India Trip: Beaches, Indifference, and the European Union

FROM 1/21/08:

This last weekend, after much debate, we went to Mamallapuram on the coast of Western India. Some had suggested Puducherry, a former French colony, as a more beautiful beachy alternative, but then again everyone seemed to have a different opinion and just about every opinion was expressed. With so much contradictory information to deal with, a norm now for us it seems, we decided to just go to Mamallapuram as it was closer and had some rock carvings. I believe we made the right decision. Mamallapuram had a beautiful beach of its own, and was a lovely, relaxing way to spend the weekend as Western tourists.

Being a "resort town" in a third world country the geography was typical. Nice, luxury hotels were immediately adjacent to a hundred poorer homes and a thousand little shops. Intermixed in all this were a smattering of cheaper, shadier hotels catering to less affluent tourists who either by choice or by accident ended up in them. As we were playing tourists, and many of the carvings for sale were I felt quite impressive, I myself decided to partake in the shopping ending up with a few gifts and items for myself and family. Since my parents seem to have most the things they want and usually buy the things that they don't when they do want them, I was having a difficult time finding something to get for them. Thankfully my mother is an avid necklace designer, and is always looking for more beads to work with. After an extensive search I found a place selling some and went in to inquire further. Like most bead vendors the world over they had their standard fare of cheap crap beads made of materials you can find at any Michael's or Hobby Lobby in the US, but they also had some very pretty carnelian beads which to me seemed to be fairly unique looking. Unfortunately unique beads apparently come at a unique price as they were 45 rupees a gram (~ 40 rs per $1) and quite dense. The small pouch of beads I had collected weighed about 160 grams and so cost about $180. After about 30 minutes of unwanted haggling over the price I eventually realized I would not be able to convince him I was unwilling to pay very much for them or any beads and so haggling would be fruitless and simply told him thank you and goodbye. I am not sure why it went on so long or why I even wanted so much to explain to him that a transaction would never be possible, but well, that's shopping in India for you. It was strange. And sweaty.

Of course the reason we went to the coast was not to shop, but to swim. For some reason the Indian Ocean has had a strong appeal to me ever since I knew I would be going to India, and so I was looking forward to the chance to see it. Aside from some boats and a little more trash it looked just like the Atlantic. Relatively soft sand and fairly small waves. It was fairly warm and tasted salty. Not much in the way of fish or sea life that I could make out. After about 15 minutes I had had my fill, and I returned to the pool along with everyone else. Though I always thought it a relatively ethnocentric and egotistical thing to think, I can honestly say that, in my experience at least, Indians do enjoy a good stare at white folk. For reasons known only to themselves -- though perhaps they don't even know why they do it -- just about wherever you go and at all times of day people will stare at you. It seems to be less so, or at least less noticeable, when walking, but whenever you sit and whenever you swim you're a source of at least momentary interest. Perhaps I should start selling shirt space to major corporations. I could be like one of those NASCARs: Viva Viagra! and Wonder Bread!

So that was our weekend. It is notable that during all our trekking about we did essentially no site seeing. As we were driving back the driver offered to stop at a local temple of some significance so we could have a look, but we all politefully declined. I imagine there are actually a great many other things I would politefully decline in India elsewhere as well. While part of it may be very well that, like the many cathedrals of Europe, we simply had no desire to see more of the same, I think a greater part of it was that to me much of India has felt inaccessible. The significant language barriers are given, but beyond that the history, society, and culture are all so incredibly foreign, even if only superficially so, that they do not resonate with me. The most boring and unadorned of cathedrals of Europe could usually still move me with their grandeur if I would simply stop to take it in, but though I have tried to learn a good deal about Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism since given the opportunity to come here the temples of these religions still feel only like large, cold constructions of stone and wood. Beautifully carved and impressively constructed though they may be I cannot help be indifferent. Likewise in the castles, towns, and palaces of Europe I felt that I could get a sense of the history and an understanding of the times, but even knowing the conquests and accomplishments of the kings and emperors throughout India's existence their forts and cities and tombs, equally magnificent if not more so, are simply forts and cities and tombs. I feel no connection. Perhaps it is because I do not feel these people to be my people and their history to be my history, or perhaps because I am still too ignorant of it all to get even an outsider's appreciation, or perhaps it's simply because I have some ethnocentrism inside myself myself, but, the CMC aside, I imagine when I leave India it will simply be just a nice place I visited one day. Oh well, I feel that way with Denmark too.

Changing the subject completely, I do not feel many Westerners have a good concept of India as a country even in a general sense (myself included), and although my readings before our trip did not necessarily give me a taste of or for India I do feel they have at least helped me to better understand it. As such I feel inclined to share with you all my own thoughts of what India, as a country, is like. So here, my friends, is a random aside.

India is, basically, the European Union. Not in the details of course, but in its character. Just like "Christendom" for centuries could be a descriptor of Europe but mean next to nothing politically, "India" could always refer to a region populated by a people of fairly similar ethnicity and religion but it would have never made much sense politically. French Christians spoke differently than German Christians, had different customs than Spanish Christians, and looked different than British Christians. Likewise the people of West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Rajasthan, though all members of the Indian subcontinent and in many ways similarly sharing an interrelated history, are remarkably different and distinct. It is only recently, initially under British control and now independently, that the term "India" has meant anything in a political sense. Only recently has the concept of being an "Indian" carried any significance. In such a light I feel the success of India in its development and unity, Pakistan and Bangladesh aside, is quite remarkable. India is not some homogeneous behemoth that exists only because it has always been that way or is too unenlightened to have ever felt the divisive pulls of nationalism and self determination. It is actually a quite remarkable political success story that is worthy of much the same praise that the European Union has received, and, if essential reforms continue and its violent past with its neighbors settled, perhaps in the future even more so. It has a lot of problems, but it also does not have much to work with. I will probably never love India, but I certainly do like it.