India Trip 2011-2012 - Jaipur

From Baroda (which I posted about here), we took an overnight train to Jaipur, the capital of the state of Rajasthan ("The Land of Kings").

Our train's name was a little disconcerting ("Dee Garib Rath"), because "garib rath" means "chariot of the poor", and I must confess we did have visions of hundreds of people clambering onto the train without tickets and forcing us to share our berths with them. Fortunately, the name turned out to be just populism on the part of India's former railway minister, the rather clownish Laloo Prasad Yadav. The train itself was air-conditioned and the journey was quite comfortable. It's a bit like a budget airline in that you have to pay extra for blankets, but at 25 rupees per person (about 50 cents), that wasn't a consideration at all.

Virtually all middle-class Indians have grown up knowing what overnight train travel feels like. The rocking motion of the train is wonderfully relaxing, the dim blue night lights in the compartment letting you see just enough to keep an eye on your bags. The faint sounds of tea vendors on the platform when the train stopped at stations along the way would only vaguely puncture our sleep, and we would drift off to the gentle rocking of the train as it got underway again. I have fond memories of my father rigging up an elaborate cocoon for me on the top berth using a bedsheet, tying it to the grill to keep it (and me) from rolling off in the middle of the night. As children, we used to fight for the top row berths, while our parents indulgently took the middle and lower berths. That's one of the uniquely Indian experiences my son has never had the good fortune to have, so this trip was an opportunity to fix that.

My son (top row) and wife (middle row) read themselves to sleep  on board the Chariot of the Poor

We stayed with a relative in Jaipur. On our evening walk the very first day, we came across the unusual sight of a peacock walking across the road in front of us, stopping at the gate of a nearby house, then hopping onto the gate and then onto the roof. I suppose the locals must be used to this kind of sight, but it was a new experience for us.

Another common sight around Jaipur is that of brilliantly caparisoned camels. Much of Rajasthan is desert, hence the popularity of camels.

There seemed to be some event on at every city we visited on this trip. In Ahmedabad, it was the IIM alumni reunion (although it's not fair to count that because that event was the very purpose of our being there). In Baroda, it was the 150th birth anniversary of Maharaja Sayaji Rao Gaekwad III. And in Jaipur, it was Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, - the very first time the event was being held in this city. "Pravasi Bharatiya" means Non-Resident Indian (NRI), and this is the day India honours its diaspora. The date (9th January) marks the return of Mahatma Gandhi, arguably India's greatest and most famous NRI, to India after his stint in South Africa, where a series of incidents turned him from a loyal servant of the British Empire to its deadliest nemesis.

Jaipur was decked up for the occasion, with most government buildings lit up like fairytale palaces.

The Jaipur Vidhan Sabha, the state legislative assembly

The gates of the Vidhan Sabha

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was to be in town during our time there, as this welcoming hoarding reveals. We never saw him, though.

The chief guest at each Pravasi Bharatiya Divas function is a person of Indian origin who has attained a position of eminence outside India. This year, the chief guest was the prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Mrs Kamla Persad-Bissessar. Her name itself is fascinating, showing how Indian names gradually morph away from their original Sanskrit roots ("Kamala Prasad Vishweshwar") through generations spent in foreign lands. The former Mauritian prime ministers Sir Seewoosagar Ramgoolam (could that be a hybrid Sanskrit-Arabic name "Shivsagar Ram ghulam"?) and Sir Anerood Jugnauth ("Aniruddh Jagannath") are other favourites of mine.

Much as we might like to preen about Pravasi Bharatiya Divas being about "us" (i.e., today's NRIs) and to downplay its association with Mahatma Gandhi as just cynical tokenism by India's venal political class, the fact remains that the status we as Indians enjoy today and are likely to enjoy in greater measure in coming years owes an immeasurable debt to that one man's courage. Independence for India, won by peaceful and non-violent means under his leadership ("We've come a long way with the British. We must see them off as friends"), laid the foundation for a country that has been moderate and responsible in its role and will hopefully continue to play a positive role in the world. Disdain for Gandhi was a common attitude of our youth, but in my mellower years, I realise that modern India and its children would not be where they are but for this man. I doff my hat to the Mahatma.

More pictures of Jaipur and its surrounds are here.

History continued to remind me of its powerful echoes when we visited the fort of Amer (built 1592) outside Jaipur (for some strange reason spelt "Amber" in English).

The main courtyard of Amer fort, and in the misty background, another ridge with battlements

Amer affords many picture-postcard views like this one.

My complete album is here.

One of the first curious sights that struck my eyes was the gate called "Ganesh Pol" (Ganesh Gate). Do you see anything curious about this?

Ganesh Pol (Ganesh Gate) - An arch doorway built in the Moghul/Persian style with the distinctly un-Islamic image of the Hindu god Ganesh at the top!

I wondered a lot about this, then subsequently read up on the history of Amer fort. It turns out that this fort belonged to the Hindu Rajput king Raja Man Singh (1550-1614). I had read about Raja Man Singh as a child in the popular comic-style illustrated story from Amar Chitra Katha on Rana Pratap Singh (1540-1597).

The story talks about Raja Man Singh at the palace of his peer Rana Pratap Singh, who at one stage, refuses to eat with him. On being asked why, Rana Pratap answers, "because you have sold your soul to the enemy". Raja Man Singh then leaves in a huff and war ensues between the Mughal empire of Akbar the Great and Rana Pratap. Raja Man Singh, as the Mughal emperor's brother-in-law, fights on his side against his fellow Rajput king Rana Pratap.

It then made perfect sense why an image of Lord Ganesh would adorn an arch built in the Islamic style. The Rajputs who chose to ally themselves with the Mughal empire (such as Raja Man Singh) were Hindu, but adopted the architectural style of their Muslim overlords. It always gives me a thrill to see cultures and civilisations influence each other. History generally records the clash and tumult of war when worlds collide, but the deeper, longer-lasting effects of cultural cross-pollination are subtler and harder to dig up, yet our world is what it is on account of such blending. I like to call this "When Worlds Collude".

And like I did in Baroda, I began to muse about the relative merits of fighting invaders versus cooperating with them. In Baroda, it was Maratha king Sayaji Rao Gaekwad III working under the British to bring prosperity to his people. In Amer, it was Raja Man Singh owing fealty to Emperor Akbar's Mughal empire to similarly give his people a peaceful life. In contrast, Rana Pratap Singh, hailed as a great Indian hero, personally suffered and also put his people through suffering by his unrelenting war against the Mughal enemy.

It does take two to tango, though. Indian history reveres Emperor Akbar (1542-1605) for his wisdom in instituting a federated empire with semi-autonomous fiefdoms like Raja Man Singh's Amer. The satraps and the empire both benefited from the arrangement, and there were very few wars and rebellions after the initial years of Akbar's long reign. Religious tolerance was also a notable hallmark of Akbar's reign. But Akbar's great-grandson Aurangzeb (1658-1707) executed a complete U-turn in policy. His reign saw a nominal expansion of the Mughal empire's borders, but his autocratic and centralised style, with no tolerance for religious diversity, saw the empire constantly embroiled in revolts and rebellions, which kept him fighting until he died. His empire swiftly crumbled after his death.

[Interestingly, while Indian textbooks idolise Akbar the tolerant, I'm told Akbar is held in disdain in Pakistan for hobnobbing with Hindus. Pakistan's favourite historical hero of the Mughal era is Aurangzeb, who put the kaffir Hindus in their place. Pakistan seems to be the Bizarro India, and the widely divergent trajectories of the two countries that were once one is only to be expected.]

There is a lesson in the results of Akbar's and Aurangzeb's governing styles. Large, diverse countries like India cannot be governed in a centralised and autocratic manner. A federal system is the only workable one, and it has taken India three and a half centuries after Akbar's death to once again achieve a stable and sustainable polity as a federation of quasi-autonomous states in 1947.

Back on earth after our philosophical ruminations, here are a few more photos of Amer fort.

The intricate patterns in the architecture of Amer's buildings are breathtaking

Entrance to the Sheesh Mahal (Hall of Mirrors), probably not a patch on Versailles, but nevertheless quite nice

A view of the courtyard from a lattice window above

Sweeping women posing invitingly for photographs. Foreign tourists readily obliged.

Elephants carrying tourists pass under a historical guard tower

Maintenance work being done on the Sheesh Mahal (Hall of Mirrors)

Tourists get the local experience, complete with headgear

What an idea, Sir ji! Pay toilets maintained in very good condition, and only 5 rupees (10 cents) a person

Another picture-postcard shot of elephant rides along the fort's periphery

A langur and her baby - I couldn't get a shot of the little one's face. A guard chased them off with a stick.

I had an opinion (probably unfair) of Rajasthan as a state that kept women under purdah, but Jaipur and its surrounds seemed quite normal in that there were lots of women out and about in public, many in uniform like this one.

A policewoman and her friend

Tourists disembark after their elephant ride

So that was Amer fort, and you can see more photos of it here - lots of breathtaking views.

We also visited the Albert Hall museum in Jaipur city.

A view of one of the canopies (chhatris) from a window inside Albert Hall

I wonder what the Buddha has to do with industrial art.

They shall beat their swords into ploughshares?

Another example of cultural cross-pollination:

A scene from the Hindu epic The Mahabharata, with text in Persian

Stonework - Lord Vishnu resting

More shots of Albert Hall are here.

There is a City Palace within Jaipur itself. One of the kings of Amer, Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, established a city in the plains beneath Amer fort. This city was named after him and became - what else? - Jaipur. The royal family lives in a part of the City Palace even today. Sections other than their living quarters are open to the public and the royal family lives on the tourist revenue that it shares with the government.

Something about the way the City Palace presents itself to tourists strikes me as being dishonest. There is a fee for cameras (still and video) at the point where one buys tickets, and this creates the impression that photography is allowed everywhere within the palace. However, there are three halls within the palace (small museums) where photography is not permitted. I wish they had made that clear at the ticket counter itself. I wouldn't have felt so cheated when I came upon the No Photography signs inside.

My photos of the City Palace are here. These are just a small sample.

Note the intricacy of the artwork of this column...

...and this door.

Detail of the door

These guys have Rajasthan written all over them

More photos of the City Palace are here.

One evening, we went to an open-air fair that was inaugurated just that day.

A vendor with handicrafts

Standard wooden handicrafts...

...and less conventional woodwork

One of the tourist attractions in Jaipur that features in all the brochures is the Hawa Mahal ("Palace of Winds"), an extension of the city palace. This structure is actually just a thin façade rather than a solid building. Its purpose was to allow the ladies of the palace to view street processions without being seen in public themselves. That's purdah in action.

The classic view of the Hawa Mahal

When one steps inside, not everything is well-maintained. India's centuries-old historical treasures lie shamefully neglected and in a terrible state of disrepair. I felt very sad at this because countries like the US and Australia, with barely three centuries of history (neglecting native American and Aboriginal cultures) are able to preserve, package and showcase those few years in a highly effective manner to tourists. India with three millennia of rich history and culture is unable to do anything comparable, except for one or two favoured destinations like the Taj Mahal. Heck, we even destroy our own archaeological treasures that are half a millennium old, in the name of politics!

Rubble on the inside of one of Jaipur's major tourist landmarks

Those who have seen the Bollywood movie Paheli (Riddle) know that it was set in Rajasthan. Two characters who appear as commentators at intervals within the movie are ghosts in the form of local puppets.

The puppet-ghosts discuss the wisdom of Shah Rukh Khan (background) revealing his identity as a ghost to Rani Mukerjee thereby presenting her with a paheli (riddle)

It gave me a thrill of recognition to see the same style of Rajasthani puppet in a shop inside the Hawa Mahal.

These two looked almost like the ghosts in Paheli

Like the puppets, Rajasthani mirrorwork is distinctive and famous. Across the road from the Hawa Mahal was this shop selling ethnically styled umbrellas and other items.

I wouldn't have the heart to expose this umbrella to the rain!

More photos of the Hawa Mahal are here.

We had been advised by friends not to miss the restaurant at the Laxmi Mishtan Bhandar (a sweet shop). The food was very pricey by Indian standards (405 rupees a plate, just about 8 dollars), and wasn't that great - definitely not worth the price. In contrast, an Indian Chinese lunch we had at the Four Seasons restaurant was extremely tasty and reasonably priced.

The thali at LMB - looks better than it tastes

The next leg of our journey took us to Mumbai, and I'll cover that in my next post.

Kashmir as District 9

It need hardly be said that Kashmir is a complex and highly nuanced problem with no simple solution and indeed, no simple characterisation either. For an analogy, take your typical science-fiction movie pitting humans against aliens. In a movie like Independence Day, the aliens are incorrigibly evil and the humans are heroic freedom fighters. In E.T., the alien is cute and harmless and human officialdom is sinister and needs to be thwarted.

Kashmir though, is a lot like the movie District 9, in which neither side is good or evil.

Gritty realism where everyone is deeply flawed

Everyone in District 9, human or alien, is just wretched, pathetic and hopeless. That's the movie I'm reminded of whenever I think about Kashmir. The Indian government, the Indian army, the Pakistani government, the Pakistani army, pan-Islamic "militants", Kashmiri Muslims, Kashmiri Pundits, - all wretched, pathetic, and hopeless. I'm sorry if I either offended or left out anyone. This is what I honestly feel as a non-Kashmiri Indian who only gets to read the dribs and drabs of information coming out of that region.

Not a feel-good movie, not a feel-good reality

So here are just a bunch of random thoughts, in no particular order, that will have to do in lieu of a comprehensive analysis or a policy prescription.

1. Agreement on the status of Kashmir is virtually impossible because the terms of the debate are incompatible. Pakistan thinks it has an open-and-shut case because of the Two-Nation Theory that was used to justify its own creation. Hindus and Muslims cannot live together in a single country, so the Muslim-majority parts of India should by rights form Pakistan, the argument goes. Kashmir is majority Muslim, hence it naturally belongs with Pakistan. India rejects the Two-Nation Theory altogether because India is a secular state. Kashmir must stay with India, because being Muslim is not a reason not to be Indian. After all, we have 150 million Muslims who are Indians. No agreement is possible because Hindus and Muslims can either live together in peace (India's argument) or they cannot (Pakistan's argument). Both cannot simultaneously be true. There is thus no principle on the basis of which the Kashmir issue can be settled.

2. Pakistan ruined its case by acting rather than by talking. The invasion by Pashtuns backed by the Pakistani army in 1947 was a pre-emptive grab, which India's countermove prevented from fully succeeding. Pakistan managed to grab about a third of the state but damaged its own case by being an aggressor. The 1965 war and the Kargil war were simply Pakistan being its natural, obsessive, impulsive self. They will destroy themselves but never stop trying to get Kashmir by any means possible. I don't know whether to admire the Pakistanis for their tenacity, fear them for their fanaticism or pity them for their shortsighted self-destruction.

3. But this is District 9, remember? There are no good guys. India rigged the Kashmir elections in 1987. That was simply awful and unacceptable. India shot itself in the foot big time. That blunder continues to reverberate to this day.

4. Pakistan's support for terror in Kashmir is unacceptable. The rest of the world turned a blind eye in the past, treating Kashmir as a strictly bilateral dispute. But now the West has also received a taste of Islamic terror and is no longer neutral or sympathetic to the cause of Kashmiri freedom. Among the region's big powers, Russia has its Chechens and China its Uighurs in Central Asia. Kashmir would be another Central Asian Muslim nation. It's true that one man's terrorist is another man's freedom-fighter, but more and more nations now see him as terrorist rather than freedom-fighter. The cause of Kashmiri freedom likely has no backers at all, except in the OIC.

5. India is inexplicably and embarrassingly paranoid about Kashmir and refuses to discuss the issue openly as a democracy should be doing. The latest incident of banning the screening of a documentary and forcing a seminar to be cancelled (officially, "postponed") is shameful. Why is a democracy afraid of free speech? Blocking free discussion on Kashmir embarrasses Indians and convinces everybody that India has something to hide or that India is in the wrong on Kashmir.

6. I'm afraid I'm not a cheerleader for men in uniform. Men in uniform with guns and no accountability are dangerous. The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act is a licence to commit atrocities. Yes, a soldier may risk his life defending his country against enemy soldiers and terrorists. The same soldier can also torture someone on suspicion or rape a woman when given a chance. Both extremes of behaviour are perfectly possible. Rather than treat our soldiers as unimpeachably noble martyrs against whom no criticism will be tolerated, we need to balance their deployment with layers of control systems, transparency and accountability. A free press does not handicap the soldier. It keeps him honest and out of mischief. India has ruined both Kashmir and the Indian army through decades of giving the army a free hand beyond the pale of media scrutiny. On top of it all, Indians who don't unquestioningly support the army are considered unpatriotic.

7. A very large number of Kashmiris killed have been at the hands of "militants" (terrorists). It's not just the Indian army that's doing the killing in Kashmir, much as the propaganda may proclaim otherwise.

8. "The right to self-determination of the Kashmiri people" sounds grand. But just who are the Kashmiri people? There are Muslims in the Kashmir valley, Hindus in Jammu and Buddhists in Ladakh, not all of whom would want the same thing. Does the majority vote of these groups decide the matter, or should we split the vote by region and decide the fate of each region separately?

9. Oh, and what about Pakistan-occupied Kashmir? Shouldn't we put that to a vote as well? How about the part of Kashmir that Pakistan gifted to China?

10. If self-determination is such a sacred thing, can we talk about Tibet or Baluchistan while we're about it?

11. What about the Kashmiri Pundits (Hindus) who were driven out of the state by "militancy" (terrorism)? Don't their votes count? If the Muslim majority in Kashmir votes to split from India, should the Pundits lose their land because of it? Kashmiri Muslims were quite happy to stay silent while the Pundits were ethnically cleansed from Kashmir. Many of them are now occupying the property of the Pundits who had to flee. They're unlikely to support a return of the Pundits. On the Pundit issue, both the "militants" (terrorists) and ordinary Kashmiri Muslims have a lot to answer for.

12. There are huge double-standards in the Muslim world when it comes to outrage about the treatment of Muslims as opposed to non-Muslims. The Pundit issue illustrates this perfectly. The world is supposed to feel outrage at India's treatment of Kashmiris because they are Muslims and India is seen as a Kaffir nation. No comparable outrage accompanies the killing by Muslims of other Muslims or of non-Muslims - Islam's double-standards on display. No sir, humanity is greater than the Ummah. "Universal" brotherhood based only on the Ummah is parochial and hardly universal.

13. Pakistan and Kashmir - their interests probably diverge more than either side will let on. From whatever accounts I have read, most Kashmiris want independence rather than merger with Pakistan. I don't believe Pakistan will respect that. A country that has bankrupted itself fighting a much larger one in its obsession to "get back" what it views as its rightful territory will not bother to play nice with Kashmiri nationalism once India is out of the picture.

14. India's position has weakened because prolonged army rule has made India unpopular in Kashmir. The unpopularity may be irreversible.

15. Pakistan's position has weakened because the country's economy has stalled and terrorism has now come under heavy international scrutiny. The US is no longer an ally willing to turn a blind eye.

16. The independence-minded Kashmiri Muslim's position has weakened because there is no sympathy for Muslim discontent in any non-Muslim country anymore. Islam's stock is at its lowest.

In short, Kashmir is still a stalemate, but it's in a spiral. Nobody can win. Just add frustration and resignation to the hatred already there. Kashmir is District 9 - wretched, pathetic and hopeless.

Labor's Leadership Woes

Will he, won't he? Australian media is full of speculation about whether Kevin Rudd will challenge Julia Gillard for the leadership of the Labor party (and the Prime Ministership).

My thoughts in brief:

1. I don't like Labor's habit of switching horses midstream every time an opinion poll shows them slipping. For goodness sake, grow a spine, people! As a voter, I want politicians to be sensitive to my opinions and all that, but I also respect a party that doesn't quiver every time I frown. [That's in the spirit of Groucho Marx ("I wouldn't join any club that would have me as a member.")]

2. Greens Leader Bob Brown may have a point that Gillard is copping it extra hard because she's a woman. I've independently discovered, to my surprise, that there is a fair amount of sexism in Australia in spite of the country's superficial egalitarianism. I think Gillard needs a bit more time and bit more space simply because she deserves a fair go, quite apart from the need to avoid switching horses midstream.

3. On the other hand, maybe it's good for Gillard to learn that what goes around comes around. Poor opinion polls helped her oust Rudd in June 2010. Now we're back in a similar situation. So what's sauce for the gander is sauce for the goose, isn't it? How do you like your irony served, Madame Prime Minister?

4. Meanwhile, on the despicable side of the fence (on second thoughts, make that "utterly despicable"), Tony Abbott is crowing about Labor's leadership crisis. Now where is the Liberal leadership challenge when we need one? If Abbott is sent packing into the political wilderness, it won't be too soon for me. Malcolm Turnbull, step up please.

India Trip 2011-2012 - Baroda (Vadodara)

From Ahmedabad, we went to Baroda (Vadodara). This is a two-hour train journey, and I introduced my son to the joys of train door travel, Indian-style.

With the wind in your face, this is "air travel"

Baroda city is part of the old princely state of Baroda. After the defeat of the monolithic Maratha empire in the Third Battle of Panipat in 1761, four separate Maratha dynasties rose to power - the Bhonsles of Nagpur, the Scindias (Shindes) of Gwalior, the Holkars of Indore and the Gaekwads of Baroda.

City Palace, Baroda. More photos here.

The current Maharaja, Ranjitsingh Pratapsingh Gaekwad, lives here.

The history of the Gaekwads gives me a lot to think about. It is a sobering lesson in Realpolitik. The British defeated a federation of Maratha chieftains in the First Anglo-Maratha War (1775-1782). Then they supported one faction of the Gaekwads against others and signed a deal that gave them suzerainty over Baroda while granting the favoured Maharaja local autonomy.

The standard lesson that we as Indian students were meant to learn from our history textbooks was how Indian disunity has traditionally favoured the foreign invader, from Alexander the Great, through the various Muslim invaders, to the British. Today, with the passage of time and the benefit of hindsight, I wonder if a different lesson may be learnt.

When we were in Baroda, the city celebrated the 150th birth anniversary of Maharaja Sayaji Rao Gaekwad III (1863-1939). He was known as a reformer and moderniser and is credited with the progress of Baroda in the early twentieth century. All his decisions were taken with the permission of the British, of course, since he was just a vassal king. However, in return for a surrender of sovereignty, the people of his kingdom did enjoy peace and progress. Other Indian kings who are celebrated in history for resisting invaders, such as Rana Pratap, ended up causing themselves and their people much hardship. I don't mean that a ruler must roll over and surrender to an invader without a fight, but in this age when we prize economic progress and the quality of life of citizens higher than wars of honour, the trade-off is worth pondering about.

To celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of the popular maharaja, there was a Sufi music concert organised at the Laxmi Vilas Palace, another palace on the outskirts of the city. My local hosts had received an invitation to this event and kindly gave it to myself and my wife to attend the show.

Laxmi Vilas Palace, Baroda
The architectural style is the hybrid "Indo-Saracenic" or "Anglo-Mughal",
also seen in CST (VT Station) in Mumbai

The concert was by the well-known Sufi singer Kavita Seth. (I must confess I had just read about her in a magazine for the first time a few days earlier.)

As the sun set, the lights began to come on and the palace looked magnificent. More photos here.

Kavita Seth (too distant to see) on stage in the grounds in front of the Laxmi Vilas Palace

Her sons Kavish and Kanishk (the former a student at IIT Bombay) accompanied her on different musical instruments. She spoke a little bit between songs. At one point, she made the shocking announcement that she was dedicating a certain song to her husband, who had recently passed away on December 15th. And on Jan 3rd, she was on stage before us, singing. Some people are possessed of phenomenal courage...

A whirling dervish was on stage, untiringly rotating during each song

They were selling Kavita Seth's CDs offstage. They weren't expensive (INR 200 (about AUD 4 to 5) each), so I bought all the five CDs on offer.

There is a small zoo in Baroda inside the Kamatibagh park. It's very depressing to see animals in cages. Indian zoos are far less humane than the ones in Western countries. The animals in Sydney's Taronga zoo seem much happier and at ease compared to the incessantly pacing leopard, bear and lioness in Baroda.

The irony of this crudely drawn poster seems to escape the zoo's management. More spacious facilities would be appreciated by the animals, I would wager. (On the positive side, I was gratified to see that the common confusion in modern "English-speaking" nations on when to use "there", "their" and "they're" has not yet infected India.)

Don't gnaw on a lion's ankle

There were other amusing sights as well.

Langurs raid a dustbin.

I'm not sure whether they're part of the zoo's exhibits or visitors like ourselves!

Somewhere within the sprawling park, I came across this temple.

It reminded me so much of the ruined temple in The Jungle Book, the haunt of King Louie and his monkeys.

More photos of the zoo are here.

That concluded our Baroda adventure.

From Baroda, we went to Jaipur, and I'll describe that part of our trip in my next post.

This Colourful Battle of the Sexes

[Statutory warning: This blog entry contains HUMOUR. No responsibility is taken for any inadvertent offence caused.]

I recently came across this illustration that was, I believe, ironically intended to demonstrate the superiority of females when it comes to dealing with colours.

The irony that was lost on the woman (of course it was a woman!) posting it is that this serves to demonstrate exactly the opposite! An initial cursory glance may appear to prove that women have a more sophisticated and discriminating vocabulary when it comes to describing colour. But here's why I think the issue of colour perception isn't as, er, black-and-white as it may seem.

In fact, my advice to others of my sex would be that instead of seeing red (or indeed any other colour) at the attempted disparagement, they show sympathy and understanding. It is well known that women lack the capacity for abstract thinking that characterises men, and the ease with which we can conceptually separate concrete objects from their abstract attributes should not cause us to take this ability for granted.

[Not portrayed in this simplistic illustration is our equally enviable ability to refine our descriptions of colours using subcategories like "light" and "dark", and transitional categories such as "greenish-blue", still without requiring recourse to concrete objects that happen to have those properties!]

For example, when we are shown the colour pink, we have no problem in identifying it as the abstract colour pink with no recourse to any physical, concrete object. However, a woman will have trouble doing so, and will tend to blurt out the name of an object she is familiar with, which has that attribute, e.g., "Strawberry!"

In fact, there is a definite and discernible pattern in the substitution of "lime" for green, "eggplant" for purple and "banana" for yellow. Women's historical background in the kitchen, coupled with their incapacity for abstract thinking, leads to their understandable confusion of colours with the fruits and vegetables that happen to display those chromatic characteristics.

Imagine men calling yellow "sulphur" or black "grease", based on our own traditional backgrounds in engineering and industry. That's what this unfortunate condition is like for women.

So once again, I would appeal to my fellow males to show sympathy and refrain from flaunting our intellectual superiority.

And let's be grateful that women have chosen to dip into their background of cooking rather than cleaning to identify colours, otherwise we may have had to suffer descriptions like "dishcloth", "soiled nappy" and "bathroom tile".