On the 19th of March, my Grandma came out to
India to visit me for two weeks! I’m
writing this while she’s still here so I can directly quote her if needed. I
asked her what she thought about everything so the quotes are at the end of the
paragraphs
She arrived at 5 in the morning, which meant a very early
rise for me. So I met her at the airport
and we had a bit of breakfast. Which was
a normal thing to do. The airport is
very normal looking and you can get loads of western food. Then we had to get a taxi. An introduction to Indian driving right there
and then. The beeping of the horns, the
overtaking, the braking centimeters from the car in front, and the constant fearing
for your life. However I think there
were seatbealts so it was already better than most cars. Her reactions were amazing because they were
probably what our reactions were at the start but it’s great to see them on
someone else who’s seeing it for the first time. A lot of intakes in breath and closing of the
eyes and things like that. And some
beautiful facial expressions when the driver dumps the clutch for the 7th
time in a minute. “So what would say
about the driving Grandma?” “hahahahahahahahahaha. Oh. Leaves a lot to be
desired. They could do with a course of
driving instruction in the UK. But, they
never get road rage.”
She also experienced an auto ride within 2 hours of being in
India. Complete with the driver not
knowing where he was going and having to ask for directions. “Oh they’re something else… They try to rip
you off. And again your life is in your
hands”
I think something that she’s having trouble with, like me,
are the dogs. They’re everywhere and it
doesn’t get any easier seeing loads of stray dogs about the place when you’re
used to seeing them in loving homes and just being healthy. Not being scared of humans, dodging traffic
and sleeping in rubbish piles. “Aw, I’ll
just bring them all home.”
The rubbish is something else. She was wondering why they don’t have bins
until she watched a man throw his cup on the ground while standing right next
to a bin. “Oh the rubbish, yes. Could be a beautiful country without it.”
Let’s not even get started on the heat. It’s starting to get too hot for me as
well. Well, in Bangalore it’s not at the
moment but we went to Cochin and the humidity was ridiculous. Literally feeling sweat running down your
neck while you do nothing is not pleasant in the slightest. It’s horrible living in 41 degrees. But I was in a room with the aircon down at
19 and I was getting quite chilly… We were hopping from shade to shade in Hampi
and sighing with relief whenever there was a breeze in Cochin. “What can one say about the heat..? Has to be
felt to be appreciated. Or not
appreciated as the case may be.”
Like most people, the mosquitoes are the bane of life. And like me, she’s enjoying catching them
with one hand. “Please refrain from
swearing Grandma” “Hmmm.. Lovely little
things. I’m sure they have a function in
life, although as yet I don’t know what it is..”
Some quotes from Grandma
“In general though they’re quite a friendly race”
“Having pictures of India is nothing compared to the real
thing. The sights, smells. The sheer terror of being driven…”
“It’s not a place to come if you want to lie on the beach
and sunbathe. But remember the
suncream.. Factor 60 ”
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