayerful pose

they will smile, lift their hands and wag their heads left and right as a sign of a ffirmation. For me,

this result spells success and it happens 90% of the time. The other 10% continue to stare or look

away. For those with hardened expressions, accosting them slowly with outstretched hand will

usually bring them to a smile, nod or wag. Charlie, my travel companion, has taken greeting villagers

to new heights with his infectious enthusiasm, bright smiles and magic tricks with a coin. Kids and

adults alike love it and reward him with bi smiles and unrestrained lau hter.

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Thursday, July 29 –   Darjeeling 

11:57 pm 

 At the foot of the Himalayas and

the third highest mountain on

planet Earth. Darjeeling 

architecture hearkens back to

British empire and the days when

tea was king of brews. Most

striking buildings date to pre-1947

evacuation of the British overlords,

including our hotel last night.

Sunday, August 1 - Bagdogra

2:47 pm  The oppressive and overwhelming sounds, smells and

heat of India faded for a moment as we discovered

the more impoverished, rustic and perhaps

superstitious Nepal. For one day the team was

stopped in the border town of  Kakabhitta due to a 

strike of the auto drivers ( local taxi cab drivers ). Not

content with not showing up for work, they decided

to blockade the only direct road to Biratnagar . The

normally three hour drive would take a minimum of 

four and cost twice the price driving back throughIndia. We were told that our car would be subject to a 

hail of rocks and/or the driver would be severely 

beaten if we did not respect the protest. The police

 were too busy drinking wine, according to the locals,

to off er much help. Our driver said he would take us

if we left at 2am, an hour even angry protesters would

not care to enforce compliance. After a team meeting 

the decision was to opt out of the early morning 

adventure and hope for the best when dawn broke.

 The new dawn revealed that nothing had changed, the

protesters were demanding a large sum of money for

the family of a taxi driver who had been killed by a 

passenger, leaving his family destitute. Word on the

street was that the government takes a Zero

 Tolerance approach to these types of demands.

Quote: “ALL things work together for good...”