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From The Times

August 11, 2007

The story of India and me

From the high Himalayas to the Tamil south; our correspondent celebrates a 20-year love affair

Michael Wood

A conversation with a stranger on a slow train – 36 hours through Ratlam and Indore up to Ajmer – started my love affair with India, one that has gone on for the past two decades.

During a midnight stop, while sitting on the steps enjoying the cool night air, I began chatting to a travelling salesman from a chemicals firm. The giant fortress of Chittorgarh stood ghostly pale in the darkness, and my companion regaled me with terrible tales of its past: of Rajputs and Moguls, sieges and battles, heroic deaths and mass suicides – all the epic drama and romance of Indian history.

“But if you really want to see something,” he said, “you should go south, to Madurai.”

So I made my way down the west coast and took the old steamer to Goa, and on to Cochin. A few days later I took the train that winds over the wooded hills of the Western Ghats. It was night before we reached Madurai, where I made my way through darkened streets past sleeping rickshawmen. Soon the huge temple gateways soared above me, disappearing into the night, their crowded storeys teeming with sculptures of gods and goddesses, garish as a Hindu Disneyland. Inside, I entered a dark labyrinth: giant corridors whose granite pillars were carved into monstrous snapping demons and dragons. The architecture was different from anything I had ever seen. With a flurry of drums and squeal of trumpets, white-clad priests scurried past with a golden palanquin. It was as if the ancient world was still alive.

I stayed a few days, watching the crowds pour in from dawn till dusk to celebrate the patron of the city, the fish-eyed goddess Meenakshi. Access to the inner shrine is restricted to Hindus. But the second night one of the priests came over and asked if I wanted to see the goddess. That night I experienced the ancient rituals of the Tamil world for the first time: the statue of the goddess, the music of nadeswaram (reedy Tamil trumpet) and drums, the scent of ghee, jasmine and incense, the tinkling temple bells, the sacred flame gilding the faces of the devotees who went into the “womb chamber”, as the goddess shrine is called. Coming from industrial Manchester, I had never seen such things. Those smells and images have stayed with me and sum up my fascination with this wonderful country.

More than 20 years later, and after almost 30 visits, the magic has never failed. My wife, Rebecca, and I fell in love there, first travelled together there, were married there, and have taken our children back time and again to meet our friends. India has a special place in our hearts.

The country has changed considerably. The economy, which after independence 60 years ago was all about nonalignment and self-sufficiency, is now booming.

One of the great powers in history is returning – and not just in Delhi or Bombay, where shopping malls and condominiums are proliferating and property is more expensive than London. Even in smalltown Tamil Nadu, where we have stayed off the beaten track with our kids, you see the signs everywhere: the wide processional street around the temple has been surfaced, shiny retirement homes for devotees are going up, and there are new hotels with air-conditioning, satellite TV and internet. It’s a far cry from my early days travelling in the country, when we would have to make a booking at the telegraph office to phone home at Christmas.

The impact of tourism hasn’t always been good, however. The biggest shock was returning recently to Jaisalmer, which I had first visited at new year 1987. The golden city that I remember rising out of a scrubby desert behind a nomad encampment now is completely surrounded by hotels, shops and tourist offices selling Rajasthani camel tours. The interior of the city, one of the jewels of northern India, is almost entirely given over to travellers with hotels, cafés and boutiques. Some of the buildings may be beautiful, but to my mind the development has blighted the magical setting of the city.

Coming here recently to film The Story of India has made me appreciate the country even more. The wonderful variety of landscapes and cultures never fails to amaze me: the Buddhist sites of Leh and Ladakh, the Gonds of Orissa, near the magical lake at Chilika; Kerala, where you can rub shoulders with Syrian Christians, Indian Jews and Muslim boat-builders, who still ply the spice trade to the Gulf in their great wooden sailing boats.

On the east coast I love the old French town of Pondicherry, where the boulangerie sells fresh baguettes and the policemen still wear the képi. Up north, we have journeyed to the Himalayas, with magnificent treks around Amarnath, Gangotri, and Badrinath, up to the mountain passes into Tibet. Down in the plains, I still find Varanasi inexhaustibly fascinating.

Despite all the undoubted attractions of Rajasthan, Mogul Delhi and Agra, if I had to choose a favourite part of India, it would be the south: the world’s last classical civilisation. Here you can touch on India’s oldest living traditions in music, dance and literature. The giant temple cities take your breath away: Madurai, “Trichy” (Tiruchchirappalli), Thanjavur and Chidambaram. The Tamils are welcoming; they love their culture and live without the frenetic rush of the north; comfortable in the global age, yet still existing in sacred time.

We travelled here when our children were young, and they loved the life and colour, and the friendliness. India is a great place to travel with youngsters: our younger daughter has never forgotten how, aged 5, she fed bananas to the temple elephant at a festival in Chidambaram, and the mahout sat her on the animal and walked her around the courtyard to the delight of the pilgrims.

Many of my friends think you shouldn’t travel around India with kids, but my experience is that you just need to follow certain basic health rules. Otherwise, the only problem can sometimes be the huge and rather sweet interest that foreign children generate. A few years ago, we took ours out of school and went with Indian friends to the Kumba Mela festival on the Ganges, where we stayed in a tent among millions of pilgrims. Wherever we went, people wanted to touch the girls and be photographed with them.

When I returned to Chidambaram a few months ago with the film crew, staff at the hotel Saradha Ram still enthusiastically asked after my daughters. The girls have stayed there three times, and as you can imagine, two blonde North London youngsters caused great excitement among the well-mannered Tamil boys who do the small jobs around the hotel.

There is so much to see in India that you would need several lifetimes – no wonder the Indians believe in rebirth. People tell me that I must be tired of the country after a dozen visits in the past 18 months, some of them long and gruelling journeys. But the opposite is true. I have come to love India and admire its people even more. To paraphrase Dr Johnson, if one is tired of India, one is tired of life.

— The Story of India by Michael Wood (BBC Books, £20) is published next Thursday. The six-part BBC 2 series of the same name starts on August 24 at 9pm.

Need to know

Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh:
Rashmi Guest House (www.palaceonriver.com) is my favourite of the riverside guesthouses. It has the best rooftop restaurant in Varanasi.

Madurai, Tamil Nadu:
The lovely Taj Garden Retreat (www.tajhotels.com) is an old colonial house with balconies, wood-panelled bedrooms, a billiards bar; gardens, pool and cottages. But I usually stay at the Hotel Supreme (00 91 45 2234 3151), which has a great rooftop restaurant and is an easy walk to the temple.

Cochin, Kerala:
Accommodation ranges from lovely hotels such as Bolgatty Palace (book on www.travelmasti.com, 0845 277 7569) down to rooms in private houses, some of them old converted merchants’ mansions.

im very happy to hear that you love my motherland! iam actually a british born and i went india many times. last year i went on my own where i stayed in haryana with my family. i love india and iam so glad to be indian. hearing that you are spellbound by my country make me extremely happy.

kiran, londin, engalnd

I saw 1st episode of this series on Discovery channel yesterday. There are some serious objections to finding root of so called Aryan people in Turkmenistan based on Victor Sarianidi's archeological excavations.

1. BMAC complex excavation which is refered in the episode started in 2200 BC & extinguished in 1900 BC i.e. for some 300 - 400 years. There were gold/silver jewelery finds there. Before South African Gold mines findings in recent times, there was only one source of Gold and that was India. So,how come intricate Gold & Silver jewelery came to Turkmetistan ( i.e. BMAC ) area ? BMAC shows seals that are found in Indus Valley Civilization excavation in large sum. So, it shows that IVC had bigger contacts with BMAC.

No mention of such points ? But, arbitrary acceptance of some Aryan people migrating to India. There are some more & for that visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:The_Story_of_India as space is limited here.

Win, Mumbai ( BOMBAY ), India

Each person reads into the country differently and adds to our understanding. I appreciate your thoughts and the efforts you have put, in sharing your experiences about India with others.

~Kaustubh, Athens, OH, USA

Dear Michel, I can not say how much I enjoyed your India series. What Ernest Jones, James Princep and General Cunningham did in 18th and 19th century for India and Indians - to tell their glorious history , culture and heritage - you have dne exactly same for the British born Indians. Two things always amazes me, one,why not Indians make similar documentary and second, why it has fallen to Britishers to tell and teach Indians what their history, heritage and culture is.
We are all greatful to you for this wonderful tribute to India and Indians on 60th anniversary of Independance.

Dr. A. Kumar, Gt. Yarmouth, England

Dr. Ajay Kumar, Gt. Yarmouth, Norfolk

It was wonderful to read how much you love India and more so the Tamil country. Wishing you many more wonderful and pleasant visits and experiences.

DD, Chennai & Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu

The documentary series on BBC is simply amazing. The photography is breathtaking and brilliantly captures the subtle nuances of the Indian history and culture....

VJ, Oxford, UK

Hello...It was a great pleasure to read this article online.It makes me think how indians are united in diversity.On the eve of the 60th independance day celebrations,it is indeed great and touching to see words of a foreigner in praise of the land and its cultural glory.I guess no other civilisation or country or community can boast of such a great tradition and heritage.Even in 2007 south indians still preserve and follow some of the old thoughts and practices.Tourism is an industry thriving,today because it opens the hidden treasures of this humble land to many beyond oceans.India stands proud with her assets of integrity and she is indeed adorned with numerous temples and monuments across her and not to forget the Ganga and other river add to her noble beauty.
JAI HIND.

Hari Thiagarajan, madurai, tamilnadu,india

Yes, reading Michael Wood's account of his over 30 visits to India is truely inspiring.

For me, I visited India for the first time in October 2006, attending a 'Peace of Mind Retreat' in Mt Abu, Rajasthan. My first stop over was Mumbai airport, whereby the first experience i had was being shoved onto a bus, after stepping off the long Air India flight from Hong Kong! I almost fell out of the bus....!

I had a lovely 10 days stay in Mt Abu, the only hill station in Rajasthan and i can say, that this was not the 'real India'. I stayed at the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University, shared a clean room with two other participants, had running clean water, blanket on my bed, vegetarian meals prepared by the Brahma Kumaris kitchen staff, absolutely spoilt!

I am absolutely hooked on India & miss the spicy smells, the cows on the road, the driving, the loud horns & the people...not all of course but those who touched me like the girl begger who sold me an anklet in Pushkar town.

Ilana Burness, Suva, Fiji Islands

Well done for giving India the respect and reverence it deserves. I left India at the age of 11 and been back almost bi-annually since 1977 and the magic and awe is still with me.
The spiritual wealth of India never ceases to amaze me. I remember grazing cows at the age of 10 and drinking tea in the wilderness of Punjab. The peace and quite interupted only by the bells that hung around the cows necks and when the older boys played a bamboo flute. I listened to the old men who told us stories of gallantry, wisdom, justice, etc, to pass on their wisdom. I watched the peacock dance in the evening flanked by its flock. It was a time we had respect for everything living and only took what was necessary to live. I remember offering respect and awe to the odd cobra that often appeared in the wilderness.

Now at the age of 53 living in west London I miss that India of my dreams. Long live the understanding that India gave me to contribute to the country now my home, England.

Gurminder Singh, London, UK

India is indeed a majestic and spiritual nation. It is home to over 200 million peaceful vegetarians mostly Hindus, Jains and Buddhists who have reverence for the lives of all creatures great and small. India is the world's largest Democracy. It's majority Hindu but the Prime Minister is a Sikh and the brilliant former President, Abdul Kalam, was Muslim. The UK and the USA must bolster our alliance with India.

Brien Comerford, Glenview, United States

happy to read this Londers views of India. Here family set up is still flourising and so the family bond, unlike in US etc. Children when grow up look after their elderly parents and there are so many such aspects of life Hope he would have dealt on those aspects as well...

nelson, coimbatore, India

The great joy of India is that you meet people like Shashank of Ahmedabad. These are people who love to discuss life's imponderables. Chai shop philosophers abound. Michael gets it too. The south IS the last classical civilisation. A trip back in time that exists nowhere else. India has given me my best travels and experiences and I look forward to Michael's new tv series making me ache to go back.

Gordon, Edinburgh, Scotland

is the book selling......!!!!!!!! or are you selling the book!!!!!!!!!

george, mahwah, usA

I feel that the south has been neglected even by indophiles and hope your six part TV series is as good as this article, hats of to you.

dharshan, manchester,

wonderful coming from an Englishman. Thankyou sir for appreciating what is India and liking it.

Deepak Kasliwal, Indore, MP

The most important aspect abt india is that intellectual breeds are always eager and are always enthusiastic to solve the most enigmatic questions of life and u.
At least for me its something more than religion its abt ur brains (ur neighbour) and ur soul (THATS U)
It isnt abt fatalism bt its abt Y its FATALISM ?
and the BIGGEST QUESTION

IF ITS FATALISM THAN ARE WE ALIVE?

i m sorry if u feel i wasted ur time.

its abt humans in india and being indian.

shashank, ahmedabad, india

Quite comprehensive this journey through some parts of India might be though, I thought that something was strangely missing, and that's, apart from the cursory mention of India's tradition of music, dance, literature, some bananas and baquettes in Pondicherry (a little incongruous here, considering that this piece is about India and not Paris) elsewhere, there was hardly any other description of its fine cuisine, which, in my opinion, I rate as one of the best next to the Italian, Japanese, Chinese and Thai/Malay. Where are the wonderful smells, textures and flavors of its masalas, kormas, vindaloos, kalias, rogan joshs, chanas, biryanis, pulaos, rasams, sambars, naans, thosais, idlis, chapatis, parathas, pooris, utappams, vadais, bhajis, samosas, raitas, chutneys, pal appams, paayasams, panchamritham, lassis, halwas, kulfis and so on? The range is mind-boggling and the food of a country, especially of an ancient civilization like India, is what that makes a visit to it memorable.

SD Goh, PJ, Malaysia

I want to congratulate Mr. Michael Wood for his power of observation regarding Madurai and Meenakshi Amman temple. One of my long standing friend from the UK who has visited Madurai twice told me during his recent visit " Mak, there is something special about ambiance of this temple - never seen anything like this" Since then I have been visiting the temple 3 times and plan 3 more visits (though I was born in Madurai and lived there for 16 years) only now I am starting to see the uniqueness of this temple thanks to the casual comment from my friend. I would appreciate if you can pass on my comments and thank him for his compliments regarding Maduraiite to Mr. Wood

Thank you in advance

K. Mahesh, Chennai 600 050, India

Thanks , Michael, for publicising the fact that peaceful aesthetic lifestyle in the heart of India is more mentally satisfying
than it looks physically

joy abraham, trivandrum, india

Thanks Michael.

Now if only Indians would learn to appreciate their country as much as you do.

Dilip , Baltimore, USA