Two two thousand rupees, Too Too Too Expensive / 2 Nov 09

I am happy to report that a representative from Four Seasons India Tours met with me at 5pm today to discuss yesterday's unpleasant events. Unlike Mr. Prem Singh, who could not explain his rationale for leaving the scene of the accident, Mr. Dheer Singh spent half and hour in conversation with me. He explained that in India when an accident occurs between a larger and smaller vehicle, it is generally assumed that the larger vehicle (in our case, us) is at fault. Because of the large unemployment rate here and the fact that many people linger on the sides of the roads or are simply willing to stop their cars to watch at the scene of an accident, there is the possibility that a fight can breakout if the driver stops and gets out of his vehicle. From Four Seasons India Tours' perspective they were not only concerned about the safety of Vijay, our driver, but also the safety of their four American passengers. Apparently there have been incidents of this type.

[Side note: I also talked to Mr. Singh about making sure that Vijay not face any negative consequences resulting from the accident, which was not his fault. He assured me that everything was fine.]

It would have been nice if Prem Singh had been able to explain his concerns to us as we pulled to the side of the road seconds after the accident. We could not understand why, after our repeated urging, he wouldn't allow the van to turn around. Now, after talking with Mr. Dheer Singh, I have a better understanding of how things apparently are in India. I feel incredibly sorry for a country that has to live this way.

On a lighter note, our contact in Jaipur, Vikram Singh Solanki, had recommended a textile shop to us here in Jodhpur. This shop (the name escapes me at the moment) has been written up in Departures Magazine, Tatler and all sorts of other prestigious publications and has been visited by many big Hollywood stars (we heard about all). The shop also makes Indian becoverings and shawls for major international fashion houses like Hermes, Etro, and Kenzo. We had a good time having the turkish-style presentation where the brother of the owner threw textiles onto the floor, one after the other, walked all over them, modeled them and draped us as well.

Somehow in our conversation with this shop the idea came up of having some of our purchases shipped back to the US by Fed Ex. We arranged to have Fed Ex come to the hotel at 6:30pm. Since we'd be charged by the box (kind of a flat rate pricing structure) we tried as put as much as we could into the boxes, including items we'd packed but probably wouldn't use. Hopefully our boxes will beat us back to the US, if all goes well.

Tomorrow we're off to Mumbai. Cliff and Cathy's friends who are Bollywood actors are scheduled to meet us at the airport and take us out to dinner. This should be quite an experience and I will certainly try to take lots of photos.

Two Worlds Collide / 1 Nov 09

Since we made last minute plans to arrive in Jodhpur early, we had no hotel reservation. We arranged to have a representative from our tour company meet us to show us various options. His name is PREM SINGH.

As we drove around a traffic circle in Jodhpur, our van hit a motorcycle. We heard the sound of crumpling metal and a loud thud. A man was driving the motorcycle and with a child sitting behind him. We were circling around while the motorcycle came up from the inside and tried to cut in front of us. I think the motorcyclist made a risky move and lost, but nevertheless he and the child were hit by our van and then skidded across a busy road and ended up lying on the pavement, shaken and a bit stunned. We had no idea what injuries the man might have sustained (I did see the child get up, thank goodness).

I was horrified when Prem Singh instructed our driver, Vijay, to go on. I frantically insisted we stop to check on the man but Singh said that “everything was fine, the man was fine (how did he know?), there’s no need to stop”. I simply could not let the van leave this man. I repeatedly insisted we turn the van around and go back to the scene of the accident. Our driver also wanted to go back, but Mr. Singh said “there was no need” and told him to drive on.

Eventually, as we continued away from the scene, he agreed to send a colleague from his office to check on the man. Even though I spoke to the man on the phone to verify that he had gone to the scene, I will never know if he did or what really happened. I had the distinct impression that I was being told what I wanted to hear.

I couldn’t believe what I was experiencing – what appeared to be total indifference to one’s own personal responsibility and to the needs of another human. What if the man needed medical attention? And even if he didn’t, don’t we as decent human beings owe a responsibility to others to check on their wellbeing, especially if we are involved in a direct collision, regardless of whose fault it is?

I reported the incident to Barbara Sansone and others at our outfitter, Spirit of India, but since it is Sunday I haven’t heard anything back. I hope to hear tomorrow how Mr. Singh will be swiftly dealt with. I will certainly report back tomorrow on what I’ve learned.

As you can imagine, this put a considerable pall on our day. It also caused us to think about the basic values that all humans share (or do they?), about religion as a mechanism for teaching values and what in particular Hinduism instills. Is it that, because of the caste system, a belief in reincarnation, karma, etc., that people feel they owe little to others while here on earth?

If so, for me, all the beautiful flowers and temples and colors of India will fade to gray.