When it comes to cunning and determination to achieve business success, Indian skills are unmatched. But today's anecdote, called Love and Kisses, represents the absolute climax of all charades. But more about that later.
For now, I need to cover almost 350 kilometers by Government Bus, which means estimated 8 hours from Bikaner to Jaipur. It's gonna be beautiful.
And so it is. I'll refrain from pointing out again how much I like these fucked up buses, how much I enjoy sitting in the back, where nobody wants to sit but me, where instead of AC there is only the open window and nothing else. This is pure meditation.
Infernal noise
Apart from the devilish noise, nothing disturbs the flow of thoughts. The engine roars, the windows clatter, there is a constant rumbling and rattling sound. The attempt to listen to a bit of music through the headphones fails miserably. Not even at full volume I am able to find out which song is being played.
At departure at nine in the morning I am practically the only passenger, but then the bus fills up at every stop until eventually all seats are occupied. People give me shy looks, I am apparently a rare sight. Meanwhile I got used to the role of the strange foreigner, who after all would have enough money to use any other more pleasant means of transport. People try to overlook me, but I feel glances at me, hear softly whispered remarks.
And thus drowsy 8 hours pass in the leaden heat, eyes fixed in the distance, where earth and sky touch as if there wasn't a barrier …
600 million in poverty
I love these people, they are what India is all about (an important reason to take this strain). They belong to the still huge pool of people who are not yet part of the middle class, still living on the losing side. I assume that at least half of the population belongs to the lower class, i.e. is poor.
That is roughly 600 million people, more inhabitants than the EU has got.
And yet - even if I scratch the one or other cliché - I see more happy and relaxed people here at a hundred metres than in Zurich at ten kilometres. Despite the narrowness, the unbearable conditions, the poverty, there is hardly any aggression (at least not visible). However, it is feared that it takes a tiny spark to cause a huge explosion. The quarrels between religions, especially between Hindus and Muslims, have not been resolved, on the contrary. Everything indicates that there will be new and even more violent clashes.
Optimism and dynamism
But all I see here is unabated optimism, hope for the future and above all a tremendous dynamism. If I were the West, I would not fear China ("China will grow old before it is rich" - an important factor), but India with its young population, well educated, intelligent and ambitious.
But there is this other poorer world, which does not fit at all to the view of the upper class.
The dirty kids raising their hands at every bus stop. The invalids, crouching on the ground, the migrant workers, doing the worst jobs for a few rupees, with no place to live and often sleeping on the sidewalks.
For many tourists this sight is unbearable. It is understandable. You want to help but you can't, so you just choose the few people to put a few rupees into their skinny hands. With time you don't notice the poverty anymore. Maybe it's a survival strategy, because otherwise you would go crazy, or much more banal: you get used to it, even to the very worst.
Jaipur - the pink city
The eight hours pass far too quickly, I reach Jaipur. the "Pink City". By the way, the label Pink goes back to the 19th Century, when a decree was issued on the occasion of the visit of the Prince of Wales to paint the houses uniformly pink.
Jaipur is a city of millions, an important traffic junction, a centre of culture, an important industrial location. But most of all it is known for a palace that is known all over the world, the „Palace of the Winds“ which I will visit tomorrow. But I am aware that I will not be the only visitor, as the palace is the absolute hotspot for tourists from all over the world, recently also by native visitors.
The information on drinking water supplies and climate change that has already been mentioned regarding Jodhpur and Bikander also applies to Jaipur. 2020 the drinking water supplies will be depleted. For a city of over 3 million inhabitants, this is likely to be a huge problem.
"Dearest Eva, my heart longs for you"
The day is still long, so I set off to sniff the city (a euphemism for anything that has to do with Indian smells, so to speak). But it's not just the smells, it's the colours, the sounds that drown everything out, the people on foot, on rickety bicycles, in loud booming tuktuks.
That is what makes India an unforgettable event.
And this certainly includes the following story, which contains everything that makes India what it is.
I have already pointed out the infinite imagination and creativity of Indians when it comes to starting a business.
The elderly gentleman, addressing me in one of the noisy places where half of Jaipur has gathered, starts the conversation with the same phrases that haunt me in my sleep. "Hello Sir, where you from?" "Switzerland." "Which part, German part or French part?" "German part."
Surprisingly, the man now puts in a few German words, then takes me aside and whispers that he wants to write a letter in German to a friend, but that he doesn't speak the language well enough. Whether I might help him.
At first I think of a joke, but it seems that he is indeed serious. After some hesitation I agree, because for once curiosity surpasses suspicion. What is he up to? What rotten tricks will he pull out of his pocket?
He pulls a torn piece of paper out of his pocket and starts dictating.
Love and Kisses
It' s been some time since my last love letter, but what this old ladykiller dictates melts my heart as well. At times I can hardly write anymore due to laughter, but I bravely continue translating.
[Excerpt] "Twenty-four hours a day I think of you and all I feel is my deep connection with you. Oh Eva, how I wish you were with me. Please hurry, I will pick you up at the airport in Delhi, and nothing and nobody can part us anymore ... Love and Kisses!"
In conclusion, I recite the whole letter, exaggerating a little with the particularly corny passages. He nods enthusiastically, although he probably doesn't understand a word. Meanwhile, a considerable number of curious people have gathered around us, watching and commenting on every move of the two actors in this Shakespearean drama.
But of course that's just the start. Because now we are heading for the real climax of the Charade, the ultimate psychological trick.
Now that he feels indebted to me (the five minutes have turned into twenty), he suggests to return the favor. He says he knows a jeweller, a good friend of his, whose shop is very close by and who might be persuaded to give me a dramatic discount on his merchandise.
Introduction - distraction - attack
Et voilà, the cat is out of the bag.
Sun Tzu might not have described it better in “The Art of War”.
Such an effort, such creativity and persuasiveness, anything to earn a few rupees. My compliments! But today is a bad day. I thank him politely, using the Buddhist wisdom that the giver must thank the receiver (Karma!), and shake his hand violently.
He realizes in no time at all that for once he is not going to leave the arena as the winner. From one moment to the next the friendly smile fades away, he turns his back wordlessly and without a word of farewell. That is a little disappointing. One has to be able to lose at times. But the performance itself was absolutely Oscar worthy (and I got some creative ideas for a Nobel Prize-worthy love letter ...).
If that's not reason enough to love this country and its people ...
The Jantar Mantar observatory
Any tourist excursion through Jaipur will sooner or later lead to the Palace of the Winds and the famous observatory Jantar Mantar.
The first of five installations of this type was built 1724 in Delhi, and the others, including the one in Jaipur, were built in the years thereafter. Jantar Mantar is the largest of these facilities, built after the design of the observatory in Delhi. It hosts 14 constructions designed according to astronomical aspects. These are used, among other things, to measure time, predict eclipses, observe planetary orbits, determine astronomical altitude and declination, and create ephemerides.
The largest construction is the Samrat Jantar, a sundial with a height of 27 meters, capable of telling the time to about 2 seconds. The site has been restored in 1901 and 1948 declared a National Monument of India. 2010 the observatory was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. (Copyright Wikipedia)
Toys for adults
Buildings from bygone times, conceived and built by architects and builders dead for centuries, still dominate the image of many cities today.
Among them, albeit in a less pompous manner, are many buildings in Indian cities, including the Palace of the Winds or the Jantar Mantar observatory in Jaipur. When entering the observatory, one initially believes to have landed on a children's playground for adults. Although the individual structures serve scientific criteria for measuring all sorts of important basic values, they look like giant toys in all shapes and colors.
Even if you try to figure out their purpose or how they work, you fail miserably. At least there are panels with the scientific explanations, but it remains difficult to understand how these structures can be used to calculate the planetary orbits or determine the astronomical altitude and declination.
I guess I might have missed these subjects in physics class. Shame on me! So I am satisfied with the wonderful shapes, circle around the individual instruments with a thousand other visitors, listen to the lectures of a group of visitors and still don't understand it.
The main purpose of the Samrat Yantra was to determine the time according to the position of the sun, i.e. to measure the daily solar motion, and to measure the annual solar motion (along the ramp inside the side towers). With the rising sun, the shadow first appears on the left outer side of the scale of the western quadrant, then runs down the marble scale with the rising sun, finally dips under the gnomon at noon (no shadow visible) and runs up the eastern scale again until the sun sinks at the western horizon. Impressive.
The Jai Mahal palace
In the middle of Man Sagar Lake lies the Jai Mahal Palace, an architectural showcase of the Rajput architectural style. The built-in red sandstone palace is a five-story building, four stories of which remain underwater when the lake is full and the top story is exposed. I sit down, all alone for once and without the noise of the visitors.
This palace, too, seems to come from a different time, when buildings were erected for aesthetic pleasure only and no consideration was given to costs and problems. Which occasionally resulted in massive consequences - remember that the construction of the Taj Mahal ultimately led to financial disaster and a short time later to the fall of Mogul Jajahan. But I envision the palace in milky moonlight, floating on the rippling surface of the lake, like a ghostly shadow from the underworld ...
Nobody listens, nobody watches, nobody reads ...
Ken Mogi wrote the following sentence in his wonderful book "Ikigai - The Japanese Art of Living": “Make music when nobody is listening. Draw a picture when no one is watching. Write a short story that no one will read. The inner joy and satisfaction will be more than enough to carry you through your life ... " A wisdom that closes this wonderful day … and convinces me to continue writing the blog … even when nobody will read it.
P.S. Matching Song: Pink Floyd - Astronomy domine
And here the journey continues ... to the Palace of the Winds
