Back to work, and a weekend in the Pink City

Monday 10^th March 2014

Last week, I finally got back to doing interviews for my research. We moved to another area of the city – a slum community near the railway tracks – where I was fortunate enough to meet more Youth Force members, and talked to them about their lives and views on society. At the start of each interview, I introduce myself and tell the participant a little bit about my research, and explain that everything they say is anonymous, and no names or photographs will be in the report, to which most say they are fine with, or somewhat glad about. However, this time, one of the interviewees replied with:

“You can take my picture, put it on the news, make me famous in your country!”

And so on this occasion, I did. Although I’m not sure just yet about how I’m going to get him on the news and make him famous…please do write if you have any suggestions. 

"Make me famous"

While I was running across the city to research locations (obviously not literally – it’s hot here, and I’m hardly the running type) I noticed that there seems to have been a sudden increase in the number of elephants in the streets. I saw around six in three days, just casually being ridden along busy thoroughfares or across traffic-jammed crossroads. They were so adorably incongruous. Sadly, for some reason, their riders really don’t like them being photographed, at least that's what I assume the shouting and large-stick-waving meant.

Two of my interviews later in the week were in yet another part of the city, where the programme has only been active for a short time. Despite this, the participants I spoke to there were so curious and insightful, and these were probably the conversations I’ve learned the most from since I started. These took place in a delightfully calm, leafy park, which was all very nice, except for when, mid-way through the second interview, a bird defecated right on my notebook. Splat. Right in the middle of the page I was using. I had a delicious ‘cashew carnival’ flavoured ice cream on my way home to make up for the incident (my ice cream obsession continues).

Later in the week, I decided to head off to my local bookstore (again) to pick up something to read over the weekend, and there I couldn’t help but notice some of their slightly bizarre organisation of the books, such as several volumes of lesbian erotic fiction in the ‘Interior Design & Architecture’ section. I also stopped off at the café I go to in order to use the WiFi, where by now, the staff know me by name, greet me upon arrival, and can usually guess my order. I walk approximately 4km to go there, just to use the Internet. This may sound like part of a ‘First World Problems’ fundraising campaign, but I must admit that I am surprised at how difficult it is to find a reliable internet connection in ‘shining’ contemporary India, especially considering that when we have problems with ours back in the UK, we’re likely to speak to somebody in a telecommunications company’s call centre in Hyderabad or Bangalore!

Another observation from the past week: the election is everywhere already. Narendra Modi’s face is plastered on every other billboard in the city, there are BJP flags flying on the roundabouts, and the newspaper headlines are endless. It’s a truly remarkable time to be here and observe something like this, and not just for the spectacle of seeing the world’s largest democracy go to the polls. This election has the potential to be “the most significant contest since India won its independence from Britain in 1947” (see article mentioned below). India’s youth are a vital demographic when it comes to politics, with two-thirds of the population under the age of 35, and 150 million first-time voters in this election, making this an event of particular personal interest. For some more information about Modi, the election, and youth in politics, this article by Jason Burke is a good read: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/06/narendra-modi-india-bjp-leader-elections

Moving on to something a little more cheerful, I spent the weekend in Jaipur (Rajasthan), also known as ‘The Pink City’ (although I don’t think it really lives up to this name any more). Another sprawling, congested Indian city, but with some wonderful sights to behold. Also, I stayed in a hotel; it was nice to have hot water and a comfy bed again for a few days.

I flew up to Jaipur early on Friday evening with Indian low-cost airline IndiGo. Whilst I was expecting a Ryanair-style jumble of queues, boarding chaos, and fights for overhead locker space, I don’t think my experience could have been any more different: tiny, well-organised queues at check-in, security, and boarding; friendly, helpful and very polite staff; a comfortable, clean aircraft; precisely on-time departure and arrival, easy and calm boarding and disembarking, I could go on, but I think you get the idea. Bravo, IndiGo, I was thoroughly impressed, if slightly suspicious about how un-Indian it all seemed. 

After my first night at my hotel, which was full of hilariously eccentric European women, I set out on Saturday morning to explore the city. My first stop was the splendid City Palace (built in the 1720s) and its array of beautiful halls and elegant courtyards, among them the Pritam Niwas Chowk with four superbly painted doorways depicting the four seasons. 

City Palace.

I also saw the world’s largest sterling silver vessels, two urns used by Madho Singh II when he visited London in 1901 to carry water from the Ganges because he did not trust the water in the West. I had fun taking pictures of my reflection in them (see below, right).

From there, I moved on to the stunning Hawa Mahal or ‘Palace of the Winds’, which includes a series of screened niches once used by the ladies of court to look out on proceedings below. At one point, when I was snapping away with my camera a young man approached and started talking to me, and I was expecting it to be the usual “Where are you from? What’s your name? Can I have a picture with you?” but it turned into a very pleasant forty-minute conversation (with Mr. Smeer Ahmed, as he introduced himself) about everything from the weather (obviously) to the Five Pillars of Islam, via charity, politics, and of course, cricket.

Hawa Mahal.

Looking across Jaipur from the Hawa Mahal.

Following a delicious lunch of some street-vendor samosas and an ice cream, I proceeded to the remarkable Jantar Mantar. It’s basically a lot of huge eighteenth century, stone astronomical measuring devices, and was both slightly surreal and absolutely fascinating. I spent a good couple of hours there nerding-about, eavesdropping on tour guides, and being asked to appear in several photos, including some very amusing selfies and posing with someone’s baby.

Jantar Mantar.

Eventually, I moved on, heading for Surya Mandir, a temple that sits atop a hill just east of Jaipur. Being careful to avoid the monkeys and pigs (which were not aggressive, as the person who tried to charge me 300 Rupees for ‘protection’ had told me), I rambled up to the top and savoured the almost-peaceful, hazy views across the city.

Surya Mandir.

On Sunday, I headed out of the Pink City to Amber Fort, which is perched on the crest of a rocky hill around 11km north of Jaipur. It was simply incredible! From the outside, the edifice itself was impressive, as it loomed above the lake and the elephants plodding their way up and down the path, but the real magic was inside. Magnificent palace buildings, and endless doors, courtyards, turrets, and passageways to explore – I felt like a child again, clambering through a castle in a fairytale. As I was leaving, I saw a snake charmer, and was of course, terrified. Luckily, there was a large gaggle of gawping Italian tourists to provide a sufficient buffer between the serpent and myself. Just typing this is sending shivers down my spine.

Amber Fort.

Elephants at Amber Fort.

Sheesh Mahal and courtyard, Amber Fort.

The last stop on the agenda in Jaipur was Albert Hall, which houses the city’s central museum. They had a nice collection, I especially liked the 19^th century illustrations of Hindu stories, including ‘Ragini Asavari, the tribal girl who plays with snakes’ – she sounds bonkers. Sadly, the museum seemed to be suffering from a pigeon infestation, which meant rather a lot of deposits on the display cases. 

I was also very happy to finally find some postcards in Jaipur, and spent two hours writing thirty-two of them, all I need now are the stamps. 

Now, I’m back in Ahmedabad after another lovely IndiGo flight, and I’ll be carrying on with my research later this week. I can’t believe I’ve been here for a month already!