First Days in India

Day 1
“Unity through Diversity” was the slogan India chose to mark the 50th anniversary of its independence from Britain in 1997. Having spent 2 days in Delhi I could not think of a more appropriate statement myself. I spent most of my time visiting main sites such as Raj Ghat, a lovely park where Mahatma Gandhi was cremated. The Mahatma or “great soul” was one of the world’s greatest humanitarians who was cruelly assassinated on January 30 1948 for attempting to create peace between the Muslims and Hindus after India gained its independence.
One of my most memorable experiences was visiting India Gate. It is a place you must visit while in Delhi, particularly in the early evening. A large arc devoted to the freedom fighters sits in a vast park visited by hundreds of families who sit in the grass playing together and eating various foods. The peace and harmony you will experience here is striking.

I was invited to have dinner with a lovely Hindi family who prepared some traditional dishes, all of which I ate with great vigor. I learned like in much of the world, western culture is invading more and more with each waking day. Near the big cities, traditional dress is slowly being replaced with jeans and t-shirts and teenagers are becoming mall rats in the mega malls thrown up overnight.
Although India’s middle class is expanding rapidly, it is important to note that only 48% of females and 73% of males are literate, and the world’s greatest proportion of malnourished children are not in Sub-Saharan Africa, but in India.

Day 2
I took an afternoon train from Delhi’s old railway station to Jaipur. Finding my seat was no ordinary matter. There were thousands of people sitting on the ground for as far as the eye could see waiting for their bus. Being the off-season, I was the only foreigner in site, thus making it anything but simple to blend in. I nevertheless made it to my cart which was about a 6 minute walk from the back of the train! I was impressed to see my name [rinted on the side of the cart with the exact location I was to sit. My trip to Jaipur was peaceful except for the Chai-bearer (Chai = tea made with a milk rather than water base) who would yell “Chai” loud enough to make your ear drums vibrate every 20 minutes. If you take the air-conditioned cabin I would recommend taking a sweater with you as the temperature can make it feel like winter in Canada (well, almost)!

Day 3
My living quarters in Jaipur are great. I am staying at Help in Suffering, an animal shelter founded in 1980 to rescue and care for all animals. The 2- acre site is full of exotic trees and birds with all sorts of animals being cared for. I haven’t had a chance to help out in the hospital but I hope to look after a few small animal cases while I am here.

Our study population is a beautiful group of 115 Asian elephants residing in Amber, 11 km north of Jaipur. The elephants walk to work to Amber Fort, which is a spectacular succession of palace buildings perched high up on a narrow rocky ridge overlooking the surrounding countryside. Amber was the Rajput (“sons of princes”) stronghold from 1037 until 1727 when the new capital was moved to Jaipur.

The elephants wait in a shaded area which used to be where prisoners were held and wait for tourists to ride them up to the top of the fort. Dr. Madhu, the group’s veterinarian and my colleague on the saddle project introduced me to some of the elephant owners and their mahouts. I had a wonderful time getting to know them and becoming acquainted with Jaipur’s elephants.

The ride to and from Amber is spectacular. There is an abandoned palace which sits in a lake that is now inhabited by ghosts (so it is written). I was quite the celebrity here being the only foreigner, men were waiting in line to take a photo with me, and every time I tried to leave they would say “please just one more”. It was great fun, until I had enough and went to say hello to a beautiful group of Indian ladies staring at the palace.