…a visit to the land of my ancestors
BY VAHNU MANIKCHAND
About two weeks ago, at around 03:30h on October 1, I set foot on Indian soil – the motherland of my ancestors and a country I always dreamt and hoped of visiting, but never thought I would have had the opportunity so soon.
I was there for an Indian Government-sponsored familiarisation trip that lasted seven days, but the memories and friends I gained will definitely be embedded in my heart and mind forever. Along with me on this journey were 24 senior journalists and editors from various Caribbean and Latin American countries, including a Guyanese colleague.
We were invited because the Indian Government felt that there was a gap between this region and its country, something it wanted to bridge and thought the media was the best avenue to so do.
Being a descendant of Indians, I’ve always felt connected to India, since we practise and uphold many of the traditions and cultures that our ancestors brought with them to Guyana over 170 years ago, and passed down to generations. In fact, I was most excited about travelling to the “motherland” to practise what little Hindi (India’s official language) I’ve learnt from watching Bollywood movies over the years. I manage to do just that, and was most proud when I was communicating with other Indians and my Latino colleagues were looking on in amusement.
The highlight of my first day was a trip to the local market – Sarojini Nagar Market.
The visit was short.
S.N. Market was bustling with people and activities that night. I was told it’s because Sunday is usually “shopping day”, but that day was extra busy, because the following day was a national holiday in India, Gandhi Jayanti – the birth anniversary of the “Father of the nation,” Mahatma Gandhi.
The first official activity on our itinerary was a four-hour drive to neighbouring State, Agra, where the magnificent Taj Mahal monument is located. The marble mausoleum, which is one of the ‘Seven Wonders of the World’, is one of India’s most prized possessions. It is said to be the world’s greatest symbol of love, and one of India’s most popular tourist attractions.
We marvelled in the tale behind the construction of the breath-taking edifice, told to us by our tour guide, and we took advantage of every moment to fill our respective camera rolls with digital memories of presence at the artistic masterpiece.
Another highlight was a visit to the Swaminaryan Akshardham Temple in Uttar Pradesh (the State where most of our ancestors came from). The intricate details of the edifice were remarkable, and left us awestruck when we learnt that it was all hand built by thousands of artisans, who took five years to complete the entire spiritual campus using intricately carved sandstone and marble.
No phones or any other devices were allowed into the mandir’s compound, so I have nothing but my memory and a single portrait photo that was taken by the staff there to reminisce on the experience there. On the bright side, this allowed us to take in and ruminate on the man-made wonder that surrounded us.
Following a tour of the temple and a brief history of the life of Swaminaryan, we were taken to the ‘step well’, where we were seated for the Sahaj Anand Water Show – a display of melodious music, water fountain, colourful laser lights and holographic effects.
Afterwards, the group was taken on boat rides for another intriguing display of the history and development of India, and inventions that were birthed from the minds of remarkable Indians.
The familiarisation trip also consisted of visits to several State offices and other organisations that reflect and highlight the development of India as a socio-economic society. These included: the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), the Elections Commission of India, the studio of one of India’s newest and most popular news channel – Republic TV.
Prior to my departure to India, I was told of experiences by a few persons who remembered Delhi as a highly polluted city. I may have been oblivious, but I did not see the pollution. What I saw was a city with huge, overgrown trees lined along the roadways and in many of the compounds we passed by. It was a “green state” in literal sense.
However, the same could not have been said for Mumbai, the commercial capital of India, where we spent the last three days of our trip. The air pollution was so apparent that while on the western suburbs of Mumbai we could have hardly seen across the Mahim Bay (a bay part of the Arabian Sea which runs through Mumbai) over to the South Mumbai, which houses its central business district.
Apart from the pollution, another striking feature was the poverty in the suburban region of Mumbai.
In that city, which is in the thriving State of Maharashtra, we stayed at the mesmerising and luxurious Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, which is located just opposite the Gateway of India, another one of the country’s popular monuments.
In Mumbai, we were introduced to some of India’s economy-drivers, such as Tata Consultancy Services, which is part of the multinational conglomerate Tata Group. We also had a brief meeting with Chief Financial Officer of BSE Ltd (formerly Bombay Stock Exchange) and Executive Member of Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council (PHARMEXCIL), Tushar Korday, as well as the Government of Maharashtra’s Directorate General of Information and Public Relations, Brijesh Singh.
On the last day of our trip, we had a tour of Film City in Mumbai, where we got a glimpse of the shooting of a regional television serial. We also visited the sets of Taarak Mehta Ka Ooulta Chashmah, one of India’s longest running serials, and met with leading actors Dilip Joshi and Shailesh Lodha. One of our guides during the tour of the more-than-500-acres studio was actor Vijay Kumar Sharma, who shared screen space with megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 2015 satirical film ‘Shamitabh’.
At the studio, we were taken to a hilltop location commonly referred to as “Suicide Point”, but known as Helipad Point (because helicopters land there for movie scenes). Most Bollywood movies have shot scenes at that or other location within the massive studio.
Scenes from popular movies like Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai (2000), Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999), Koyla (1997), Welcome (2007), No Entry (2005) and blockbuster Koi Mil Gaya (2003).
Overall, I’ve manage to collect a lifetime of memories in just one very short week. From the people to the culture, the places we’ve been to, and of course the food! For the most part of my stay in India, I’ve devoured as many India cuisines as I could have. Those that stuck with me were: kofta, masala dosa, vada, idli, sambar, biryani, dal makhani, alu gobi, halwa, rice kheer, besan laddoo and several types of naans (bread/roti).
