I'm sitting in Kolkata airport waiting for our connecting flight to Varanasi, having come from Guwahati, the capital of Assam in the North East early this morning.
The first couple of days in Assam were fantastic - we headed to the Kaziranga National Park where Asian one horned rhinos live along with elephants and Indian tourists. We took an elephant safari early morning, it was busy with other people doing the same but we got really close to many rhino and had a beautiful experience up close with the elephants after the ride, feeding them grass and looking up their trunks. Amazing animals.
The second day not quite so good. This time it was Dan's turn to be ill, and he managed it quite spectacularly, getting so dehydrated we had to go to the local dispensary and get him on a drip. Some scary moments but he soon improved, particularly when we were taken to the nearest government hospital and we realised if he didn't get doctor's approval to go back to the hotel we'd have to stay there. It was horrendous in there, way worse than the other hospitals I've seen. So so dirty, worse even than toilets you find at bus stations and so on here. Sad and shocking to see these conditions. However he's now improved and we decided to continue with our plan to go to Varanasi, where we'll stay 3 days before heading to Kolkata then home...
In the last few weeks things have stepped up for elections here, lots of political rallies around and much news of corruption, re-polls and violence around polling days. In Darjeeling the most noise was being made about Gorkhaland, the proposed state that people in the area want to form, separate from West Bengal but still India. After spending some time in this area, very different culturally from the rest of West Bengal, this really makes sense. People are only concerned that they will be able to manage and organise this change themselves. Time will tell but Gorkhaland is supported across the area. Sikkim is a separate state, everywhere we saw flags with umbrellas signifying the popular political party there. Industry was all over the place in Sikkim and I heard that they are receiving much more money for tourism also (including for much better roads) creating some tension between the Darjeeling area and Sikkim.
In Assam, part of the politically volatile North East due to its proximity to Burma, Tibet and also due to the diverse mix of migrants and people there, military presence was visible in the towns and there was a clear feeling of tension. However we were welcomed in Bokakhat (first time not the second time = hospital!) where there was a huge mela (festival) for the god Hanuman's birthday (Hanuman Jayanti) He's the monkey god who represents servants, and was a key figure in the Indian epic Ramayana. The festival was a big garish, bright lighted affair with large plastic moving statues of the gods. We were given tea and sweets and shown around by the organiser and then filmed for local tv!
Binayak Sen, an Indian activist has been released from prison and this has been big news here. However there are still many Orissan activists from the area I was researching in that are in prison, and many more at risk from imprisonment, sentences and discrimination for speaking out for their land and rights. Despite being a 'democratic' country, there is a law here that prohibits sedition (subverting/ speaking out against the country). This theme has come up time and again during my stay here - that merely speaking out or showing an interest in human rights is a crime and something to be fearful of. Until this legislation and attitude are addressed how can India move on?
If you're interested in keeping up with events in Niyamgiri and the latest on the Dongria Kondh and if they are to be labelled as terrorists and treated accordingly, you can follow the Facebook group 'Save Niyamgiri' (http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/group.php?gid=31785088220&v=info) Survival International also keeps fairly up to date with the latest. There's also Surya's fantastic Youtube site http://www.youtube.com/niyamgiri
Let me know if you're interested in getting more involved.
Namaste. See (some of you) in a weekish :)
The first couple of days in Assam were fantastic - we headed to the Kaziranga National Park where Asian one horned rhinos live along with elephants and Indian tourists. We took an elephant safari early morning, it was busy with other people doing the same but we got really close to many rhino and had a beautiful experience up close with the elephants after the ride, feeding them grass and looking up their trunks. Amazing animals.
The second day not quite so good. This time it was Dan's turn to be ill, and he managed it quite spectacularly, getting so dehydrated we had to go to the local dispensary and get him on a drip. Some scary moments but he soon improved, particularly when we were taken to the nearest government hospital and we realised if he didn't get doctor's approval to go back to the hotel we'd have to stay there. It was horrendous in there, way worse than the other hospitals I've seen. So so dirty, worse even than toilets you find at bus stations and so on here. Sad and shocking to see these conditions. However he's now improved and we decided to continue with our plan to go to Varanasi, where we'll stay 3 days before heading to Kolkata then home...
In the last few weeks things have stepped up for elections here, lots of political rallies around and much news of corruption, re-polls and violence around polling days. In Darjeeling the most noise was being made about Gorkhaland, the proposed state that people in the area want to form, separate from West Bengal but still India. After spending some time in this area, very different culturally from the rest of West Bengal, this really makes sense. People are only concerned that they will be able to manage and organise this change themselves. Time will tell but Gorkhaland is supported across the area. Sikkim is a separate state, everywhere we saw flags with umbrellas signifying the popular political party there. Industry was all over the place in Sikkim and I heard that they are receiving much more money for tourism also (including for much better roads) creating some tension between the Darjeeling area and Sikkim.
In Assam, part of the politically volatile North East due to its proximity to Burma, Tibet and also due to the diverse mix of migrants and people there, military presence was visible in the towns and there was a clear feeling of tension. However we were welcomed in Bokakhat (first time not the second time = hospital!) where there was a huge mela (festival) for the god Hanuman's birthday (Hanuman Jayanti) He's the monkey god who represents servants, and was a key figure in the Indian epic Ramayana. The festival was a big garish, bright lighted affair with large plastic moving statues of the gods. We were given tea and sweets and shown around by the organiser and then filmed for local tv!
Binayak Sen, an Indian activist has been released from prison and this has been big news here. However there are still many Orissan activists from the area I was researching in that are in prison, and many more at risk from imprisonment, sentences and discrimination for speaking out for their land and rights. Despite being a 'democratic' country, there is a law here that prohibits sedition (subverting/ speaking out against the country). This theme has come up time and again during my stay here - that merely speaking out or showing an interest in human rights is a crime and something to be fearful of. Until this legislation and attitude are addressed how can India move on?
If you're interested in keeping up with events in Niyamgiri and the latest on the Dongria Kondh and if they are to be labelled as terrorists and treated accordingly, you can follow the Facebook group 'Save Niyamgiri' (http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/group.php?gid=31785088220&v=info) Survival International also keeps fairly up to date with the latest. There's also Surya's fantastic Youtube site http://www.youtube.com/niyamgiri
Let me know if you're interested in getting more involved.
Namaste. See (some of you) in a weekish :)
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