Namaste from India. Well we are finding it really hard to believe we are actually here. When we left the UK India seemed such a hugely long way off and somewhere that we were really excited about going but didn't think much about because of everywhere else in the meantime. And now here we are- in probably the last country we will visit on our epic trip (although we are thinking about adding on Sri Lanka!)

Our last week at the Disabled Newlife Centre in Kathmandu was fantastic. We spent a lot of time collecting a piece of writing from each of the kids and then making them into a huge 10 page newsletter with loads of photos. We even managed to get a photo of everyone together which was quite a task and on our last day we gave each child a copy of the newsletter and a print of the photo. We were very sad to leave and I think they were sad to see us go. There were some tears- even from Shanti the housemu who is really lovely. We were blessed with Tiki on our foreheads and waved off, knowing that we will definately be back, hopefully soon and to celebrate Holi again!

On Saturday we got a flight to Delhi after 4 bag searches, 4 pat down searches and 2 x-ray machines and then an onward one to Amritsar in the Punjab region of India, right at the border with Pakistan. We arrived here late at night and went to bed after grabbing a quick bite to eat. In the morning we got up and after walking outside the sights and sounds of India hit us straight away. Packed streets full of cycle rickshaws, taxis, street vendors and people hanging around. The smell of ghee and butter. Beeping horns at cows and pigs in the streets and the yummiest food everywhere! We decided to visit the golden temple first which is just around the corner from where we are staying. It is a truly sacred destination and is considered the highest temple for the Sikh faith, many of whom make pilgramages here from across the world- a bit like Mecca for Muslims. Everyone must wear a headscarf (male and female) and leave their shoes in a fanastically well organised drop off point. You then walk through a pool of water to clean your feet and through the entrance where the stunning view awaits you. The most famous and sacred part of the Golden Temple complex is the Hari Mandir (Divine Temple) or Darbar Sahib (Court of the Lord), which is a beautiful golden structure at the center of a large square pool of water. The water that surrounds the Hari Mandir is a sacred pool known as the Amrit Sarovar (Pool of Nectar) and many people (men) were stripping off to get into the water and pray as well as bless themselves and drink a bit. I think I can see where their strong stomachs come from as it was pretty murky! We walked around the path that circumnavigates the temple and then sat cross legged with the pilgrims for a while contemplating the beauty of it all and watching the world go by. Of course every 5 minutes at least we were approached by people wanting their picture taken with us or filming. It is quite strange really. I think that it might be partly becaue there are not many westerners here that we have seen but also because I guess that if people do com on pilgramage from villages they may be less used to seeing westerners. We decided not to go inside the actual gold plated building as the queue was absolutely huge but just enjoyed the atmosphere.

As we wandered out in search of a drink I decided it was time to change the colour of my scarf. The woman who had searched me at the airport had asked me if I was married as I was wearing a red scarf and I thought this might be why I was being stared at loads. I went to a shop and bought a black shawl for 2pounds and changed into that. It didn't help with the staring and now the lady in the internet cafe has just informed me that it is rubbish anyway and anyone can wear a red scarf! The thing is that I am dressed very conservatively in baggy india trousers, long sleeves and a scarf. Yesterday we saw other girls wearing skirts and strappy tops etc and I just don't know how they do it. Do they not care that they are offending loads of people? Surely they have noticed people staring at them constantly? Oh well some people just don't seem to notice things like whether they fit into an environment. Anyway we are not here to see the India lots of westerners seek out.
As another traveller so eloquently put it....
No Thomas Cook-all-inclusive-yoga-resort-ashram-by-the-sea with lily-white buses whisking throngs of immaculately robed tourists from the international airport in their natural fabrics, bypassing the urban poverty and despair to deliver them to an impregnable fortress of new age bliss filled with like-minded world spirits with lavish lines of credit, finicky eating habits that gather together to achieve “consciousness” and only breaking the rigors of their meditation to eat, sleep, drink, smoke and partner up for the afternoon tantra clinic!

I had heard that as a fair-skinned westerner you might be treated with far more deference and respect than we probably deserve. This seems horrible as I don’t like to be treated better or worse than the next person. We’ll wait my turn with the rest and be equally indignant whether it’s the level of service or the price that’s being raised owing to us being a foreigner.
But when you see how brusquely people can be treated in this country I think you have to learn to shut up and accept it. What would pass for fight-starting-behavior where we're from is standard fare. In India, blaring your horn as you overtake someone is considered a courtesy to the extent that many trucks have HORN PLEASE emblazoned on the rear.

Anyway back to us and what we've been up to. After an internet break and a walk around the streets packed full of thousands of stalls selling hundreds of types of beautiful cloth with everyone shouting "hello" and coming up to shake our hand we decided to go back to the Golden temple just to see it at a different time of day and maybe catch the sunset. After another walk around the holy pool we saw that the queue to go into the golden building was quite a lot shorter so we decided to join it. Pretty soon we were packed in very tight with everyone pushing and shoving. We were there for about 20 minutes and then suddenly the speakers which had been playing out the chanting all day seemed to be turned up quite considerably and an air of even more respect came over the place. The guy punting around collecting the moss in the water suddenly anchored himself and bowed his head and evryone began chanting along. It quickly became apparent that we were joinging in evening prayers. Even more so when everyone then sat down cross legged in the queue. This was easier said than done. Because everyone was squashed up so tightly we all ended up on top of each other and I had an old ladies arms around my neck to support herself! After more chanting and wondering if it was appropriate for us to be there everyone stood up again and after about 45minutes it was our turn to go under the rope and see what was inside the building. Inside there were lots of people and a live band with the priest who was chanting. It is filmed constantly and broadcast across India so we can now say that we have been on TV in the largest democracy in the world as the cameras were focused on us for quite a while! It is very small and one is rushed through very quickly but we were really pleased that we had queued up with everyone to see it- especially as we found a staircase that took us up onto the roof for an even more beautiful view. Inside the building is stunning- it is covered with verses from the Granth Sahib (the Sikh holy book) and inlaid with marble, gold and carvings- amazingly intricate and extremely pretty. By the time we had done that and collected our shoes etc it was time for dinner again and then bed!

Yesterday we started the day with a very sobering visit to Jallanwala Bagh. It was the site of a massacre by the British on April 13th 1919. British Indian Army soldiers under the command of Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer opened fire on an unarmed gathering of men, women and children. The firing lasted for 10 to 15 minutes, until the soldiers ran out of ammunition. Official British Raj sources placed the fatalities at 379, and with 1100 wounded. Civil Surgeon Dr. Smith indicated that there were 1,526 casualties which was probably a more accurate number. Of course we all know that we used to rule here and are a bit embarassed about it (well maybe we're not all embarassed but I am) but it isn't until you come here and learn about it you realise some of the horrendous things that we did. It's funny how we learn all about what Germany did in the world wars at school but nothing about what we have inflicted on other countries. I know as I write this that my grandfather for one will disagree and probably say that I am believeing propoganda as he has already said that the Indian people think "fondly" of British rule but that was not my experience in this museum yesterday. There were newspaper articles and government documents that were fascinating to look at as I for one know very little of the history. I will try and put together what I know and hope it is not too controversial...

In World War 1 About 1.3 million Indian soldiers and labourers served in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, while both the Indian administration and the princes sent large supplies of food, money, and ammunition. In the aftermath, high casualty rates, soaring inflation compounded by heavy taxation, a widespread influenza epidemic, and the disruption of trade during the war escalated human suffering in India. The costs of the protracted war in both money and manpower were staggering. In India, long the "jewel in the crown" of the British Empire, Indians were restless for independence, having contributed heavily to the war efforts in both money and men. Over 43,000 Indian soldiers had died fighting for Britain. Indians were expecting, if not freedom, at least more say in their governance; so the Indian Nationalist movement was marked by a clear domination of the more extreme rather than the moderate. On the recommendations of a committee of the same name, the Rowlatt Act, an extension of the Defence of India act of 1915, was enforced in India. It vested the Viceroy's government with extraordinary powers to quell sedition by silencing the press, including detaining the political activists without trial, arrest without warrant of any individuals suspected of sedition or treason, as well as trial before special tribunals and in camera. The passage sparked massive outrage within India and quite rightly so in my opinion. Indians were punished by flogging, execution and ther eis even a street here that they were made to crawl down on the bellies. Gandhi's call for protest against the Rowlatt act achieved an unprecedented response of furious unrest and protests. The situation especially in Punjab was deteriorating rapidly, with disruptions of rail, telegraph and communication systems. After this it went quiet for a couple of days but then on 13th April thousands of people gathered for a peaceful meeting in the gardens of Jallanwallah Bagh.

The Jallianwala Bagh was bounded on all sides by houses and buildings and had few narrow entrances, most of which were kept permanently locked. The main entrance was relatively wider, but was guarded by the troops backed by the armoured vehicles. General Dyer ordered troops to open fire without warning or any order to disperse, and to direct fire towards the densest sections of the crowd. He continued the firing, approximately 1600 rounds in all, until ammunition was exhausted.
Apart from the many deaths directly from the firing, a number of deaths were caused by stampedes at the narrow gates as also people who sought shelter from the firing by jumping into the solitary well inside the compound. A plaque in the monument at the site, set up after independence, says that 120 bodies were plucked out of the well. As a result of the firing, hundreds of people were killed and thousands were injured. The wounded could not be moved from where they had fallen, as an 8pm curfew on all Indians had been declared - many more died during the night. Despite the government's best efforts to suppress information of the massacre, news spread elsewhere in India and widespread outrage ensued. Back in his headquarters, General Dyer reported to his superiors that he had been "confronted by a revolutionary army". Later when he was questioned at the Hunter Comission on whether he could have managed to calm the situation without firing he answered "I think it quite possible that I could have dispersed the crowd without firing but they would have come back again and laughed, and I would have made, what I consider, a fool of myself." Dyer's actions had mixed reactions- Winston Churchill condemned it but many other applauded it. At the end of the day even if it wasn't government instructed action it happened and is a huge tradgedy.The Indian people wanted their country back and we thought we were more important. Even when visting in 1997 Prnce Philip couldn't keep his mouth shut and made some offensive comment as well as saying he was friends with General Dyer's son in the Navy.

Anyway the garden is a lovely memorial and the museum really interesting for someone who has not been taught anything about the situation. It was full of 2 school trips and it felt like the children were looking at us very reproachfully after learning all about how our ancestors had massacred theirs. You can still see all the bullet holes in the walls and trees and there is a flame that constantly burns to remember the dead.

From there we went to see the famous border closing ceremony at Wagah which is the only border with a road between India and Pakistan. It is absolutely amazing and worth coming here just for really. We drove 30miles out of town and then walked the last half mile through searches etc. I had one bottle of water taken off me but not another I had in my bag and despite the fact that everyone else was carrying them. Anyway the Border Security Force guards look absolutely brilliant in their huge turbans with fans on top and they take everything very seriously even though they look like something out of Monty Python! You could hear the singing and chanting as soon as we got out of the car and it became clear why when we reached some jam packed grandstands! We got waved round to a seperate bit for foreigners where the guy was even bossier and blew his whistle every time someone stood up even to take a phtot despited the fact that everyone in the Indian section was cheering, dancing and running around! There were kids running up and down to the gates to Pakistan with huge flags and everyone was cheering them on. The sound system was massive and was blaring out the hits as everyone danced in the road and one kid did a pefromance for the whole crowd! You could hear exactly the same kind of action coming from the Pakistan side although their grandstands didn't look as nearly packed. The Pakistan Rangers were wearing the same outifts but in black which made for a great show. Behind a fence in front of us you could also see the guards warming up for their comedy goosesteeping as their white boots appeared over the top. At 5.15 the guards marched out and an MC appeared who held the microphone in front of the mouth of one of them. He then did the longest shout he could which sent the crowd wild. What followed was half an hour of pure brilliance as they marched up and down goosestepping and shouting, saluted at each other, opened and flung shut the gates and then finally lowered the flags. All the time the crowd was going wild being wound up by the MC, especially when the shouting from the Pakistan side floated over. It was an absolutely brilliant show and impossible to comprehend that it happens every day when we are sitting in work or wherever in England- I will forever think of that when it is 5pm Indian time!

So there we go our first 3 days in India and we are enchanted already. Even when writing this we have been having hilarious conversations with the lady who works in the internet cafe. "What is your favourite bollywood star?" "Are you married or lovers?" "Why are you not married?" "But you are old!" "Can I stay with you in England?" "Maybe you can find me a husband in England and call me?" She is really sweet and has now decided that she needs to get me a sari- I'm not so sure. She says "but when you go back to England and wear it everyone will look at you" hmmm that is for sure but I'm not sure if it is for the right reasons. Anyway Tonight we get our first train In India to Jim Corbett national park where I really hope we see some tigers- that would be so exciting!