An Indian perspective of travelling in India

White skin fascination

It is amazing and at the same time quite discomforting to see that India attaches so much importance to the colour of a person's skin. On one hand, we accuse the West of being racist and looking down upon us, and on the other hand, our own people practise a brand of racism that even makes white people squirm with discomfort (although they are not at the receiving end). It is not uncommon to find dark-skinned Indians thronging around white people asking for a picture with them. 

Random strangers taking a picture with my fellow travellers from the US

A friend from the US once asked me innocently "Why are Indians so eager to take pictures with us?" She went on to say that, a couple of times, she was asked to take a picture with a baby which was handed over to her by the mother. The weirdest of them all is when the husband asks his wife to stand for a picture with a white guy and the wife radiates a glow her husband hasn't seen in all those years of marriage. Whatever happened to the demure Indian girl who wouldn't dare to look at her husband's face directly and instead cast shy glances!?

As a nation which was under the British rule for over 200 years, we forget the fact that it was the white skinned folks from England who put a board outside a club meant for the elite, which read, "Indians and dogs not allowed". It only gets worse when some of Bollywood's biggest movie stars endorse fairness creams. 

India is opening itself up to solo travellers in a big way

Having backpacked through Western and Central Europe, I experienced the warm embrace of travelling solo. Once you start enjoying travelling alone, it is often very difficult to look back. The kind of people you meet while travelling alone is vastly different from when you travel in a group. It is liberating and at the same time, gives you a perspective of life which is very different from when you are with a group of friends. 

It is heartening to see the ease with which you can travel solo in India today. Of course, as a foreigner, you may face problems on some Indian websites and some e-wallet apps which do not accept International Debit and Credit cards. But that's not a deal breaker. 

The hostel culture is in its nascent stage in India. Hostels help you meet travellers with varied backgrounds and interests which in turn fuel your imagination. Staying in hostels is also a great way to meet people with similar interests. Rajasthan particularly seems to have taken a giant leap and you find amazing hostels at very affordable prices in most places. The South of India is slowly getting there and a hostels are cropping up in places like Kodaikanal and some parts of Kerala. You may expect to pay anywhere between INR 300-500 for a dorm bed in these hostels. 

Pappi Chulo Hostel in Pushkar

Indians hate Indian tourists

Indian tourists, especially the ones heading out on the weekend to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city, behave poorly, often getting drunk beyond their capacity and playing loud music on their portable speakers. Well, no one has a problem with music, but if you play 'Kala Chasma' 3 times in a row, and you dance with your belly jiggling, it could be a bit of a problem :p

It has even forced some hostels to have a policy of asking for the passport as an identity proof for all guests, including Indians. They know that an Indian wouldn't carry his/her Passport while travelling in India. So very cleverly, and in the guise of rules, they have managed to find a way to weed the problematic Indian crowd out. 

Sometimes, it's good to have an attitude, not always though

                          

A hostel owner once told me that he doesn't have a problem with Indians, but when the "Delhi Boys" come, it could be a problem for the other guests in the hostel. Such is the reputation of our own people in our own country, which I hope changes soon. 

(During my travels, I have met some of the nicest people from Delhi. This is what the hostel owner said to me, which I particularly don't agree with)

If you are travelling alone, people are much more very welcoming and would go out of their way to help you irrespective of your nationality. So go ahead and travel alone without worries. 

Gujarati's love getting drunk

India's favourite pastime is banning anything which our elected representatives feel is a detriment to the society. While we elect them to govern and take the country forward, some of the bans have helped our country go in the reverse direction. 

Take the alcohol ban in the state of Gujarat for example. Since alcohol is not freely available there (although if you know the right people, you can get anything you want in India), a lot of Gujarati's tend to go the neighbouring states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh etc to quench their thirst. Brilliant idea, except the fact that the whole purpose of the alcohol ban is lost like a needle in a haystack. What is worse if they decide to drive back after consuming irresponsible levels of alcohol and endangering themselves and other people on the road. 

Gujarat is one of the 3 dry states in India, others being Mizoram and Nagaland

Since they want to make the most of the limited time available, they drink like there is no tomorrow, causing havoc and sometimes ruining the weekend for people looking for peace and tranquility. At the hostel where I was staying in Udaipur, a Gujarati couple was asked to leave as they were quite drunk even before 10 PM and started playing loud music on the music system. The wife innocently told me "We are from Gujarat, you know how it is there. That's why we come here to party. Modiji has ruined it for us" when I politely asked them to turn down the volume of the music. It's not Modi who came up with the idea of the alcohol ban, but well, she was too drunk for me correct her. 

A couple of days later, a bunch a Gujarati teens got so drunk that they had a brawl. They were asked to leave too. 

I think India has reached that state where bans must be banned. We could maybe take a leaf out of The Netherlands :p

Note from the author

It is easy to write about the nice things you find when you travel in India, but I thought I should write about a side of India which not too many people write about. You may disagree with some of my views, but the views are mine and mine only. If you still want to rant, please use the comments section below :)

Gaurav Rajaram is a photographer from Bangalore who is passionate about travelling, teaching and writing. 

He teaches Accounting and Direct Tax to students pursuing the Chartered Accountancy (CA) Course. You can read more about him and what he does for a living here