I am obviously feeling a bit more confident as I decided to leave the secured confines of my plush hotel for my morning run today (a blessing that the hotel gym was late in opening). I ended up running through a number of poor villages and it was another eye opener; the basic nature of everything, the dirt and grime, the lack of shoes, the shoddy sanitation system, the random animals and herds of dogs, the odd smells. It was the herd of dogs that made me most uneasy as I made a mental note to check on Google what to do if bitten by a rabid dog in India. It was also somewhat surreal to listen to this week’s Charlemagne on my iPod as I ran through a shanty town....Charlemagne lamented the reluctance of Europeans to give up some of their benefits and to work a bit harder; they want to spend a couple of weeks over here! That said, I became increasingly relaxed as my run progressed. In the last 2 or 3 minutes I didn’t see any dogs and managed to smile at a few locals. Their reactions to my smile were huge toothy grins – that’s when you see that despite coming from different worlds, there’s nothing more powerful than a smile to break down barriers. I’m already looking forward to tomorrow’s run where I’m going to make even more of an effort to be the happy, but polite, tourist.
The most difficult thing about doing these blog posts while in India is that I can’t make sense of the place. I am no William Hague and I need my frameworks to help me understand things. I just can’t get the measure of the place for the minute. No sooner than I think I have sussed something out, then in the very next breath I can’t help but conclude the complete opposite. Admittedly I have only been here 3.5 days, and I am definitely looking forward to next week when I will get to work directly with my Indian colleagues (I am currently locked in a room all day with lots of white, middle aged Americans and Europeans), but it’s certain that I haven’t got the measure of the place yet.
For heaven's sake, avoid getting bitten by a dog. Rabies is prevalent in India and there is no cure. it's a dreadful death as well.
ReplyDeleteyou will see these street dogs or stray dogs in every corner of big cities, small cities and rural places in India! There is a dog squad in Bengaluru which hunts these dogs, lock them up and sanitise them with an injection and leaves them back to the area.. I dont know why they leave them back to the area! earlier they used to lock them up in a jail sort of place! These dogs are like street rowdies often roam in groups and they have their own rival groups! Key tip is never try to meet your eyes with them! But having spent close to 10 years in Bengaluru I never had problem with them something positive you can take :)
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