2024 - India - Agra, Rajasthan, Gujarat

Above, Imperial Hotel, New Delhi, India. 02 April 2024. 3:00 AM

TIMDT returns home.

It was at the Imperial Hotel that Nehru, Gandhi, Jinnah, and Mountbatten met to discuss the Partition of India. There is a table in one of the hotel restaurants cordoned off as "the" table where the great figures dined together. We have eaten at that table in previous visits and, truly, the mind spins as one reflects on the import of what the partition discussion must have been like. I'm reminded of the Manila Hotel, in Manila, PI, where hotel guests can visit Douglas McArthur's office suite, with original design and furniture preserved... suspended in time.

Delhi's Imperial Hotel and its Connect With Modern Indian History (thewire.in)

TIMDT has stayed in the Imperial a dozen times since 1972. She, more stays than Mwah (sic), as she led ladies' tours here during the 'aughts.

Only four hours sleep here. Then, off to Agra... another well-worn path for TIMDT.

Above: Oberoi Ameralis Hotel. Agra, India. 02 April 2024.

Bedside view of Taj Mahal. It never gets old.

Above: Oberoi Ameralis Hotel. Agra, India. 03 April 2024.

4:45 AM. TIMDT observes floral display prior to visit to the Taj Mahal. This is my sixth visit to the Taj Mahal. The first visit was in the summer of 1963 while accompanying Mom, Dad and brother Dee on west bound trip from San Francisco to Cairo, Egypt for Dad's employment with Egypt's National Institute of Management Development, during his sabbatical leave from BYU. TIMDT and Mwah (sic) visited the Taj Mahal twice between late 1971 and early 1974 during my employment in India with Citibank. Finally, I've visited the Taj Mahal three times during frequent travels to India over the last two decades. It never gets old.

During the '70's the grounds of the Taj Mahal were poorly managed. The fountains, containing brackish, brown colored water, were inoperative. Weeds proliferated in the gardens, touts roamed freely, and hawkers' stands surrounded the base of the Taj Mahal itself. Today the grounds are meticulously maintained. There is no commerce on the grounds. Ticketed entry is rigorously enforced. Thankfully, today there are no touts.

Above: Taj Mahal, Agra, UP, India. 03 April 2024.

Granny, Bishop and Koessler family.

In December of 1972, TIMDT, Mwah (sic), and two-year-old Feebee arrived from Beirut, Lebanon, where we had lived for the previous six months, at the Palam Airport in New Delhi, India at around 2:00 AM. We had come to India to undertake my first work assignment for Citibank at its New Delhi branch. Four hours later, cranky and exhausted, we arrived at the Oberoi New Delhi hotel, escorted by Citibank officer, Surinder Singh. Why the four-hour long delay between arriving at the airport and hotel check in? While at Palam we underwent a first-degree screening as India Customs officers rifled through each piece for our luggage, emptying the contents, checking for hidden compartments, then replacing the contents. With no air conditioning inside, the airport was warm and musty. TIMDT did her best to keep FeeBee pacified, but FeeBee cried most of the time during the customs ordeal. After departing the customs and baggage area, we were accosted simultaneously by a dozen or so screaming touts, offering rides to town, porter service, or currency exchange. Surinder Singh located us, shooshed the touts away, engaged some porters and escorted us outside of the airport into India's unique, pungent, smokey atmosphere, to our non-air conditioned, rickety van.

Yesterday, 02 April 2024, fifty-two years later, TIMDT and Mwah (sic), arrived in New Delhi at Indira Ghandi International Airport, also at 2:00 AM. We had come to join our son's (Koessler's) family for a ten-day tour through India's golden triangle. The kids, who arrived in India two days ago, had already done the Delhi portion of the tour. We would join them for the Agra and Rajasthan segments. After, separating from the Koesslers, TIMDT and Mwah (sic) will travel to Gujarat, a region of India we hadn't seen during our three years of living in India in the early '70's and traveling there fifteen times since. Immediately on exiting the KLM Airlines aircraft's jetway we were greeted by a young woman who escorted us to a golf cart, only feet away. The golf cart driver loaded our hand luggage and drove us quite a distance (the ten-year-old, spiffy, international class, Indira Gandhi Airport has extremely long concourses) to a VIP immigration control desk. There was no one ahead of us at the immigration desk and after the immigration officer reviewed our papers, we were quickly whisked through to the baggage area. The young woman gave our baggage receipt to a porter, who immediately located our baggage (wha?? it had been less than fifteen minutes since we deplaned). With our baggage loaded on a cart, we exited into the public area of the airport to be met by Souvan, a TravelScope India (TIMDT's travel agent for the last 20 years) employee. Souvan, no touts in sight, escorted us to our car, less than one hundred yards away. We arrived at the Imperial Hotel in New Delhi in thirty minutes. We were in bed by 3:30 AM.

The marked contrast between our two India arrival experiences, separated by fifty-two years, is a metaphor for India in general over that period. What once was a third world country, 550 million strong, a democracy, but really mired in bureaucratic socialism and petty corruption, today is a "second world" country, 1.4 billion strong, still chaotic and not without corruption, but leveraging its democracy to tilt, with inexorable, dynamic forward momentum, towards economic freedom and prosperity for more and more of its 1.4 billion citizens.. India grows (5% GDP growth) at a rate that will turn it into the world's third largest economy within three years. Like Indira Ghandhi International Airport of 2024 as compared to Palam Airport 1971, India today is on a far better footing than it was fifty three years ago.

I love coming to India. Indians have to work hard to get ahead. There is no room in India for the lazy. There are few social safety nets apart from family assistance. India is aspirational in an age where the West questions its own purpose. India is spiritual when secularism drains the west of its sense of direction and vitality. We lived for three years in India in the '70's and have been back fifteen times since. We return often because we are ever amazed at India's frenzied progression to becoming a major world player. I look forward over the next three weeks to gaining firsthand insights of transformative India and reporting on them in my Picto Diary/Daily Blog notes.

Above: Agra, India. 03 April 2024.

Vulture sits on Taj Mahal ledge. Birds are India. Most of them have flown off for cooler climes in Siberia, but a few remain. In the Taj Mahal grounds we also saw Hornbill, Green Pigeon, Eurasian Collard Dove, and Parakeet.

Above: Agra, India. Agra Sloth Bear Rescue Sanctuary, 03 April 2024.

Agra Bear Rescue Facility - Wildlife SOS

Every few weeks during 1973, the bear wallah and his dancing bear would show up in front of our house in the Hauz Khas subdivision of New Delhi. To our delight, the bear would dance in our driveway. We'd gratefully pass a few rupees to the bear wallah and he'd move on to the next house. Had we known the back story to this seemingly innocuous and fun practice, we might have had second thoughts about participating in it.

The dancing bear phenomenon in India is an activity that goes back for centuries. Training the bears involved drilling two holes into the bears' snout and looping a control rope through the holes. The practice seems bad enough on its face (no pun intended), but it often led to infection and disease in the animal. Inducing pain to the bear by yanking on the rope was the way that the bears were compelled to dance. Rightly, the practice of dancing bears was outlawed in India in the late 1990's. Under the auspices of the India Forest Management authorities and a private foundation, the practice was halted. Bear wallahs were given a 50-thousand-rupee payment for giving up their bears. Special arrangements were also made to find employment for the bear wallah's wife and to insure education for the bear wallah's children. There are ninety former dancing bears in the Agra facility and a total of 200 former dancing bears in the four bear rescue facilities in India run by Wildlife SOS foundation.

Little did we know in 1972 that by paying the bear wallah for the dancing bear performance we were abetting animal cruelty.

Male sloth bears can weigh as much as three hundred pounds.

Above: Outdoor Market. Fatehpur Sikri, Uttar Pradesh, India. 04 April 2024.

The above image, captured through the window of our minibus as we passed through Fatehpur Sikri, Rajasthan, of fruit sellers seems to indicate food in abundance. When TIMDT and Mwah (sic) first arrived in India in 1972, India, with a population of 550 million was a net importer of food. Today, as we return to India in 2024, with its population of 1.4 billion, India is a net exporter of food. India's food production achievement over the last fifty years is one of the great, yet today, underappreciated and little talked about world scale success stories of our time. How did India achieve food self-sufficiency in the last fifty years while growing its population by nearly a factor of three?

Agricultural scientists developed higher yield varieties of grain, that's how. Norman Borlaug (of course every American school child knows Borlaug's name by heart - not) was an American agronomist who led initiatives worldwide in the mid 1960's that contributed to the extensive increases in agricultural production termed the Green Revolution. Borlaug was awarded multiple honors for his work, including the Nobel Peace Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the congressional gold medal. Borlaug was often called "the father of the Green Revolution" and is credited with saving over a billion people worldwide from starvation. Today, Borlaug and his miracle achievements in food production, at least in the popular consciousness, are all but forgotten.

Above: Norman Borlaug

Planting Borlaug's seeds in India led to record production year after year post 1970. There is still hunger in India. It is estimated that 15% of India's population receives inadequate nutrition. Authorities say such food deficiencies relate to distribution issues and not to food shortages.

Perhaps the reason that the success of the Green Revolution isn't widely appreciated today is that its accomplishment runs afoul of the narrative that there are too many people in the world. The "eat only non-genetically modified food (GMO) movement" is a tool used by progressives, without scientific justification, to convince gullible Westerners that Green Revolution's putative success is illusory due to the supposed harmful effects of genetically modified seeds. *** The ruse has worked. Today, most parts of the developed world, still adhering to the narrative that there are too many people in the world, are on the cusp of a population decline driven by low family formation and low birthrates. Declining populations will result in a lower standard of living as fewer workers (without unlikely whopping productivity gains) will be available to spur continued economic growth.

India is not so gullible as the West. India is aspirational as Western Culture cowers. Through use of science, India has shown that she can produce enough food for a growing population and with accompanying economic growth, now at 5%, increase prosperity for all of her citizens. With her growing population, look for India to take an increasing share of the world's output while simultaneously improving her peoples' standard of living. There may be other reasons to question India's future, but her agricultural success is not one of them.

Moral? Doubt so-called conventional wisdom driven by ideological narrative. Be like India. Use science to grow.

*** The fact that the believers in the harm of consuming GMO food are also strong supporters of the mRNA vaccines is another story for another time.

Above: Chand Baoli Stepwell, Rajesthan, India.

Lotta work just to get down to the water table. Too bad no one had invented a pump in the eighth century. As much time as TIMDT have spent in India, this, the largest stepwell in India, is the first Indian stepwell we have ever visited. We expect to see more stepwells later in Gujarat. We were stunned with the scope and preservation of this wonder. It's just another example of how during each visit to India, something new, unexpected, and fabulous unfolds before your eyes.

Above: Dera Amer Wilderness Camp. Rajasthan, India. 04 April 2024

Leopard. Image captured at 200 yards through a binocular by Koessler while on a nature walk with his family. Unlike some leopard camps in India, Dera Amer doesn't advertise a possible leopard sighting. On arrival, seeing that the terrain was similar to leopard camps in Rajasthan that we had visited in the past, I asked the manger if there were leopards in the area. He confirmed that there were and showed me a picture on his phone that he said he had taken two days ago. Koessler and family were treated to a nice, unexpected surprise on their nature walk. Unfortunately, TIMDT and Mwah (sic) didn't go on the nature walk. Still jet-lagged, we were sleeping in our glamping tent.

Addendum:

Dear Steve,

I wish to thank you again for enriching the final years of my career by funding my 2 creative endeavors as a beneficent, generous Arts Patron. That meant so much to me. My one big regret is that I wasn't able to return your money in this age of streaming. That being said, I am grateful to you.

Responding to one of your emails in which you mentioned: "an observation about the dynamism, as measured by financial strength, of today's LDS Church. Joseph Smith, out of whose mind, inspired or not, LDS temples and accompanying rituals sprang, would be (is?) amazed to note the far-reaching fruits of his inspiration."

Joseph Smith knew that no enemy then present or in the future would have sufficient power to frustrate or stop the purposes of God. We are all familiar with his prophetic words: “The Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done” (History of the Church, 4:540). This statement demonstrates to me that young Joseph knew through revelation what the growth of Christ's church would be like.

Regarding Temple work, the Church is merely continuing a practice that the Church engaged in during New Testament times. What is the destiny of the billions who have lived and died with no knowledge of Jesus? With the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ has come the understanding of how the unbaptized dead are redeemed and how God can be “a perfect, just God, and a merciful God also” (Alma 42:15).
While yet in life, Jesus prophesied that He would also preach to the dead. Peter tells us this happened in the interval between the Savior’s Crucifixion and Resurrection (see 1 Peter 3:18–19). President Joseph F. Smith (1838–1918) witnessed in vision that the Savior visited the spirit world and “from among the righteous [spirits], he organized his forces and appointed messengers, clothed with power and authority, and commissioned them to go forth and carry the light of the gospel to them that were in darkness. …“These were taught faith in God, repentance from sin, vicarious baptism for the remission of sins, [and] the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands” (D&C 138:30, 33).The doctrine that the living can provide baptism and other essential ordinances to the dead vicariously was revealed anew to the Prophet Joseph Smith (see D&C 124; 128; 132).It is for this reason that the gospel is preached “also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit” (1 Peter 4:6). Our anxiety to redeem the dead and the time and resources we put behind that commitment are, above all, an expression of our witness concerning Jesus Christ. It constitutes as powerful a statement as we can make concerning His divine character and mission. It testifies, first, of Christ’s Resurrection; second, of the infinite reach of His Atonement; third, that He is the sole source of salvation; fourth, that He has established the conditions for salvation; and, fifth, that He will come again. As regards the Resurrection, Paul asked, “Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?” (1 Corinthians 15:29). We are baptized for the dead because we know that they will rise. “The soul shall be restored to the body, and the body to the soul; yea, and every limb and joint shall be restored to its body; yea, even a hair of the head shall not be lost; but all things shall be restored to their proper and perfect frame” (Alma 40:23). “For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living” (Romans 14:9). Contemplating God’s glorious plan for the redemption of these, His children, the Prophet Joseph Smith penned this psalm: “Let your hearts rejoice, and be exceedingly glad. Let the earth break forth into singing. Let the dead speak forth anthems of eternal praise to the King Immanuel, who hath ordained, before the world was, that which would enable us to redeem them out of their prison; for the prisoners shall go free” (D&C 128:22).

These sentiments Steve, and more, are why faithful members prioritize Temples and the work performed therein.

I greatly admire your life Steve - reading, traveling, discipline, generosity, growth mindset, support of things you believe in, enthusiasm, friendshipping, and thoughtfulness! The Church of Jesus Christ needs a great man like you!

As an aside Richard Bushman has been a progressive historian. Like so much that is the misnomer "progressive," their trade is one of misrepresentation, distortion, and faulty conclusions. His many unflattering and tainted claims are being dismantled now by traditional historians looking at verifiable facts and original sources.

Anyway, enjoy India!

Love,

Jay Lawrence, Lehi, UT

Your testimony, Jay, is evidence of the LDS energy of which I speak. Thanks! And thanks for your fabulous, world class contribution to big band and ensemble jazz. I was proud to be an executive producer of those two albums. Your comment on Richard Bushman is, if nothing else, "to the point." I've read both his books, "Rough Stone Rolling," and "Joseph Smith's Golden Plates." It is true that he tries to put in modern context those events/claims that happened in another era. He does so by evidence gathering and meticulous documentation. I thought both books were helpful, even if no book can prove or disprove Joseph's Smith's claims. Bushman bears a testimony to the effect that he would want no other life other than his life as an active Mormon... not an "I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt" affirmation, for sure. I'd have to say that his work is a net add to the Church's benefit, but acknowledge that his testimony is not solidly affirmative of the miracles claimed by Joseph Smith. Isn't there room for such a person within Mormondom?

Above: Dera Amer Wilderness Camp. Rajasthan, India. 05 April 2024.

Granny and Roy have an unexpected visit at breakfast.

Above: Dera Amer Wilderness Camp. Rajasthan, India. 05 April 2024.

Pretty boy.

Above: Dera Mandawa. Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. 05 April 2024.

Dera Mandawa, Jaipur’s top heritage homestay - Alfred& (kuoni.co.uk)

Thakur Durga Singh, owner of Dera Mandawa, led a demonstration to our family group, and Raj, our TravelScope tour guide, of the preparation of various Indian foods, including bread making using cow dung coals (see image), naan, and the making of paneer (Indian cottage cheese). Most intriguing to me was Singh's making the case for vegetarianism.

The Hindu tradition of ahimsa, or nonviolence and compassion, includes a deep commitment to vegetarianism. Singh noted that early Hindus started eating foods for which they had no need to kill any sentient being. About a third of Indians today follow a vegetarian diet.

Singh discussed the practice of lacto-vegetarianism favored by most practicing Hindu vegetarians. Lacto-vegetarianism includes milk-based foods and all other non-animal derived foods. Meat and eggs are excluded.

According to Singh, there are three main reasons for Hindus to practice vegetarianism. 1. The principle of ahimsa applied to animals. 2. Prasad. The practice of offering only vegetarian food to a preferred god and then sharing the offering with fellow adherents. 3. The belief that non vegetarian food is detrimental for the mind and for spiritual development.

The Hindu tradition of spiritual vegetarianism is getting a fresh start in India and abroad.

 Why the Hindu spiritual tradition of vegetarianism is getting a fresh start (religionnews.com)

There are fifteen million Indian passport holders who live outside of India and another fifteen million Indians who have given up their Indian nationality to become citizens of other countries. While not all of this massive diaspora are vegetarians in the Hindu tradition, many are, and they, many of them in the United States, have found a new reason to recommit themselves to vegetarianism: prevention of global warming. These virtuous foodies see themselves as bringing the wisdom of traditional Hindu culture to address environmental degradation - specifically greenhouse gas emissions caused by animal waste.

As wealth has increased, so has meat consumption. But dung and flatulence from cows, pigs, goats, and sheep are considered major contributors to global warming. These animals produce methane gas, which is more than thirty times more potent at trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. In addition, raising livestock takes up twenty times as much land as growing beans.

Considering India's growing influence in the world, and the enormous size of the Indian diaspora throughout the West, will food spirituality combine with climate virtue to influence the diets of the rest of us non-Hindus? I could live with it. I love a meal of lentils (protein), muttar paneer curry, dahl, bindi, and nan. Let's go veg! Cummon, America! You can do it!

Above: Rambaugh Palace Hotel, Jaipur, India. 06 April 2024.

Bishop's breakfast.

Above: Grrr at lunch. Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. 06 April 2024.

"Hey, look. I can get burgers, pizza and fries when I'm home. While in India I want to try the local fare!"

Above: Rambaugh Palace Hotel. Jaipur, India. 06 April 2024.

Puppet show.

Addendum:

Hi Steve

I remember it well when, in 2013, we had the Boeing manager talk about the systems integration department being effectively dissolved in favor of relying on sub-contractors to do the job.

He pointed out the problems with the batteries on the 787 as being a consequence of the demise of systems integration. As I recall, he said the department had 10,000 or so engineers and staff.

Since then, Boeing moved upper management out of Seattle where they could be "hands-on"
in favor of Chicago and Washington where they do not build airplanes. Worse, Boeing continued to rely on Spirit that continued to have quality problems that they accepted.

No wonder that Boeing is in a big mess.

Ohl,
Houston, TX

Thanks for the fascinating insight for experiences I’ve never had. Reminds me of the joy and fascination experienced through Kipling's books and poems and the movies inspired from the time of British India. The Man Who would be King, Kim, Soldiers Three, If, etc. There is another more contemporary book I recommend by Gregory Roberts called Shantaram with vivid descriptions of Bombay and its people and a good storyline. Referred to me by a guide I fished with quite a bit in ID.

Tony,
Park City, UT

I hosted a couple of dinners in the McArthur suite.
Magnificent setting.

Archbishop,
Highland, North Carolina

Thanks for picto diary of India brings back memories.

Bridge,
Palm Beach, FL

Thank you! What a wonderful trip, so great that the children are with you. If India stays on track they will likely soon exceed China’s economy proving once again that capitalism is better than socialism/communism (of any variation) for the good of the general public.

Nathans,
Massapequa, NY

Above: Rambagh Palace Hotel Presidential Suite. Jaipur, Rajasthan. 07 April 2023

Image of Matriarch TIMDT, expendable bull elephant (Bishop) and Koessler family. Hotel, with nudge of TravelScope, doing a nice gesture for the family.

Above: Raas Chhatrasagar, Nimaz, District Pali, Rajasthan. 07 April 2024. (file image.

Overnight at this tony bird watching camp. I snoozed and missed the walk to the lake and dinner. After breakfast, TIMDT and Mwah (sic) passed on the village walk and talked to our guide, Raj, until an 11:00 AM departure for Jodhpur. Accommodations and food (at least breakfast, which is the only meal I took) were first class in every respect.

Above: Jodhpur, Rajasthan. 08 April 2024.

Five people. Baby hidden from view.

Above:  Chinkara (Black Buck).  Bilara, Rajasthan.  08 April 2024.

Above: Ajit Bhavan Palace Hotel. Jodhpur, Rajasthan. 08 April 2024.

Nice 'stash. Soldier on the right, too.

Above: Ajit Bhavan Hotel, Jodhpur, Rajasthan. 08 April 2024.

It is always important to lock the door when you are leaving your hotel room.

Above: Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur, Rajasthan. 09 April 2024
Matriarch oversees her herd. Bull, kicked out of the herd, is allowed to take images.

Above: Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur, Rajasthan. 09 April 2024.
Granny and charges in tuk tuk.

Note:  In a strange scene that I did not witness:  a grandmother brought a one-year-old over to the tuk tuk and laid it in Roy's lap.  She told the Tuk Tuk driver that it was too hard for her to carry the infant up the quarter mile long, 200-foot elevation change ramp to the entrance to the fort.  Due to her respiratory problem, TIMDT had been granted special permission to ride the tuk tuk to the fort gate.  On arrival at the fort gate, the tuk tuk driver took the baby from Roy, sent Roy on her way, and waited for the grandmother to arrive to return the child.  As it was relayed to me, all this happened sans explanation, though there was probably some communication between the tuk tuk drive and the grandmother.

Shortly after entering the main gate of the plus five-hundred-year-old Rajput, Mehrangarh Fort, I stopped at a money exchange window to get some rupees for dollars. Boldly advertised on a sign in the window was the exchange rate: one dollar gets you 83 rupees. I carefully meted out five US twenties on the dealer's desk. The dealer confirmed the count and then pointed to another sign behind him which said: Small US bills, 82 rupees to the dollar. Twenties were apparently small bills. I smiled at the dealer, who remain stern faced. Bait and switch I thought to myself. I was only going to change one hundred dollars to get some tip money. I wasn't going to quibble over the reduced rate. So, sans complaint or protest, I completed the exchange and went on my way.

More amused than angry about having been had, I was impressed with the resourcefulness of the currency exchange operator. Having lived in "third world countries (Egypt, Lebanon, Philippines, and India) for eight years over the course of my life, I had experienced many situations where quick-witted service providers would find another way to apply a hoodwink premium to some transaction I had gullibly entered into. While living in Manila in the early 80's, our phone broke down. The phone company sent out a repairman who concluded the problem was electrical. He said he couldn't fix it. I told one of my employees at work about the seeming Catch 22. 'Well Steve," the employee said, "just ask the phone guy to fix the "electrical" problem. He'll do it for a few pesos, cash of course." I asked the phone company for another service call. The same phone repairman returned. I said, "Look, I know you are the phone guy, but can you fix the electrical problem for me? I'll give you thirty pesos." "Sure," he said. For sure I had been had, but the problem was solved... and not a lot of money had been involved. And, I felt more satisfied, than had, by the fact that my telephone now worked.

It has long been my private theory that the "resourcefulness" I had witnessed in India and the Philippines while engaging in small transactions correlated to the success of immigrants arriving in the US from those same countries. Check the below chart and note how Indian and Filipino immigrants' average incomes in the US are well above that of white Americans. Now, I have to be careful here. I am not saying these immigrants to the US get ahead by cheating. People who don't follow US laws and practices, over time, will be caught and punished. I am saying, though, that there is a quality found in certain third world country US immigrants that impels them to work a little bit harder, a little more resourcefully and cleverly, to get ahead. I applaud the success of America's Filipino and Indian immigrants. Whether my private theory is right or wrong, the below numbers don't lie. Bottom line: the US needs more resourceful, talented and "hungry" Indian and Filipino immigrants.

Above: Old Town Jodhpur, Rajasthan. 09 April 2024.
Scene at center shows an Islamic woman dressed in black chador.

India is fractured by a matrix of cultural fault lines, segments which include religion, caste, class and race/language. The British, during eighty-nine years of parliamentary rule, 1858 to 1847, managed to stich the various segments together by creating institutions such as railroads, civil service and an army of Indian sepoys reporting to British officers. Enter the Indian National Congress in 1885, colloquially the Congress Party, the first nationalist movement to arise in the British Empire. While Indian soldiers fought for the British in the two world wars, the push for India independence by the Congress Party gained strength. A lot of summarizing here, but finally on 15 August 1947, India was granted her independence by Britain.

The Indian leaders at the time of Independence were Mahatma Gandhi, the sainted champion of nonviolence as the successful key to colonial resistance, Jawaharlal Nehru, an Oxford educated, secular aesthete, Vallabhbhai Patel, a barrister and close associate of fellow Gujarati, Gandhi, and Mohammad Ali Jinnah, a secular, primarily English-speaking Muslim lawyer from Mumbai.

Britain was sapped at the end of World War II and realized the inevitability of her having to give up her "jewel in the crown," India, to independence. Even so, no one thought the experiment would work. The Brits, while looting India, had held together the polyglot cultural matrix that is India, but could Indians replace them? Churchill, who detested Gandhi, knew an independent India was an experiment doomed to fail. Jinnah, the self-appointed representative for India's Muslim community, then twenty-five percent of the Indian population, so doubted the success of a plan to forge an independent India absent the Brits that he, to Gandhi's great disappointment, insisted that Muslims be offered their own country. The discussions of independence were refereed by Britain's Louis Mountbatten, who try as he might to get Jinnah to reconsider breaking India apart, failed. Jinnah became the first prime minister of newly created Pakistan.

The boundaries between India and Pakistan were haphazardly drawn. An exodus of Indian Muslims moved north from south of the partition line to Pakistan and Hindus, moved from north to south. The sectarian violence between Muslims and Hindus that occurred as India was broken apart is well rehearsed having cost a staggering two million lives. This cataclysmic partition of India seemed to validate the expectations of naysayers like Churchill that the independence experiment was not going to work. Nehru and Patel, seemingly over their heads in running the new India had to call back Mountbatten to serve as a closet PM. Gandhi was assassinated only six months after Independence in January of 1948. His assassin was a Hindu nationalist upset about Gandhi's role in breaking India apart.

Somehow the Indian leaders, Nehru, and later his daughter Indira Gandhi, got India moving, albeit in a highly regulated, socialist, low growth mode. 2014: Enter Narendra Modi, former governor of the state of Gujarat, from a rival party to Congress, BJP, who introduced significant economic reforms. During Modi's leadership India's economic growth rate has averaged above 6%. She is self-sufficient in food production. She is due to have surpass Germany and Japan in economic output within four years. So, time heals all wounds. We have a success story, right? Not so fast. The ghost of Churchill lives on.

Having lived in India for three years during the 1970's and during our several trips to India over the last two decades, we have been well aware of India's sectarian fault lines. The largest fault line, of course, is between Hinduism and Islam. Today, Muslims (not all went north to Pakistan, now an Islamic Republic) number 200 million, the second largest Muslim population in the world after Indonesia, and 15% of India's total population. Mostly, we have witnessed a go along get along relationship between Hindus and Muslims. We saw many examples in villages of Hindu and Muslim cooperation. In one village, the Muslim tailor would sew wedding garments precedent to a Hindu wedding, and, in another village, the Hindus ceded burial spots form their own burial grounds to Muslims. We noted, in one small town, Hindus and Muslims cooperating ensure the completion of a Hindu temple. It seems that this MO at the rural level, where sixty five percent of India's population is, is generally intact.

But, in confirming Hindu/Muslim cooperation at the village level, we weren't looking closely enough. A Hindu nationalist movement in India is on the rise in larger population areas. It makes itself manifest at religious festivals where rowdy young Hindus, sporting saffron-colored clothes and carrying swords, march through a Muslim neighborhood shouting pro Hindu slogans. They are met with Muslim boys throwing stones back at them. The government typically dampens the demonstrations as isolated phenomena. But the government is now run by the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and many of its officials are vocal Hindu nationalists who were once part of the saffron shirted boys raising havoc in Muslim neighborhoods during religious festivals. The demonstrations have been growing more frequent in recent years and the response from BJP party head, and Indian PM, Modi, has been silence.

Since partition in 1947, notwithstanding the seeming cooperative spirit between Muslims and Hindus at the village level, the secular principles enshrined in India's constitution show decay. In 1992, Hindu extremists demolished a 16th century mosque in the city of Ayoda. Hindus ended up winning the legal battle by having the Supreme Court award them the land. A 2000 Islamic terror attack on the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai, conceived in Pakistan, didn't help matters on the sectarian front. The BJP brazenly uses anti-Islamic rhetoric to get votes. In 2022, in the BJP run state of Karnataka (Bangalore) authorities introduced rules to ban veils in schools, ban public prayers, ban the Muslim call to prayer and ban Muslim street traders from plying their wares near Hindu temples. At the extreme, speakers at public rallies in BJP run states have issued threats against Muslims, from mass rape to mass expulsion. Minority Christians and Sikhs have not been spared from this rise in Hindu nationalist rhetoric. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by one of her Sikh bodyguards as a response to anti Sikh pogroms initiated by Hindu nationalists.

Most Hindus in India are said to believe that the actions of the extremists are over the top. Also, the broader Muslim community has acted with restraint for the most part in the wake of Hindu surliness. But Modi's seeming indifference to rising anti Muslim rhetoric and demonstrations plays in the face of potential Muslim violent response. 1947 is a long way back, but not so far back that memory of severe secular violence between Hindus and Muslims is forgotten. India has progressed greatly in seventy-six years of independence. Still, Modi needs to be careful, that notwithstanding his successful leadership in spurring economic growth in India over the last ten years, he is not the catalyst to a sectarian cataclysm to prove Churchill right all along.

Above: Pal Haveli, Old City, Jodhpur. 09 April 2024.

14th century music performance, passed along the generations via matriarchal line. Vocal, dance, and instrumental: razan-hatta, bhapang.

Above: Indique Restaurant. Old Town, Jodhpur, Rajasthan. 09 April 2024

Addendum:

The hunger rate in the US is 16.67.%. Draw your own conclusions- probably does not include illegal, all or some.

Archbishop,
Naples, FL

Loved the pics. Elephant pic would look good in a frame.

Tony,
Park City, UT

I could go vegan too. Got any good lentil meal recipes to provide protein???

Nathans,
Orlando, FL

Good one.

Brand Man,
Ventura, CA

Steve,

I know we CAN do it, but should we?

Years ago, while at FranklinQuest, we bought a health spa (the National Institute of Fitness) in St. George that advocated vegetarianism and preferably veganism. I went vegan for a whole year. I was never healthier: lowered my blood pressure dramatically, lost 15% of body weight, my teeth were shockingly clean.

On the flip side, I was never so UNHAPPY. Meal time was nothing to look forward to—ever. My wife was miserable, trying to adapt to my ridiculous meal regimen. Almost cost me my marriage!

Eating good food for us is a major part of la joie de vivre. Then, I saw an article in the WSJ where some guru of veganism had left the faith. The reporter asked him, “How can you do this to all your adherents, i.e., preach veganism for 20 years and then overnight become a carnivore?” His answer: “Twenty years is a long time!”

Of our six children’s we have one daughter and a granddaughter who are recovering vegetarians. We have another daughter (in her forties) who is and has been a vegetarian since she was about five. Of all our children, she is probably the healthiest, but also the most unhappy with her life. I think there’s a lesson in that.

Best,

Apple Store,
Salt Lake City, UT

Steve.. Loved your write-up ire Delhi arrivals, past and present, and the development of India during the past 50 years which I observed on my visit 2 month ago. I look forward to seeing and reading more from your current visit with family. Just had my first day of skiing in Park City today and look forward to seeing you and Margaret upon your return, and hopefully skiing with you.

Espresso,
Washington, D.C.

Thanks Steve your comments on India’s food situation are appreciated. Another event not to be overlooked is the tremendous advancement in agricultural equipment. India played a significant roll in providing ag equipment to the third world beginning in the 1960s. Enjoy your trip and keep the reports coming.

The Monk,
Salina, UT

10 April 2024. Images from the rural Luni district, some fifty kilometers west of Jodhpur, Rajasthan. Sixty five percent of India's 1.4 billion population live in rural villages. When India gained Independence in 1947 after two centuries of being plundered by The East India Company and later, the Raj, her people needed to be put to productive work. Industrialization was not an option for a people subsistence living on agriculture. Gandhi admonished Indians to start cottage industries. He set the example by adopting wool spinning as his own cottage industry skill. While India has evolved significantly since 1947, cottage industries remain an important economic activity where dignity in work and production are imbued into villagers throughout India. You cannot know contemporary India without knowing her villages.

Muslim kids from the potter's (see below) extended, multigenerational family. In former times, such kids ogled with awe at the images I took of them that I showed back to them on my device. This time, the children were curious to see the image, but it was no big deal. This time, the kids had their own smart phones and they wanted to take my picture. I muse that with their smart phones, these kids can take an Econ 101 course from John Taylor at Stanford. Tech. A tool for India rising.

Jain ascetic walking along the road looking carefully to avoid killing any living thing while he walks. The mask is not to inhibit virus transmission. Rather, it is worn to inhibit breathing in, thereby killing, flying insects.

Hindu women carrying grain. A few feet further on, from where I captured this image from the safari Jeep, the women grinned through their sheer veils and gave me a friendly wave.

I should have waited another few seconds to capture this image of villagers on their way to a religious fest of some kind. In the trailer, the women, all wearing the same magenta-colored chadors/saris? were facing to the rear. Facing forward were men, dressed in white, with turbans, like the fellows on the tractor. The tractor is a Massy Ferguson, manufactured in Rajasthan. We see a lot of these tractors, used for purposes beyond farming, as can be seen here.

Above: Potter and potter's wheel. One of the most amazing pieces of basic tool technology I have seen. The stone potter's wheel rests on a small fulcrum underneath. The wheel is turned manually by the potter with his arms and hands. When the wheel gathers some speed, the potter places the end of stick at left on the wheel and then aggressively advances the spinning speed of the stone wheel as though he were frenetically churning butter.

Weaver shuttles wool thread through loom to weave a pattu segment. Two segments will be stitched together to form a square mat like piece of cloth that has multiple functions: rug, blanket, shawl, wall covering etc. Our TravelScope guide, Raj, who has guided many of our India trips, looks on.

Shoemaker uses awl to penetrate hard leather soles of work in process shoes. I ordered a pair of these traditional slipper/shoes. The shoemaker brought out his blank page notebook to outline my foot, but my foot didn't fit on the page. He found a newspaper, which did the trick. Guide Raj, who also ordered some shoes, will make sure the shoes catch up to me somewhere.... Ahmedabad, Delhi, or back home. I ordered the shoe similar to the tan, unadorned shoe at the bottom of the image.

Intricate stitching of filigree gold thread into an odhni. An odhni is considered a symbol of modesty and compliments the overall look of a salwar kameez.

Smithing rudimentary farm tools: scythes, axes etc. While I stood watching, the woman (the smith's wife?) brought the hammer down at least fifteen times. A woman's work is never done.

Addendum

Steve

The pictures you have sent are great. The picture of a family on a motor bike reminded me of Vietnam. In Ho Chi Minh City, you see families like this in the hundreds daily.

I hope Jake and family are having a wonderful time and are learning a lot about India.

When I was growing up, we were taught some of the Indian history. We were told that the British set up government departments and bureaucracies in India for the first time. However we were told that it was not until Britain handed the country back to its citizens that those government agencies became true massively extensive intolerable bureaucracies.

The Pope,
Eufaula, Alabama

Hunger in America is due to ignorance alone. For $1.75 you can have delicious lentils from Costco easy to make just open the package and heat or heat in the package in the microwave and if you want to stretch it, you put boiled rice. By chance, that’s what we had for dinner tonight . Dinner for three of us at a total cost of $5.00. Because American women don’t know how to cook or don’t have time, children grow up on easy to get junk food. There are prepared packaged lentils containing garlic, onions tomatoes, etc. give you everything you need to live on.

Comic Mom,
Park City, UT

So glad you are both in India with your lovely family. What an adventure for them. Stay well safe and keep enjoying yourselves.

LaPsy,
Los Angeles, CA

Thoughtful review, thank you.

Two questions:

1. The China–India situation. What is the street talk? Might a conflict with China unify India more tightly?
1. What is a good book to read about the history of India? I have read two:
The Last Mughal by William Dalrymple
Freedom at Midnight by Dominique Lapierre & Larry Collins

10 Best Books on Indian History You Must Read

Safe travels,

Panama,
Los Angeles, CA

Steve,

An interesting view of India; but is the city/rural Indian divide so much different than the coastal” elite”/ “flyover country” divide in the U.S.?

Ahn Rhee,
Larkspur, CA

Steve… Smart and interesting. Bumped into Steve W. who was in in India for years [with] NYT and edited Senator Moynihan’s papers. He said then ambassador Moynihan's letters from Delhi were great. (Carols uncle Ellsworth Bunker was also ambassador to Delhi).

SFS,
Washington, D.C.

Above: Narendra Modi, Prime Minister India. Jodhpur, India. 11 April 2024.

Images of Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, are ubiquitous here in Jodhpur, and elsewhere, during our April 2024 travels to India. India's eighteenth national election is set for 01 June 2024 and the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), Modi's party, is expected to remain dominant with Modi entering his third term as Prime Minister. Modi has been in office for ten years and has a current popularity rating in the polls of 75%.

Modi's support is greater in north India, where the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) is dominant, than in Southern India, where various other parties, including the Indian National Congress and Communist Party of India (M) hold sway.

Modi has succeeded in entering India's popular consciousness as few other Prime Ministers have done, save perhaps, Indira Gandhi. One pundit has referred to Modi as a combination of "king, high priest, and Mr. Rogers." Modi is beyond politics. On social media he has inserted himself into people's lives almost as a family member.

As can be imagined when a politician gains so much power, Modi has pushed India into a form of electoral autocracy. As he uses the power of government to harass his political enemies, Joe Biden looks like a piker compared to Modi. In February, the BJP's principal opposition party, Congress Party, had its bank accounts closed with the BJP controlled Indian government demanding immediate payment of overdue tax payments. The accounts have since been reopened. In March, Delhi's Chief Minister, Congress Party member, was held for six days on corruption charges. He has since been released. These two actions received a frosty response from the high and mighty United States, which is rich considering FBI intimidation of mom's challenging left leaning school boards, FBI infiltration of Catholic churches and lawfare strong arm tactics used to slow down Republican Donald Trump's 2024 campaign for the presidency. The BJP has also cracked down on a testy Indian media. This is opposite to the US where the media seems to be a lap dog for the ruling Democrats.

If there is a perception by Republicans that US elections may be free, but not fair, so the accusation is made of Indian presidential elections. The BJP, benefiting from large campaign donations, makes grist of other Indian political parties, always coming up with something to keep them on the defensive. One pundit, Andy Mukerjee, based in Hong Kong, says India's electoral process is "on the slippery slope to becoming a closed electoral autocracy." There is no clash of ideas happening in India today as the BJP has been successful in keeping other parties on the run with legal battles and corruption accusations.

While the BJP party is a hotbed of Hindu supremacy, Modi himself is usually quiet on this topic. However, he can stir the coals of secular conflict when he wants to, particularly as he considers his strong electoral position. In January he attended the opening ceremony of the newly constricted Ayoda Hindu temple which had, notoriously, been constructed on the site of a mosque destroyed by Hindu militants in 1992. Modi's visit to the temple did not sit well with India's Muslim community, 15% of India's population.

Modi also doesn't see the need to stoke his BJP, Hindu nationalist leaning base. He's confident that his core supporters will be with him. Modi concentrates on winning alliances with other factions of the Indian cultural matrix. Modi is good at being all things to all people. India is made up of a complex matrix of class, caste, language and religion. A clever leader can appeal the oft conflicting needs of all factions where in such a large, populous country it is hard for, say, Sikhs, in Punjab to keep track of Modi's promises to communists in faraway Kerala.

As India powers forward with a sustainable 5% GDP growth rate, the people seem oblivious to Modi's political machinations. Modi's is a powerful formula. Delegitimize the media. Starve opposition parties of funding and open investigations on them. And, promise, to all India's caste, class, religious, and language factions, the world,

Modi now owns all the issues: economy, national security, climate, jobs and corruption. The wind seems to be at his back, but at what cost as India's democracy seems to be slipping away.

Above: Jodhpur Train Station. Sabarmati Vande Bharat train, Jodhpur, Rajasthan. 11 April 2024.

On to Ahmedabad sans TIMDT's brood who are returning home via Delhi. Sabarmati Vande Bharat. Top speed 180 kph. Not bullet train, but fastest train on which we've traveled to date in India. Indian train stations always fascinating as they contain a microcosm of the country's population: all classes, all castes, and all religions.

India's first bullet train, indigenously developed, linking Mumbai with Ahmedabad, is set for completion 2027.

Above: Thar Desert, Rajasthan, India. 11 April 2024.

Sunrise over the Thar Desert at 90 mph on the Sabarmati Vande Bharat train.

Above: Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Ahmedabad Train station. 11 April 2024.

Porter balances two of our bags, 70 pounds total, on his head.

Above: Indian Institute of Management (IIMA), Ahmedabad, India. 11 April 2024.

Long called India's Harvard Business School. Considering the rot eating away at America's "elite" institutions, IIMA may want to drop the comparison.

Above: Ahmedabad, Gujarat. 11 April 2024. Image from hotel window. ITC Narmada Hotel. 21st floor.

Since last making an extended visit to India in 2019, I vowed that my next Indian visit would include Ahmedabad and surrounding areas in the state of Gujarat. TIMDT was less enthusiastic about my desire to visit Ahmedabad, but cooperated, particularly in view of my willingness to earlier in the trip to cover a lot of old ground while accompanying Koessler and his family around the golden triangle. Gujarat is the birthplace of key post 1947 independence Indian luminaries... Gandhi, Vallabhbhai Patel, and current PM, Narendra Modi. Modi is Prime Minister today after, while Governor of Gujarat, instituting economic reforms that made Gujarat a model for other states to follow. Ahmedabad is also on Time Magazines 2022 list of World's Greatest Places. Ahmedabad, India: World's Greatest Places 2022 | TIME

Ahmedabad, six million population, is India's first UNESCO World Heritage City. It is the home of India's top business school, indeed, high on the list of world class business schools, Indian Institute of Management. The thirty-six-acre Gandhi ashram sits peacefully beside the Sabarmati River. It was from Gandhi's Ahmedabad ashram that he, Vallabhbhai Patel, Jawaharlal Nehru and others laid the groundwork for the movement to attain Indian independence from the Raj in 1947. Ahmedabad is the site of new world class hotels, including the ITC Narmada Hotel, where TIMDT and Mwah (sic) are staying. Gujarat is also the home of most of India's famous stepwells and of the largest statue in the world, The Statue of Unity, in the image of Indian patriot, Vallabhbhai Patel.

We plan to stay five nights in Gujarat and seeing as much as we can see of a state that has emerged as an economic powerhouse... a model for other states to emulate. We certainly don't want to miss the 10th century stepwells which are the functional equivalent of the caravan serai found along the Silk Road not terribly far to the north.

Addendum

Thanks for sharing this trip. What a great way to learn.

Hippo and Survival,
Hatch, UT

Beautiful! Thanks, Steve, for sharing.

Apple Store,
Salt Lake City, UT

Such an interesting travelogue, I forwarded to others in my family sure to enjoy.

Tony,
Park City, UT

Steve,

Consider: The $100 Bill Is America’s Most Common Currency, and It's Most Annoying. The amount in circulation has more than doubled in recent years, but $100s are hated by both cashiers and economists. Drug dealers and black market traders love it.
Enjoying my trip through India through your photos.

In your chart below, with Indian-Americans in the lead, it would be helpful to see the types of degrees held. While some of them are restaurant owners, many more are engineers, bankers, and doctors.

Dick

By Oyin Adedoyin - Reporter at The Wall Street Journal:

Feb. 24, 2024, 9:00 pm ET

Rayza Sison went to a flea market in New York this month with five $100 bills. One by one, vendors refused to take her money, saying they couldn’t make changes or accepted only digital payments through Venmo or Zelle.

Determined to break the bills, the 26-year-old senior program coordinator tried using them at coffee shops and then her local fruit stand. She was refused again. The bills are still in her wallet.

“I had hoped cash would be more convenient, particularly at a flea market,” Sison said.

The $100 bill is far and away the most common U.S. paper currency, dwarfing even the $1 bill. The number of bills bearing Benjamin Franklin’s mug more than doubled between 2012 and 2022, faster growth than any other denomination, according to the most recent Federal Reserve data. The $100 Bill Is America’s Most Common Currency, and Its Most Annoying

Above: Swaminarayan Hindu Temple. Kalupur, Ahmedabad, Gujarat. 12 April 2024.

Swaminarayan Temple: our first stop on a two and one-half kilometer walk through the old walled city of Ahmedabad. Founded in the 15th century, the old city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Old town Ahmedabad includes the walls and gates of the fort city, numerous mosques and tombs, and important Jain and Hindu temples from later periods. The urban fabric of old town consists of densely packed traditional houses called "pols" in gated traditional streets known as "puras." Ahmedabad stands out as an exceptional example of multicultural coexistence. Institutions belonging to various religions *Hinduism, Islam Buddhism Jains, Christianity, Zoroastrianism, Judaism) coexist harmoniously within its historic urban structure.

In the second image above, a barrier separates male and female adherents. TIMDT can be seen sitting at rear of female section.

Above: Jama Mosque, Kalupur, Ahmedabad, Gujarat. 12 April 2024.

Jama Mosque was completed in 1424, by Sultan Ahmad Shah, of the Arab Caliphate, over one hundred years before the arrival of the Moguls in India.

Above: Hot coal iron Old Heritage Ahmedabad. 12 April 2024.

A woman's work is never done.

Above: Chandravilas Restaurant, Old Heritage Ahmedabad. 12 April 2024.

Chandravilas Restaurant. 120 years of continuous family ownership. Breakfast haunt of Gandhi, Patel, and Modi. Eat your heart out Cafe Deux Magots. Considering India's forward, if chaotic, economic momentum, one can conceive of a point in the not-too-distant future where India becomes a world power, if not the world cultural leader. The high-minded intellectual colloquy of De Bouvoir, Hemingway, Sartres and Camus at Paris' Cafe Deux Magots may be long forgotten, as the breakfast discussions among India's founders at Chandravalis emerge as the new world's core cultural ideas.

Above: Chandravilas. Old Heritage Ahmedabad, Gujarat. 12 April 2024.
Bishop, Naman (local guide), Raj (Ace TravelScope trip escort), and Malev (Chandravilas owner). Amitabh Bachchan, Bollywood "Tom Cruise," and Chandravilas regular, on poster in background.

Above: Chandravilas, Old Heritage Ahmedabad, 12 April 2024.

Khaman. Breakfast. Watch out for the green chilis. At first thinking them as bindis, I was warned off by Naman.

Above: Sidi Saiyyed Mosque, Old Heritage Ahmedabad. 12 April 2024.

Built in 1573, during the Mogul period, the mosque is known for its ten intricately carved stone latticework windows on the side and rear arches.

Addendum:

Fascinating…trend towards authoritarianism everywhere now it seems. Thank you, Steve.
Marc,
Palo Alto, CA

You have talked about the mosque being destroyed. You have not mentioned that the mosque was built after destroying a Hindu temple on that site.

Jerry,
Mumbai, Maharashtra

Above: Mahatma Gandhi Ashram. Sabarmati suburb, Ahmedabad, Gujarat. 12 April 2024.

Gandhi lived here for twelve years with wife Kasturba. It was from here that Gandhi led the Dandi March, better known as the salt march, on 12 March 1930.

Note: TIMDT and Mwah (sic) have also visited Raj Ghat (Gandhi's tomb) in Delhi, Mani Bhavan (Gandhi movement headquarters) in Mumbai, and The Phoenix Settlement, near Durban, South Africa.

Above: Mahatma Gandhi Ashram. Sabarmati suburb, Ahmedabad, Gujarat. 12 April 2024.

Gandhi's spinning wheel. We had to be escorted into a locked room to see this exhibit. Gandhi used this spinning wheel to spin cotton for his clothes while he was a political prisoner. The spinning wheel was used symbolically by Gandhi to represent his idea of non-violent resistance against British textiles while advocating for homemade textiles. Gandhi saw spinning as an economic and political activity that could bring together the diverse population of South Asia and allow the formerly elite nationalist movement to connect to the broader Indian population. Gandhi's imprisonment was from 1932 to 1933. He continued to practice spinning even after being set free.

Above: Mahatma Gandhi Ashram. Sabarmati suburb, Ahmedabad, Gujarat. 12 April 2024.

Satyagraha diagram. Satyagraha literal meaning in Sanskrit is "truth." As used by Gandhi, satyagraha was the catch phrase for the nonviolent resistance used by Gandhi in the Indian independence movement. Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela modeled their resistance in the American Civil Rights movement and the struggle against apartheid in South Africa, respectively, after Gandhi and his Satyagraha movement. The wheel of life in the image summarizes Gandhi's unifying principles for all Indians to embrace as the independence/Satyagraha movement moved forward.

Above: Calico Museum of Textiles, Ahmedabad, Gujarat. 12 April 2024. (file image)

The Calico Museum of Textiles was founded in 1949 by two brothers, Gautam and Gira Sarabhai, wealthy calico merchants. Ahmedabad had been a major trading center of the textile industry since the fifteenth century. The museum houses a historic collection of Indian fabrics. It is also the center for design knowledge, resources, research and publication regarding Indian handicraft and industrial textiles. The museum houses a historic collection of Indian fabrics. The museum was inaugurated in 1949 by Jawaharlal Nehru.

Way 'ta go Caleb! (Grrr)

Addendum:

Great shots thanks.

Brand Man,
Ventura, CA

Above: Amul (Anand Milk Union Limited) Milk Processing Plant. Anand, Gujarat. 13 April 2024.

Amul PR guide, TIMDT, and Raj, our TravelScope, India escort, in the image.

Amul, founded in 1946, is an India wide dairy cooperative, headquartered in Anand, Gujarat, controlled by 3.6 million milk producers. Amul spurred India's White Revolution which made India the world's largest producer of milk and milk products. The company has recently ventured overseas. Amul sells over 500 thousand liters of ultra-high temperature (UHT) processing milk per day.

This Amul headquarters high-tech production facility was spotless inside and out. The headquarters has a 2000 seat auditorium and successive story boards which explain the milk production process.

There are two Indias. One state of the art tech at scale. You can see it here. The other, close to 300 million illiterate citizens. Fortunately, the first India is gaining solid ground, and the second India is slowly diminishing.

Note: The Anand processing plant, located adjacent to coop headquarters, is one of several dozen throughout the country.

Above: Lakshmi Vilas Palace. Vadodara, Gujarat. 13 April 2024.

Constructed in 1890 by Maharaja of Baroda (the Gaekwad family, prominent Marathas). At the time of its completion, it was reputed to be the world's largest private dwelling. It was 4x Buckingham Palace. It boasted modern amenities such as elevators. It continues to be the residence of the royal family who remain revered in Vadodara (new name for Baroda).

TIMDT, in red skirt, can be seen with Raj, at left.

Above: Jayant Parikh and TIMDT. Vadodara, Gujarat. 13 April 2024.

Jayant Parikh - Wikipedia

The lower painting above, showing three Indian village women walking through a field, was purchased by TIMDT at Cottage Industries, New Delhi, in 1972. It was our first art purchase as a married couple. We liked the colors. It seemed impressionistically representative of India, and it has looked nice on our walls, in our residences throughout the world, for the last fifty-two years. The artist is Jayant Parikh. The painting is signed on the front by the artist. On the back is the wording, "Jayant Parikh, Vadodara."

When TIMDT realized that Vadodara was to be a waypoint on our way to see The Statue of Unity, she asked Raj, our TravelScope escort, to track Jayant Parikh down. Raj found him and a visit to his home was scheduled. I'm guessing that we paid $100 or less for the 1972 Cottage Industries painting. Come to find out, Parikh has become a renowned Indian painter having won a number of prizes and with works hanging in august venues, including the presidential suite at the famed, flagship Taj Hotel in Mumbai. Our 1972 painting today is, no doubt, worth more than $100. Parikh, who had received an email copy from Raj of our 1972 purchase, said he recognized the painting and noted that he had painted it in 1971.

The above image shows TIMDT and Parikh with some contemporary art purchased by TIMDT. Parikh also gifted TIMDT with one of his works. Present at the Parikh home, in addition to TIMDT, Raj, and Mwah (sic), were Parikh's wife and son. The son took a number of photos and walked us through many contemporary Parikh works at the home. This was one of those "nothing ventured, nothing gained," serendipity moments. The coincidence of traveling to Vadodara and having it be the location of the residence of an artist whose art piece we purchased fifty-two years ago, and then meeting the artist, who over the intervening years had accomplished fame, was one of those experiences in life that will be hard to forget.

Addendum:

Congratulations Caleb!!

Nathans,
Orlando, FL

Above: Statue of Unity. Kevadia, Gujarat. 14 April 2024.

Image. See TIMDT in red skirt.

The Statue of Unity, completed in 2019, is the world's tallest statue, with a height of 597 feet (Statue of Liberty, 151 feet). The statue depicts Indian statesman and independence activist Vallabhbhai Patel (1875 - 1950). Patel, a Gujarati, was a close associate of Gandhi (also a Gujarati) and Nehru in the quest for Indian independence. Patel was the first deputy prime minister and home minister of independent India. Post 1947 independence, Patel is credited as the catalyst for the political integration of India, overseeing, among others, the process of incorporating the five hundred eighty-four Indian princely states, not under direct British control, into greater India.

Seeing The Statue of Unity was a prerequisite for me making this trip to India. TravelScope India, who has excelled at facilitating numerous trips for TIMDT to India, hedged a bit, not just on the Statue of Unity, but also on Gujarat itself. "Are you sure you guys want to go there?" Gujarat is not at the top of the list of Indian tourist destinations. To be sure, there are plenty of things going on in Gujarat. The state is the economic leader of Indian states. But, as a tourist destination, it's not yet "there" yet.

The Statue of Unity is a five-hour drive south from Ahmedabad. TravelScope suggested that we drive two thirds of the distance from Ahmedabad to the statue, to Vadodara, where hotel accommodations were good, where there was a maharaja palace to see, and where we could meet up with Jayant Parikh, the artist who painted the painting we purchased in New Delhi fifty-two years ago. We would drive to The Statue of Unity the next morning, see the statue during a cooler part of the day, and then return to Ahmedabad. This trip plan worked out very well.

For me, The Statue of Unity symbolizes India's aspirational quest to become a leading global economy and world power as a democracy. In contrast, the America, as it tears down statues embodying its own foundational democratic circumstances, bears witness to the onset of civilizational decline. Opposite the oft depressing sensation of watching America question the legitimacy of its origins, I love the impression of the goal oriented, ambitious pursuit of progress I feel and see when I'm in India.

Where India erects the largest statue in the world honoring one of its founders, Portland tears down a statue of George Washington and the state of New Jersey builds statues of George Floyd, a common criminal, and of drag queens and prostitutes.

The true character of a nation can be discerned by the symbols with which it chooses to identify. In this regard, India's, forward, even if chaotic, momentum is confirmed by the grandiosity of The Statue of Unity. America is not yet wholly captured by negative and self-loathing symbols, but if the current trend of national deprecation is not reversed, look to nations like India to take America's place as avatars of democratic human progress.

Above: Rani Ki Vav stepwell. Patan, Gujarat. 14 April 2024.

World Heritage site. 10th century. Virtually all of Bhagavad Gita is sculpted on stepwell walls. Stunning.

Above: Patola Saris. Patan, Gujarat. 14 April 2024.

A Patola sari. Five weavers create one sari in six months. 900-year family tradition.

Above: Dung patties, drying on a wall, to be used for fuel. Patan, Gujarat. 14 April 2024.

Above: Sun Temple. Modhera, Gujarat. 14 April 2024.

Kama Sutra engravings.

Above: Adalaj Stepwell. Ahmedabad, Gujarat. 14 April 2024.

Looking up. Top of the structure is ground level. Kudos to TIMDT to making it to the bottom and back up. Slow going, but she did it!

Above: Drums on his 18th birthday. 14 April 2024.

Addendum:

Wow very informative thank you.

Brand Man,
Ventura, CA

Steve,

Wonderful trip you and Margaret are having in India and terrific pictures.

We may have bit of a coincidence. We just returned from the Venice Biennale where we visited an exhibition by the Chanakya Foundation founded by Karishma Swali (herself an artist) and supporting two well known artists, Madhvi Parekh, Manu Parekh. The Foundation is in Bombay, but the Parekhs are Gujarati but now live and have their studios in New Delhi. I wonder if they might be related to Jayant Parikh, although the Anglicized spelling is different the name is so close plus the artistic DNA They paint, they do sculptures and they make remarkable embroidery art.

The foundation supports the Chanakya School of Craft for young girls to learn the Indian craft of embroidery art and to empower women through craft, culture and creating new autonomy for women.,

It was a beautiful exhibition and Karishma was extremely generous with her time and an absolute delight.

Tom,
Aspen, CO

Hi Steve,

We have four drawings of a famous Lahore artist…Abdur Rahman Chughai which we picked up in Pakistan in the 1970s. I only met the son.

Best,

SFS,
Washington, DC

Steve,

You have the memory of an Indian bull elephant as you'll never let me live down my ascent of Kilimanjaro with the porters! 😎

Enjoying your travel log of family trip with similar memories thanks to you sending me to TravelScope!

In regard to your comments on "tech" India vs. undeveloped sections, anecdotally I observed the dramatic difference of BMI & body types. With urban population "westernized" overweight, corpulent, pudgy much like Americans & shopping malls with fast food & luxury boutiques. Whereas rural populations were still very physical, walking with dung, wood or food on their head but still with cell phones.

Working on a couple speakers for LSDM.

Regards,
Kilimanjaro,
Jackson, WY

Above: ITC Narmada Hotel, Ahmedabad. 15 April 2024.

At breakfast. Flattering image showing Bishop contemplating the long day ahead, including a visit to a chintz artist, and a three-leg flight to Delhi (six-hour hotel break in Delhi), Amsterdam, and Salt Lake City.

Above: Vasara neighborhood, Ahmedabad, Gujarat. 15 April 2024.

TIMDT's purchase of Indian Chintz chez the artist, with family members attending, Vasara neighborhood of Ahmedabad.

Chintz (/tʃɪnts/[1]) is a woodblock printed, painted, stained or glazed calico textile that originated in Golconda (present day Hyderabad, India) in the 16th century.[2][3] The cloth is printed with designs featuring flowers and other patterns in different colors, typically on a light, plain background. Wikipedia.

Above: Rose arrangement. J.W. Marriott Hotel, Aerocity, New Delhi, India

The following Bloomberg piece, 22 December 2023, is about India ramping up coal power electricity production faster than previous forecasts.

Addendum:

Dear Mohan,

Thank you to you and your team for a very successful trip for the Taylor family. Everything went very well and the activities you planned were educational and fun. The bicycle ride in Jaipur was a big hit with the kids. They say it was their favorite activity. Your thoughtfulness in planning with the children in mind was very apparent. I will always recommend Travelscope to anyone going to India. Sincerely,

Margaret 17 April 2024

Dear Margaret,
It was our pleasure to have you, Steve and the entire family on this trip to India.
I am so glad that you and Steve could make it to join the family and also visit Gujarat which was a long-time desire for you both.
The icing on the Cake was Raj became available to accompany you on the trip all the way to Gujarat.
You and your family are very special to us and we consider it our privilege to create these wonderful experiences for you all.
Look forward to meeting you in Salt Lake City one day.
Best Wishes
Mohan Narayanaswamy, 18 April 2024
TravelScope India
Gurgaon, Haryana

Picto Diary NSFW?! 😳😂
Susan,
Minneapolis, MN

The left and the Democrats in the United States and the Taliban, to whom Biden and the Democrats have donated so much, are also united in tearing down statues.

Hoops,
Pelham, NY

Steve,
You have the memory of an Indian bull elephant as you'll never let me live down my ascent of Kilimanjaro with the porters! 😎

Enjoying your travel log of family trip with similar memories thanks to you sending me to TravelScope!

In regards to your comments on "tech" India vs. undeveloped sections, anecdotally I observed the dramatic difference of BMI & body types. With urban population "westernized" overweight, corpulent, pudgy much like Americians & shopping malls with fast food & luxury boutiques. Whereas rural populations were still very physical, walking with dung, wood or food on their head but still with cell phones.

Working on a couple speakers for LSDM.

Regards,
Kilimanjaro

More good history thank you Steve

Brand Man,
Ventura, CA