It is now two weeks since we returned from three weeks in India and “three weeks do not an expert make”, but we are ready to share with you some of our general impressions of India and its people.
We spoke to many people before coming to India and received two diametrically opposed comments: 1) India? You will absolutely love it! 2) India? You will absolutely hate it. There was no one we spoke with who was pareve. In fact, a good friend told us that INDIA stands for I’ll Never Do It Again!
Our first general impression is that India is culturally the most different of all countries that we have had the pleasure of visiting. And we have been exposed to a number of unique cultures such as China, Japan and other parts of Asia. And whatever we had read did not adequately prepare us for the initial cultural shock.
The people of India are among the friendliest that we have encountered in our travels. Happy, friendly, smiling, curious, eager to help and very proud of their country and culture. More than once, people went out of their way to help us, expecting nothing in return. More than once, we heard about India being the leaders or the inventors of this or that.
So here are some of our first impressions; not sure how accurate these are, they are just what we have observed from the short time that we spent there.... hope you enjoy.
1. Driving is like taking your life in your hands. We have seen people driving the wrong way on a divided highway; there are no such things as lanes and no one obeys traffic signs or signals. They are not rules; merely suggestions. We saw police pulling people over for such infractions as 4 helmetless people on a motorcycle (maximum allowed is 2 and you must wear a helmet) and when I asked how much fine one would have to pay for such an infraction, I was told that all you have to do is pay off the policeman and you are on your way.....with the same 4 helmetless riders. As they said, being a policeman is a very lucrative position because of all the bribes you can receive.
2. The is the first place we have visited where painted on the rear of cars and trucks are the two words “BLOW HORN”. Since the driving is so erratic, one must keep his eyes glued to what is happening in front of him and cannot glance at his rear view mirror. Additionally, since the streets are so narrow and people drive within inches of each other, the side mirrors tend to be pulled in or torn off. And so the only way to know that someone is tailgating and wishes to pass, is if the fellow in the rear sounds his horn. Therefore everyone is constantly on their horn. Very easy to get a headache from the constant blaring of horns. It is definitely the first impression that most people remember on their arrival in India....the NOISE!
3. A great Indian saying. When looking for a car, you need three good things in this order: Good horn, Good brakes and Good luck.
4. There are animals everywhere. Cows, bulls, water buffalo, goats, dogs, pigs, peacocks. And because of the Hindu respect for living things, you cannot force them off the roads, sidewalks, or pedestrian shopping areas. And so they cause havoc with trying to maneuver yourself or your vehicle around them. And everything slows down. Just last night, tho, I saw something I had never seen yet. There was an upscale fabric store with customers inside the store shopping. In the middle of the store, lying in the aisle was a huge bull. I could not believe it....honest, no bull! Talk about a “bull in a china shop”.
5. There are few if any traffic lights in the cities we have visited. And if they are there, they likely do not work. And therefore you take your chances crossing the road. You basically do the same as we learned in Vietnam. Begin walking at a constant pace and do not change the rhythm and the drivers will meander around you. But Fran feels that in India, the safest way is to follow the cow because they are the ones most respected.
6. It is very nice and polite to greet people with a warm hello. In Toronto we say hello, in Israel Shalom and in India Namaste. But Namaste is not a simple hello - it is accompanied by placing the palms of both hands together and simultaneously placing the joined thumbs to your heart and greeting with a small bowing of the upper body. It is very nice and welcoming. The only problem is that people constantly do it. In Johdpur, we were on our way to breakfast in the hotel and passed a maintenance woman who was sweeping the walkway. She paused from her work to give us full Namaste. Then about a minute later, I had to return to the room for something I had forgotten. Another full fledged Namaste. Then a minute later, when I was returning to the breakfast area, she stopped what she was doing, got into the Namaste position and did it again. How this lady got anything done during the day is beyond me. What was especially uncomfortable was walking into a hotel, your hands laden with shopping bags and the doorman greets you with Namaste and you are expected to return the greeting. It is kind of impossible to do with your hands full.
7. We have been in many places that could use improvement in their infrastructure. But India wins hands down. The place, while exotic, and mystical, and enchanting, is a total mess! Sidewalks are mostly non existent and even if there, the walkway will be interrupted by broken or uneven pavement. Building exteriors are in a state of disrepair. We did not have the opportunity of visiting homes or apartments of locals, and we wonder whether the insides are maintained to a better standard. At the same time, we passed by areas in New Delhi with rows of huge mansions, that were owned by the very richest Indian families. In fact, as we were driving by, our driver was able to identify the names of each family. Even in these areas, the infrastructure was not consistently maintained. When we went to the fancy shopping mall on our last Sunday in India, right across the road from this impeccably maintained mall was a slum reminicent of the movie “Slum Dog Millionaire”.
One of the contrasts between India and other places that we have visited is the area around first class hotels. In most other places, such hotels were located where the surrounding area was walkable, with shops and restaurants and pedestrian traffic. In almost every hotel where we stayed, while the hotel itself and its grounds were of the highest standard, the area surrounding it was either under construction or looked like it had been thru a recent war.
8. We were warned in advance not to expect the nicest washrooms while travelling thru India. We were pleasantly surprised!. It may have been our guides that ensured that when we needed a restroom, he knew where to find a clean one. So that was a relief. But if you ever go to India, make sure you have loose change with you because clean washrooms are usually accompanied by an attendant who waits outside with paper serviettes with which you dry your hands after washing. That will cost you 5 or 10 rupees which is only a few cents. But if all you have is 100 rupees and they do not have change, you might be paying $2 to wipe your hands.
Now you might say that this is ok when you stop at a clean roadside restaurant and want to enjoy a clean restroom. But you would expect that when visiting a major tourist attraction like the Amber Fort or the City Palace, where you have paid a hefty entrance fee, that the restrooms would not have a charge. Not a chance! They are present everywhere and after a while it becomes a real drag, having to pay for the privilege of visiting the restroom.
9. And while we are on the subject of tipping, understand that unlike a number of other Far East locales that we have visited where tipping is not expected, India is a place where it is expected. And since they service the heck out of you, a doorman opening the door of your car, another opening the hotel door, a bellhop taking your luggage in and another delivering the luggage to your room, the attendant who cleans your room showing up to let you know who he is and that he too expects a tip, etc. etc., it becomes a bit much. Each of those people smiling and “Namaste-ing” you, each saying “welcome sir or ma’am” and you really do not know who to tip. And how much to tip. The first two hotels where we stayed had a “tip box” which made it easy. Leave an amount for the staff and let them figure it out.
And while touring, we had a guide, a driver, and sometimes it was two per city, one that greeted us at the airport and escorted us to our hotel and a different one who picked us up the next morning. Each of them needed to be tipped.
Now do not get me wrong....they deserve it and the amount expected is not large at all. If you tip a bellhop 100 rupees (the equivalent of $2 Canadian) it is OK. And if you give a driver or guide 500 to 1000 for the day, that is quite likely very generous. So it is not the amount at all, it is the number of people performing a service and not knowing who to tip and how much. There are a number of websites that present guidelines and before travelling to India, it is worthwhile reading those guidelines.
10. Tzniut or modesty of dress is a given in India. Women tend to wear a long tunic over pants or a sari. Men wear long pants and a shirt. We did not see too many men wearing t shirts and very few women had uncovered legs. There was the occasional bare midriff visible on a sari clad woman, but that was usually somewhat hidden by a gauzy shawl. Some of the guidebooks had written that even in the heat of summer, men do not wear shorts in India. There were no low cut or halter tops on women. We sensed an attitude of modesty in dress that seems to have disappeared among the youth of today, even in the Modern Orthodox communities in North America.
11. Security at airports and hotels and being frisked - we were not prepared for the level of security that we witnessed in India. At the airports, the only way to be admitted into the terminal building is by showing a worker pass or by being a passenger, which means showing a confirmed flight for that day and your passport. Without both, you will not get in the door. We have shown up at airports in North America and in Europe with only our passport and the ticket agent at the desk finds your flight information on her computer. That will not work in India. Without a flight info either in print or on your phone, you cannot proceed. That goes for arrivals as well...which means that on arrival, those waiting for you have to wait outside the terminal.
When entering into the terminal, your luggage is all scanned before proceeding, your carry on luggage has to be tagged or you will be stopped and then when you get to security, even if you walk thru the metal detector without setting it off, everyone, man and woman and child are frisked. Women do get the privacy of a closed booth where a female guard does the frisking.
On interernational flights, even after getting thru the metal detector and carry on security, you will undergo another total metal detector and frisk down security measure upon reaching the gate.
We watched airport personnel push wheelchairs up to the plane and then when returning to push the next wheelchair, even if they had not been out of full view, were frisked again.
At hotels, before entering the hotel grounds, your vehicle is stopped by a security guard, who checks under the hood, in the trunk and with the use of mirrors, under the car, to ensure that you are not bringing anything into the hotel area. And then before entering the front door of the hotel, all your luggage goes thru a scanner and you walk thru a metal detector. This happens each time you re-enter the hotel. And you are frisked or wanded every time.
These measures were instituted after the terrible terrorist attacks in 2008 when Chabad Rabbi Gavriel and Rebbetzin Rivka Holtzberg were murdered in Mumbai. It is thorough and includes everyone....quite remarkable.
Btw, as a result of the Mumbai massacres, every Chabad house has an armed soldier or police presence outside the building 24 hours a day. His security is supplied to Chabad by the government.
12. Wedding celebrations - we witnessed a number of weddings whilst in India. And they are loud and elaborate affairs.
We saw a few processions in the middle of the street, where the groom is escorted to the wedding hall, on an elaborately decorated white horse, surrounded by a band with drums and trumpets and groups of his friends and family, both male and female, singing and dancing around the horse.
Then in Jodhpur, we were staying in a gorgeous heritage hotel, the Ajit Bahwan Palace, and in its sister Hotel next door, there was a wedding reception taking place. We went over to see it and took some pictures and when we were about to leave, one of wedding party said...”where are you going....you are our guests...please stay”.
It was joyous and welcoming and spoke well of the inclusiveness that Indians show to visitors.
Btw, Indian weddings can last a few days....a popular saying in India is that “Indian weddings last longer than some American marriages”!
Weddings in India among Hindus are arranged and that is going on even today. It is shameful to the Hindu when a wedding ends in divorce and as such there are very few divorces...numbers like 1 or 2 in a thousand are mentioned in statistics on google. One tenth of one percent. Almost negligible. Compare that statistic with most places in the world!
13. Israel and Jews - The Jewish community was once a thriving community in India. In 1948, after the formation of the state of Israel, 33000 Jews made Aliyah to Israel leaving behind around a community of about 5000 Jews. Over 70,000 Indian Jews now live in Israel (over 1% of Israel's total population).
The bulk of the remaining Jews live in Mumbai with a Jewish population of approximately 4000. There are about ten families left in New Delhi, another ten in Kolkata, and just a few remaining in Cochin. There are other communities like the Bnai Menashe in North East India, who claim direct descent from the tribe of Menashe and Israeli organizations like Shavei Yisrael have been working with the community, who have adopted Orthodox Jewish practice, to assist them in making Aliyah to Israel and to undergo whatever conversion is required to allow them to be considered full fledged Jews in Israel.
Though Judaism is a prominent world religion, and although the average Indian has little knowledge of it, Judaism was one of the first foreign religions to arrive in India in recorded history, some arriving more than 2000 years ago, during the time of the Kingdom of Judah, others as descendants of Israel's Ten Lost Tribes, with Baghdadi Jews arriving in the 1700s fleeing persecution in the Arab world.
And although they account for a totally insignificant percentage of the total population, and although they are very different in their religious beliefs than the typical Indian, Jews have never suffered anti semitism in India. They have succeeded in the fields of science, professions like law and medicine and as government officials.
Nevertheless, their numbers are dwindling. Indian Jews have left for economic and religious reasons and many younger Jews have left because finding a Jewish spouse is becoming ever more difficult in India.
The only visible Jewish Community in most of India is Chabad. There are now 16 Chabad centres listed in India and they basically locate in areas where there will be Jewish travelers or Israeli backpackers. In the two centres that we visited for Shabbat in New Delhi and in Pushkar, there were no locals who came to minyan or to the Shabbat meals. The possibility of a minyan and the financial support of the local Chabad, is totally dependent on who is visiting that Shabbat. The shlichim and their families are truly alone and totally dedicated.
What one has to remember about Chabad of India is that many of the centres are not 12 month operations. Many are seasonal, dependent on when the tourist season hits and perhaps closing during the high heat seasons or the heavy monsoon rain season.
We encountered no anti Jewish or anti Israel sentiment in our three weeks. I wore a kippah everywhere and while I did get the occasional stare and the occasion inquiry as to “whether I was a Muslim”, when I responded that I was Jewish and from Israel and Canada, the reaction that we got was total respect and awe for Israel, its wonderful Prime Minister (after all, he is a friend of PM Modi!), and the fact that Israel is a powerful and productive country.
In Punjab, where most of the men wear the traditional turban, I joked with the locals, that I too was wearing my turban, tho much smaller and flatter than theirs.
14. Kashrut - We ate very well while in India, without shlepping too many kosher products with us. Chabad of New Delhi working with our tour operator India Kosher Travel, had freshly prepared non frozen dinners and lunch boxes sent daily to every hotel where we stayed on our route. The cost of the dinners was roughly $25 - $30 per dinner meal and $10 to $15 per lunch. We also paid them for delivery, sometimes by courier and sometimes by train or bus.
Our Shabbat meals were all at Chabad and paid by voluntary donation directly to the local Chabad.
Chabad also provided us with a fry pan, spatula, cutting board and knife, and a bottle of oil, so that we could go to the hotel breakfast area egg station, and have the chef prepare for us omelettes and fried/scrambled eggs every morning. Chabad sent instructions to the hotels advising them that we had to be involved in the process to eliminate the halachic problem of “bishul akum” and the hotels and their staff were amazingly cooperative and understanding.
Because of the number of different and diverse dietary needs of travelers to India (there are vegetarians, vegans, half vegans, halal people, etc. etc.), they are so used to individual needs and as such it was quite easy to navigate thru the process.
The meals were delivered on time, were delicious, double wrapped for heating in the microwave and the menu was varied between fish and chicken entrees and a variety of side dishes and salads. Highly recommended.
The one mistake that we made was that we ordered two meals per night and two lunch boxes per day. Had we known how much food and how generous the portions would be, we could have gotten away with sharing one lunch and one dinner. And the cost was not at all exorbitant and it saved us the issue of shlepping food and the time to source local ingredients to prepare our own meals.
Those who know us, or readers of this blog, are aware that generally when we travel, we rent apartments with full kitchen facilities and then carry with us basic kitchen needs; fry pan and soup pot, kitchen knives and utensils and then, armed with the local kosher approved list, hit the local supermarket and prepare our own meals.
In India, this was not a viable alternative, for a number of reasons.
First, there is no local kosher list. Second, there are very few actual supermarkets and even fewer supermarkets that carry any foreign products that would have kosher supervision. Third, I am not sure what the situation is like in Mumbai (where most of the Jews live) but in the areas that we visited, you could not buy any chicken or meat products and I am not even sure about the availability of fish. Fourth, because India is so huge (one third the size of Canada) and even the small area that we covered (mostly Rajasthan) necessitated long drives from place to place without setting down roots for more than two nights, and because there were not many choices of decent apartments in the places that we visited, we decided to stay in hotels which would not provide cooking areas for us.
And so, without the assistance of India Kosher Travel, it would have been very difficult from a kashrut perspective.
Now, many people that we have spoken to are under the impression, that because the vast majority of Indians are vegetarian, and because of the great availability of pure veggie restaurants in India, that this should be a very easy country in which to travel. Just go into a vegetarian restaurant and you are home free.
I am not a Rabbi and will never tell anyone what to do, other than to advise readers to consult their local Halachic authority.
But in our discussions with our Rabbi, the issues of bishul akum, the kashrut of milk products in India and the checking of vegetables for bugs are all significant concerns that will present themselves to the kosher traveler.
And as a result, and because of the lengthy discussion above, rather than find India an easy place to travel from a kashrut perspective, we found that it was one of the most difficult. Without Chabad and India Kosher Travel, it would have been very difficult.
15. Smells, cleanliness, water and bug spray - before we came, we were warned. India smells. It is filthy. Only drink bottled water and even then, you will get the Indian version of Montezuma’s revenge, locally called Delhi Belly. And every morning, before leaving the hotel, totally cover up with long sleeves and long pants and spray with DDT bug spray or you will get malaria.
Well, we found that most of the above is not true at all. Let’s deal with them one at a time.
Other than walking by an Indian restaurant, there were no smells at all and near the restaurants, the smells were only reflective of what was cooking and for the most part pleasant.
It is filthy, true. There is dust everywhere. The infrastructure needs major attention. And therefore it is important to remove your shoes when entering a home or your hotel room because you have no idea what you are carrying with you at the bottom of your shoes. But staying in a good hotel creates an oasis for you from all the dust, dirt, noise and mess outside the hotel grounds. Anyone who feels that they have to wash their hands with hand sanitizer on a regular basis or who is afraid to put their bare hands on a handrail or door knob should likely remove India from their bucket list.
Water. True. Only drink bottled water. There is filtered and purified tap water available but our stomachs are likely more sensitive and we therefore only drank bottled water; even for brushing our teeth. Hotels provide ample supplies of bottled water and if you run out, it is available everywhere and is very inexpensive.
We thankfully did not get Delhi Belly. And the meals from Chabad included cut up veggies as in an Israeli salad. But when buying fruit ourselves, we still stayed with peelable fruits such as bananas and oranges.
We got typhus shots before we left and our hepatitis shots were still valid. Our travel doctor (you should see one before travelling anywhere in the Far East) advised us that we would likely not need malaria shots for springtime in the northwest of India but left the final decision up to us. We opted not to take it. And when we arrived, I wore short sleeves, and only sprayed bug spray one evening when we went bird watching.
So all in all, a lot of fear before travelling and not a lot of reality in the fear. Still, our advice would be to be cautious and careful and to stay in decent hotels.
16.The Caste System - We had heard about the caste system, which is the categorizing of Indian citizens into a distinct hierarchy of classes. What we did not know was that the caste system was constitutionally abolished in 1950 and yet, when we broached the topic with our guides, they all said that it exists today as a societal reality in India. In other words, even though it is illegal, movement between the castes will result in being ostracized by family and friends and therefore no one dares challenge the status quo.
We understand it as four levels; the priestly level, the business class, the warrior class and the “untouchables” (called thus because they are involved in the dirtiest of tasks and therefore no one would wish to touch them).
One of the weirdest results of the system, is that the government has created quotas for people of lower classes in positions that they would not normally be able to fill. For example, since people in the warrior class or in the untouchables would not normally be able to enter university for a medical degree, India has reserved a specific number of places for people in those classes. But what is weird about it is that where someone from the priestly class might require a 90% score to qualify, if you were from a lower class, you could qualify with a 50%. What that means is that there are people filling medical positions who qualified with a low score while others with high academic scores are shut out because of the quota.
Some of our guides told us that because of this, many people opt to go to private rather than state run hospitals and medical centres.
When we asked one of our guides whether he would be shocked or accepting if one of his children married someone from another caste, his response was “I do not understand the question....it could never happen”. “It would bring shame to our family and that couple would be totally excluded from any interaction with the family”.
One incident that we witnessed: We were standing with a group of tourists when visiting Nimaj. Our guide was someone who was well known in the village as having come from the highest class. A motorcycle approached from one side and there was a man and woman on the motorcycle. All of a sudden the motorcycle stopped, both people disembarked and they walked the motorcycle past us, mounted it again and continued on their way. When I asked what had just occurred, our guide explained that because these two people were from a lower class, out of respect, they would not simply drive by but had to walk humbly past the guide and his guests.
This was a most unique trip. We saw an ancient and fascinating culture. A people who appeared to be immersed in a bustling crowded country and yet a people that is friendly, happy, smiling and very courteous. A people that has a respect for living creatures that we had not yet seen in our travels. A people who had been trained to deliver a level of service to visitors that would rival the best in any area of the world. Contrasting areas of great wealth and abject poverty with seemingly nothing much in the middle. A people clinging to their traditions and faith and their distinct mode of dress.
We enjoyed the part of India that we had visited. We recognize that it is not for everyone. But we are pleased that we made the decision to go and experience a little of Incredible India.
