Indian Tourism - an idea yet to fructify

My sister-in-law's family was here this week, and we have been planning their itinerary for visits in and around Pune, and visiting a couple of places with them. Yesterday we had been to Mahableshwar (120 kms from Pune), a place touted as a weekend retreat for families and honeymooners. We went around the many points of interest, and what struck me was the amazing natural beauty of this hill station. The views of the majestic Krishna valley, the greenery even in the height of summer, the sheer ravine drops sculpted by rain and wind that are almost as good as the Grand Canyon are pleasures that is not adequately marketed. What is worse the lack of infrastructure, paths and areas where you can lounge and enjoy the beauties of nature without being harried by vendors of corn, strawberries or a horse ride. There is a paucity of road and path signs because the local travel guides' union will not allow them or will deface them if they are put up!! Increasing the ease of doing it yourself, enjoying nature at its best and easy access to modern amenities at the end of a day of commune with nature are what will grow the industry and make these frequent destinations for us Indians, let alone foreign visitors.

In yet another case, the Bhimashankar temple, one of the 12 jyotirlingas which is part of any Siva worshiping devotee's life dreams, is a mere 112 kms from Pune, but the bus journey takes 5 hours. What should be a mere one day visit, turns into a 2 day nightmare thanks to lack of infrastructure. The result: though it was on co-brother's ardent wish to visit the temple, even if he had to do it alone, he dropped the idea. The result a loss of one tourist visiting and helping the local economy. I sincerely hope that in my lifetime, Indian tourism comes of age and we are able to visit the diverse places that we have within our borders and feel proud of our heritage.

Neighborhood parks - A microcosm of life

I have been a regular at my neighborhood joggers' park and the one near my parents' home when I visit Bangalore, and each visit cements my perception that they are a necessity, and we should all campaign for usable, clean parks in our neighborhoods. It not only is a focal point for neighborhood activities, but one for meeting of diverse minds and exposure to the varied pursuits of people. You see a gathering of senior citizens exercising or walking for health, or shooting the breeze about the latest political faux pax or cricket scores; a grandmother trying to keep up with her 4 year old grandson or another grandfather keeping a watchful eye as his precious granddaughter whizzes down the slide. A bunch of intense middle-aged housewives doing aerobics as part of their weight-management routine; another mixed group doing the Sudarshan Kriya; yet another guffawing their guts out as part of the laughing club. You catch snippets of conversations that deal with the latest transgression of the daughter in law; another espousing on how the wise Yudhistra would not learn from his mistakes and gambled all away - the lesson when you love something or someone with a passion, you lose your reason. If you are into people watching like I am, you quickly appreciate the diversity of your neighborhood beyond the monochromatic cross-section of your apartment complex or immediate neighbors, their passions and aspirations through what they do; the privacy available at home through the number of married lovers on the benches. If you have not visited the park around the corner, I urge you to do so. And if you don't have one, campaign with your neighbors to the local corporator to get one.

An idea whose time has come - the end of religion.

The past few years have seen the rise of religious fundamentalism across all major religions, except maybe Buddhism, which in itself would have been of little interest to me as in this respect I would say I am an 'a-theist' (i.e. a person without belief in a supernatural god or gods). I have no interest to engage in any discourse or debate on the existence of a god or gods, whether active interventionist or passive onlooker, but today's religious fundamentalists refuse to provide me the same courtesy.

Be it the Islamic mob violence in response to the Danish cartoons, or the rewriting of history that Hindu groups are pressuring for in as faraway place as California, they do it through the use of force (be it physical violence on the streets or the more sophisticated 'minority interest group' tactics that today's democracy unfortunately provides), making them no better than the gun-toting mugger except in this case they are trying to steal your ability and right to choose how you live (within the bounds of not being at the cost of others).

I submit that if there ever has been any evidence of an idea that does more harm than good, it is that of religion (organized or otherwise) as a social framework or basis of interacting with others in this world. Just as ideas as diverse as a flat earth, earth-centric universe or the ground-up creation of humans ala Adam and Eve, have evolved out of existence, it is time that we showed the idea of religion and an anthropocentric, interventionist god the door out of our belief systems and psychoepistemology.