India never ceases to amaze
How a trip to the country changed our perspective and why it is important for the great land to preserve its pluralistic culture
About a decade ago, just before the approaching Haj holidays, I surprised my family with an announcement: I would be taking my children to India for a holiday. I deliberately excluded my wife from the trip because of her weak belly, and I was unsure whether she would be able to put up with the various assortment of spices and oils found in the Indian cuisine. The last thing our trip needed was someone getting sick with diarrhoea or worse still — dysentery.
My distinct memories from having visited the country with my parents when I was a child had left me with impressions of cultures and civilisations that one reads in history books. And then there was the incomparable Taj Mahal, truly one of the Seven Wonders of the World. And wanting to repeat that experience with my children, I decided to give them a taste of India by planning our trip to encompass different regions of the country — Chennai in the south, Delhi and Agra in the North, and Mumbai in the western part of the country.
In the days preceding our trip, friends and acquaintances of both my children and myself were somewhat bemused and quizzed us repeatedly: “But why India?” “Why not,” I would ask them. Their answers were concurrently patronising and sympathetic. India, they would say, is crowded and we’d be sure to catch a disease. Why not instead take the family to Austria with its breathtaking scenery, or Portugal for its quaint ports, or even Mauritius for its splendid beaches, they wanted to know. Wasn’t I aware that I would be exposing my children to malaria, diarrhoea or cholera, they said?
I would patiently explain that I wanted my children to see India first-hand, and not to take in the stereotypes that unfortunately a lot of us Saudis (and others) have of that vast country. And I wanted to expose them to a diverse culture that they had not experienced before. While I thanked our well-wishers for their concerns, I assured them that we would be taking all the necessary precautions.
But honestly, their concerns began to create some unsettling feelings within myself as well. Was I being rash, expecting to get through India without some debilitating medical condition? And what about my children? Was I foolishly exposing them to transmissible diseases? With an Indian population of more than a billion, weren’t the chances of diseases being transmitted compounded and was I being immature in not giving much worth to my family and friends’ concerns?
Soothing reply
I was adamant on this adventure though, but to be on the safe side, I did call up the Indian Consulate in Jeddah and inquire about any specific medical precautions that we ought to have taken. “Drink only bottled water, and eat only in the hotels you would be staying in” was their soothing reply.
Armed with that knowledge, we began our trip. As we spun through Chennai, Delhi, Agra and Mumbai, my children were truly amazed. And they loved every bit of it. The hustle and bustle of Chennai with its serene shorelines dotted with resorts and retreats offering world-class services, the grandeur of the Presidential Palace in New Delhi, the beauty of Marine Drive in Mumbai, topped with our visit to the majestic Taj Mahal in Agra had my children chirping in unison: “This is the trip of a lifetime.”
The preservation of historical monuments, unlike our own, were some of the things they marvelled at. Humayun’s Tomb in Delhi, the Gateway of India in Mumbai and many such monuments and places of interest were etched in those young minds forever.
And from our observations, we were pleasantly surprised to find parts of India much cleaner than some of our Saudi cities. Their roads, although crowded, were not run-down as in Saudi Arabia, and the Indians seemed more prosperous than we had imagined. Everywhere we went, we felt safe. The Indians we met were always welcoming. Yes, at the time, India was indeed far more than what we had imagined.
However, in recent years, sectarianism has begun to creep into the country, one that has very ominous tones. From lynchings and hacking of minorities to death threats by some misguided followers of Hindutva (Hindu nationalism), incidents over the past few years have tarnished the reputation of this secular country, where people of all races and religions lived in perfect harmony.
For India to regain its former glory, it must ask itself whether such misguided nationalism would be worth the price.
Wasn’t I aware that I would be exposing my children to malaria, diarrhoea or cholera, they said? I would patiently explain that I wanted my children to see India first-hand, and not to take in the stereotypes that unfortunately a lot of us Saudis (and others) have of that vast country. And I wanted to expose them to a diverse culture that they had not experienced before.
■ Tariq Al Maeena is a Saudi socio-political commentator. He lives in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.