Tea is the new beer....

One thing I have not mentioned in this blog, quite erroneously, is the caste system here in India. The caste system is a complex system of social strata which is based in the Hindu religion (although not exclusively as around the world there are similar systems in some Islamic and Christian religions). There have been many changes to it over the years and the Indian government has outlawed caste based discrimination, however it still exists and has a significant effect on Indian peoples lives, in particular in rural areas where the vast majority of Indian people live. There are regional differences and mobility within castes is also known. The reason I need to mention it is because much of what I have been writing has been about the new India, the booming India etc and it is very difficult for me to see how the two can exist together. My first thought is how can caste based discrimination be outlawed when the very essence of it is to place a person on a social level? Surely this is a form of discrimination in itself? Interestingly the caste system was strengthened during the British raj as the British rulers at the time saw it as a similar model to the class system at the time in Britain (clearly they thought it would be a good people control tool). Needless to say the class system in Britain has been proven to be discriminatory and reduces social mobility, which in turn does not help economic growth.

Something I have noticed alot is that entrepreneurship is alive and well in India, this suggests that people can move up (and down) socially and economically. Many businesses express hopes of bigger things by naming themselves "..... Trading" or "... Enterprises" when the reality is they sell shoes or trinkets only ( I like to call them specialists, as I am sure they do too). There is no Indian I have met who would not tell you he can offer you all kinds of services, no job is too small and they are always willing to help. However I think if you dig a bit deeper there are many people involved in all transactions, all taking their slice. The person who originally helped you is merely the messenger and will benefit financially in the region of a few pence, if they're lucky. I have noticed this alot when being offered a service like a train ticket for example. There are many people involved. I have no idea whether the caste system is involved in this but there seems to be a hierarchy in all these things. It's another example of the difficulties the common man of India must have when correlating his/her own life and the supposed rich, world beating economy they are told of repeatedly. I recently read a survey about the Dalit people. Dalit is a caste and another word for "The untouchables". These people are seen as the lowest caste, many of whom live, not surprisingly in the state of Bihar, Indias poorest state. The survey tries to look at their quliaty of life compared to 20 years ago. (see here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/soutikbiswas/2010/10/is_the_free_market_improving_the_lives_of_indias_d.html

The survey attempts directly correlate improvements to the "free market" effect on these people lives. There are indeed improvements but when you see those improvements are to do with issues which belong firmly on the lowest rung of Maslows hierarchy then you can see how far India has to go before it can say it is a modern nation.

We have been travelling for over a week, taking in some of the most amazing sights. The Taj Mahal, the worlds most famous monument to love, Varanasi, the holy city on the banks of the River Ganges and Darjeeling, high in the hills covered with tea plantations. We have had the pleasure of travelling with Meena and Jag, a British-Indian couple from West london. Jag is a man on a mission, a snack food mission. We have been eating some weird and wonderful foods and the fact that Jag speaks Hindi opens doors, of the snack food world, like never before. In particular we have discovered the Aloo Tikki. Essesntially its a potato pattie, fried then covered with chilli, sweet sauce, yoghurt, sliced ginger, coriander, lemon juice or a combinaiton of these. it is so tasty we have often had two for our dinner. And at the very reasonable price of about 30p a pop we have been enjoying them regularly!

We left Meena and Jag in Varanasi and moved onto Darjeeling. A very interesting place with it's own colonial and recent history worth mentioning. Darjeeling was controlled by the British in the 1800's after a history of governance by various states like Bhutan and Sikkim. A certain Mr Arthur Campbell planted a tea seed, which he brought from China, and started the first tea plantation there. The tea is now world renowned and sold, among other places, to Harrods (The beer here is awful, so it's Tea all the way). This spawned rapid development there and the creation of the "toy train", a narrow gauge mountain steam train which still works today. One of only three left in India (Shimla and Nilgiri are the others). The main draw here is the cool climate which I am told is the reason for the tea being so special. In recent times the people of Darjeeling, many of whom hail from Nepal or Tibet, have been pushing for an independent state. Everywhere you go there are signs saying "Welcome to Ghorkhaland". This has also lead to the creation, in 1980, of the Ghorkha Liberation Front who have often used violence in their campaign. Thankfully, all was peaceful during our visit. The highlight for me is the view. In the mornings there is the most beautiful horizon with the worlds 3rd highest mountain, Kangchenjunga dominating. It is awe inspiring and tells us we are getting closer to the really big mountains. Kangchenjunga is only about 300 metres smaller then Everest and stunningly beautiful, I could sit and look at it all day.

As I write we are in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. I am thinking about our time in India and I have to say I am torn. It was great to go back but the strengthening with age of my own pre-conceived perceptions and the glaring contradictions effecting the people of India I have been somewhat subdued in my enjoyment. There is clearly a relatively small amount of private enterprises, in the big cities, fuelling this surge in economic growth. But until I see proof that equality and respect has come to India (in my view a true measure of a countries modernity) then I cannot bring myself to forget the limbless and homeless people on the streets, the children begging and working, the roads which are impassable in remote places, the constant power cuts, the high illiteracy rates, the mountains of waste dumped on the side of the roads and hills, the disrespect towards women, the fact that to make a phone call people still need to go to phone box and perhaps most importantly the fact that there is still this system in place which means you are designated a social position at birth which means you will have little or no power over your potential and opportunities in life. Until I see this improving then I see a failed state reaping the benefits of the rich few and leaving its people behind to suffer.

Nepal however, doesn't propose to be anything other than in a state of political turmoil. It's one of the poorest Asian nations and since I was last here it couldn't have changed more. Picture this: 10 years ago I vividly remember being shoved to the side of the road by an armed soldier, it soon became clear that there was a very important person coming and the road needed to be cleared. As the cavalcade went past, inside the tinted windows, I clearly saw the King and Queen of Nepal. Being a bit of a royalist at heart I really enjoyed this. The pride on the faces of the Nepalis was also clear to see. 3 weeks after I left Nepal on June 1st 2001, the Kings son, Prince Dipendra picked up a machine gun and in a drunken rage murdered the King and Queen and 6 other members of the royal family before turning the gun on himself. Nepal has never been the same since. Chaos reigned for much of the time after this until a few years ago the monarchy was abolished and the republic was formed. Relative calm has recently prevailed but upcoming elections and their importance has caused tensions. So the kingdom is no longer the kingdom but one thing Nepal has which no one else has is 8 of the worlds 14 mountains over 8000m . This is the himalayan nation, the roof of the world and on November 2nd we fly to what is reputed to be the worlds most dangerous airport, on the ridge of a mountain, to start our trek to Everest base camp. I can't wait.

Below are some of the faces we saw while in India, one thing that is not in dispute is the Indian peoples complete confidence that all will be well, here is just a few of them.....