Eternal India Encyclopedia

ETERNAL INDIA encyclopedia

A GREAT DESTINATION

A GREAT DESTINATION

WHY INDIA AS A TOURIST DESTINATION

India has always been a favourite resort of travellers, scholars and special envoys — people like Hiuen Tsang, Ibn-Batuta and Thomas Roe. They were attracted to India for their own individual reasons or because of their special assignments and we are grate- ful to them that they came, considering the very valuable record that they have left — detailed reminiscences and their often quaint im- pressions and comments. However, India has never solicited tourists in the modern sense of the word. Not for India the kind of tourism culture which has been built up in certain countries of Asia — which have un- selfconsciously become destinations for that kind of tourism for no other reason than the fact that it brings in plenty of dollars. India has of course always been the dreamed-of destination for Indophiles — people who are fascinated by India’s ancient lore and culture, its great philosophical, architectural and artistic heritage. For philosophers the world over, a journey to India has always meant a pilgrimage to the land of the Vedas and Upanishads. The point I am trying to make is that India has no ‘flesh-pots’ to offer like some of the Asian countries, and no ‘sunning on beaches’, which attracts millions of tourists to Spain, Southern Italy and the French Riviera. This is not to say that there are no great beaches in India and no beach tourism. You have Kovalam in Kerala and Aguada in Goa and you have Sultanpur-on-Sea in Orissa. These are all great beaches by any standard and they attract a large number of tourists who have otherwise come to India and who are most agreeably surprised to find that such beaches exist in India. But these are not the blandishments offered in India’s tourism- promotion literature for would-be ‘foreign arrivals’ from Europe, America and elsewhere. This is because India has rich fare for all varieties of tourists — for the humblest, shoe string-budget tour- ist, for the discerning and appreciative Indophile, for the'most de- manding and sophisticated, high flying world-traveller, for the Robert Morley-like gourmet and, last but not least, for the familiar tourist prototype who has come to India only to see the Taj but who stays on, or goes back, because no one had told him that there was more to India than the Taj and the Maharaja cliche and the shriv- elled beggars with a bowl. Talking of cliches and the Taj brings me to the ‘Golden Triangle’ which most of our tourism promoters offer to the would-be tourists. The Taj, of course, is a great destination and I have heard from for- eigners again and again that the ‘dream in marble’ by far surpasses anything that they had imagined. I have myself found the Taj more beautiful each time I have gone there — and I must have gone there at least 30 times. And then there is the fascinating ghost-city of Fatehpur Sikri which gives you much more insight into the flower- ing of Indo-Saracenic culture in the 16th century in India than twenty tomes can. Jaipur and Delhi, the other two parts of the ‘Tri- angle’, are, again, great destinations with all the history and heri- tage and the rich tapestry of present-day culture which they have to offer. But then I have never felt happy about India being sold to tourists almost entirely as the ‘Golden Triangle’. And I have felt uncomfortable and concerned when I see tourists visiting the ‘Golden Triangle’ during the scorching months of May and June,

and the maddeningly humid months of July and August. Foreign tourists must choose the winter months to visit these great desti- nations in Northern India. November to February is the ‘cham- pagne-weather’ to visit Northern India. During the sizzling and humid months, the destinations to visit are mostly in Southern India. Before speaking of Southern India, let me dwell on a few highly worthwhile destinations and tourist trips in Northern India. For the ‘well-heeled’ tourists visiting India in the highly agreeable winter months (October to March), there is nothing to beat the ‘Palace on Wheels’ trip which begins and ends at Delhi after a round trip through Rajasthan and the Taj-State of Uttar Pradesh. Having enjoyed this memorable trip myself, I would commend it to tourists across the world as one which promises, and delivers, perhaps the greatest value for money. Whatever you have been told about the train, the food and the hospitality is true — in fact it falls short of the experience. Then there is a train trip to Jhansi, from where you travel by road to Khajuraho. A visit to Bombay must include a quick trip to the nearby Elephanta caves and a longer trip to the famous Ajanta and Ellora caves. Coming to Southern India, Karnataka offers the most agreeable climate during the summer months. The itinerary suggested for a southern ‘Palace on Wheels’ project begins from Bangalore with an overnight halt each at Mysore and Bandipur, whereafter you go to Hassan for sight-seeing at the nearby Halebid and Belur temples. From Hassan, you go to Hospet for a couple of night halts, with a day-time trip to Badami thrown in. Thereafter, you can go over to Bijapur and then fly to Bombay from Belgaum, or go by train to Goa. This would make a really rich 7-to-8 days package, giving you an opportunity to look at some of the greatest temple carvings in world heritage (Somnathpur, Halebid and Belur), the Hampi ruins near Hospet, which are among the most remarkable and well-preserved ruins of ancient civilisations in the world heritage — and the remarkable temples group at Badami, Pattadakal and Aihole, where you can see the transition between cave temple and the structural temple. In Pattadakal, particularly, you can see in one place almost all the styles of temple-architecture in India. The other remarkable destinations in Southern India — not to be missed, in spite of the somewhat muggy weather in Madras — are Madras and Mahabalipuram, with a: trip thrown in to Madurai and back. This makes a rich package through a countryside which boasts of a great heritage of stone-carving art and temple architec- ture, not to speak of the highly rated beach, at Mahabalipuram. A visit to Kerala during the ‘Onam’ festival in July can be a memo- rable experience — with all the excitement and spectacle of the boat races, the elaborately organised dance events and the parades of richly-caparisoned elephants. I have mentioned the Bandipur Wildlife Sanctuary while speak- ing of the Bangalore-Hospet round-trip. Sanctuaries like Kaziranga (Assam), Corbett National Park (U.P) and Bandipur/ Nagarahole in Karnataka, offer the most agreeable way of viewing wildlife in its natural, unself-conscious and painstakingly pre- served habitat. Here again, India is not for those who would like a