india

There are 43 posts tagged india (this is page 2 of 5).

Munnar and the Tea Museum

In Munnar i had some extra time so, for a lark, visited The Tea Musem, which traces.the origin of the plantations in the Western Ghats from the time of the British to the present time. Today , according to their film, the Kenan Devan Hills Plantations Company is 82% privately owned by the plantation workers themselves, and run with a bottom up management “the first and largest participatory management company in India, with 12,500 employees as shareholders “(2005). They have started to change over some of their plantations to organic teas and are doing research on organic methods. Unfortunately their teas, under the Ripple brand name, are available only in Kerala, according to the sales woman.

The man who gives the talk at the museum is an inspiring example of a person given a comparatively simple role of museum guide, but using it to advance a personal agenda to change the world. He started by saying that our lives would be permanently changed by his talk. He then launched on a deep discussion of the health benefits of green tea as a universal panacea. But he didn’t resrict himself just to tea, but advocated a healthy lifestyle that included yoga, cleansing of the bowels, proper ways to evacuate these and more. Daringly , for a tea company p.r. person, he pointed out that most indians have no idea how to make tea and were actually poisoning themselves with the stuff. He advocated a special green tea making device which is available in the gift shop by the exit. I think his talk was effective – i saw people buying it.

Quiet time in Kerala

For meals I’m kind of under house arrest, in this rainy and remote location. They bring them to my “cell” twice a day. In the morning it was idli (fermented rice cakes) and vegetable curry; and in the evening I just had a chapatti and a fiery dhal (bean or lentil dish). Admittedly there would be chicken or perhaps fish, if I weren’t vegetarian. I saw the son of the household with a fishing line this morning.

At midday, on my walk, I bought coffee and a cake from a stall on the road. It was a beautiful walk, by the river, passing tea and coffee plantations, waterfalls, in the lush Kerala hill country.

In Kerala

There are big differences from place to place in India. Kerala – at least this small town – seems a lot better organized than what I saw in Tiruvannamalai. At night sometimes there, I had to close the shutters, despite the 30+ degree heat, because people burn rubbish in the streets, including plastics, which create dangerous fumes. They burn it because the municipality doesn’t collect it. It doesn’t collect it because the officials are corrupt, and, according to my host there’s questionable arguments, because people there are mostly illiterate, don’t understand anything about health or hygiene and have no idea what cancer is. Whereas here in Kumily, they separate the garbage, collect it every day, fine anybody who tries to burn it, and even smoking in public is a punishable offence. The national park is off-limits to anybody who doesn’t have a permit, and they have eliminated poaching of animals and sandalwood trees by placing guards and CCTV cameras everywhere.

Rat in restaurant

Enjoyed a meal in one of Thekkady’s rooftop cafes. A very fat rat just walked by the table, or perhaps some tropical creature that resembles a rat?

Thekkady

After a month in Tiruvannamalai, I decided to escape the heat and head up to Thekkady in Western Ghats. No one comes here in June, at least not western tourists, so I ‘m the only guest in this homestay guest house, at a cost of 400 Rs or 5 euros per night. Which is fine with me. I can do my regular work + some reading and writing. There’s a lovely roof-top garden for guests. The temperatures are a nice 25 or 26 in the daytime, and there are lots of showers to keep everything fresh and green. Unlike elsewhere in India. According to the Guardian 43% of the country is in drought. Villagers are deserting their villages and farmers are committing suicide. Twenty-one Indian cities – including Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad – are expected to run out of groundwater by 2020.

Tiru: May 18 2019

The heat is felt cumulatively. I felt it quite strongly this morning. But, after coffee and a short morning nap, I’m feeling better again.

I lack the aspiration of seekers like S.S. Cohen. I’m somehow out of that race. When I go to the ashram I feel peaceful, but it is removed from the context of life. As Krishnamurti says, it is only in relationship that we begin to understand. It is the vicissitudes of life that give learning. Being in the ashram, like being in a university, does not provide adequate context. As one of my professors at Exeter said: if it appears that what we are studying is irrelevant, we should stand under the underpass of a busy highway.

Well, here in Tiru, all one has to do is pass outside the ashram gate, and all the squalor of the Tamil city instantly makes itself felt, by all the senses. But there is no personal involvement as such.

First day in Tiruvannamalai

The journey was easy. The only remarkable event was the interview with the immigration official at Chennai airport. I was virtually the only foreigner arriving, so perhaps he was bored, and asked many questions. I discovered that I have a habit of evasiveness with such persons and that I did not have ready answers to many of his questions.

So the whole interview felt a bit awkward. I’m not very good at speaking with such people and I think probably the best strategy is actually honesty, in my case. A full explanation is sometimes best. The official wants to be addressed as a human being, and his questions are aimed at establishing the truth of the person’s visit. The best way is to speak to that human level, especially since my visits are within the normal bounds of the acceptable. If it didn’t go well (and will influence the result of future applications), well just too bad. Life is fluid, and there is no reason to feel attached to any one place or situation. I’m half there, with my process of understanding.

The heat (it’s the hottest time of the year for Tamil Nadu) seems bearable if one is careful. It is okay if there is not much physical effort, and if one stays inside during the hot hours of the day.

Evening bus to Tiruvannamalai

India – the State of Independence

Colin Todhunter, Off-Guardian

India celebrates its independence from Britain on 15 August. However, the system of British colonial dominance has been replaced by a new hegemony based on the systemic rule of transnational capital, enforced by global institutions like the World Bank and WTO. At the same time, global agribusiness corporations are stepping into the boots of the former East India Company.