After getting checked by the Indian authorities on the ship we were on our bus to the airport in Mumbai.
In order to drive in India you need 3 things – a good horn, good brakes and good luck. We had all three and they were tested frequently!
As we careened through the streets of Mumbai and later along the highway to Agra we shared the road with motor bikes, pedal bikes, walkers, joggers (some in bare feet), push carts and carts pulled by oxen, bulls, camels and horses. Everyone on the road, including our bus, was weaving in and out of all the traffic, a continual game of chicken. Amazingly we did not see one accident!
Our look at Mumbai was what we saw from the bus. My impressions are – crowded, people everywhere, dirty – all the building are grimy, the people look dirty, there is garbage everywhere. I had a feeling of people all competing for space, everyone looking out for themselves and no one thinking about maintaining their surroundings.
India has a population of 1.5 billion with 21.5 million of them in Mumbai (they were all out lining the roadways as we sped through the city). India is the fastest growing nation in the world and at the current rate will have a larger population than China by 2020. There are 145 births every minute.
Mumbai is called the city of opportunity. It is growing rapidly as people immigrate from other parts of the country to take advantage of the employment growth. Even so 40% of the population is living in poverty. 75% of the population is Hindu. Mumbai was a group of islands joined together in the 1800s to form one city. There is evidence of a settlement in the area as far back as the 3rd millennium BC.
We passed several areas of shacks crowded together, nearby there were large apartment buildings, many of which look very decrepit, trashy and dirty. We saw people squatting either on the side of the road or on nearby patches of dirt or vegetation. They were eating, talking, drinking coffee, children nearby. Often they had a small fire that they were sitting by. The areas of shacks did have satellite dishes on most roofs. Our guide said they do not have inside plumbing but do have a TV and a satellite dish.
From the airport in Delhi we had a 4 hour drive to Agra, the first hour was getting through Delhi. The first city in this area was built in the 7th century, 7 cities developed in the area and were amalgamated to form what is now Delhi, the capital of India. Impressions of the city are the same as Mumbai, except we drove through one area that was clean, with large white bungalows. This is the residences of the government officials. The houses were originally built for the English officials and are now provided free to the Indian ministers, judges etc. for as long as they hold office.
India is a democracy with 28 states. Elections are held very 5 years and a President is elected by parliament. The real power is with the Prime Minister, the President is just a figurehead.
Our guide talked about corruption, “black money” and high taxes. “Black money” is money that is earned but not reported e.g. When buying a car half will be paid in cash “under the table” and not reported. Only 5% of the population pay income tax. 75% of the population are working in agriculture and money earned from agriculture is not taxable.
There are 600 languages! So most people learn English as a second language so they can communicate with others outside their local area. The government identified 450 castes and has developed a new caste system with only 4 castes and are working to eliminate the discrimination that still exists. They have introduced a series of benefits to assist the former “untouchables” including schooling, preferential hiring, welfare etc. However, due to the high degree of corruption the benefits do not always reach the intended groups.
Every city has a slum. This is the source of domestic help, it sounds like most middle class will have 2 or 3 domestic workers – cleaners, cooks, drivers.
All day we experienced a high level of pollution. There seemed to be a grey haze hanging over us the whole time, even as we drove through the country to Agra. On that drive we passed many small farms growing wheat, mustard and cattle fodder. We did not see any large farming equipment, but did see people working in the farms – it seems to be all manually done. There were also many brick factories belching out black smoke along side of the farms.
We reached Agra after dark. We drove through streets lined with hole-in-the-wall shops. Tiny shops that were literally a small room or shed, often with room for just one person with stuff spilling out onto the road. There were also carts piled with fruit, nuts and other items for sale, the owner(?) would be squatting on the cart watching his inventory. Small portable fast food stalls were along side, usually with a fire going to cook the food right there. There was all kinds of merchandise for sale – food, bikes, repair shops, sewing. I saw what looked like an old treadle singer sewing machine being used in one shop, several barbers shaving someone, often there were small fires with people cooking (one guy was holding what looked like a chicken over the fire). Interspersed were night clubs with bright neon lights. Narrow streets put us right beside all this activity as our bus veered around the chaos.
We finally arrived at our hotel – what a contrast to what we just drove through! A lovely buffet diner with a dancing display and off to bed. We are getting up tomorrow before the sun so we can be at the “Taj” to watch the sunrise, then breakfast back here.