See ya India!

Well the pain is over.. and I have finished my MCSE course and am on my way to Bali!!!!!

Right now I'm sat in a flat in Mumbai waiting for my flight out early tomorrow morning, As I approach the end of my stay in India, I thought I’d summarise my feelings toward Shimla and this diverse and thought provoking country.

The lovely colonial hill-station of Shimla, perched high in the spectacular Himalayan Mountains provokes a mixture of emotions. I’m surrounded by strikingly tall pine trees pointing to blue skies full of graceful birds arching their way through the cool mountain air. The distant hills on a clear day reveal even higher snow-capped peaks just waiting for the adventurous explorer.

I’ve been here long enough to investigate my surroundings and soak-up local atmosphere. Not wanting to be quick to judge, I relegated my initial impressions to the back shelf. The place reminded me in parts of tawdry seaside resort, with diminutive bazaars touting kitsch to the tourist family-groups, shuffling wearily between rows of street-sellers with their bright pink candy floss, balloons, novelty toys and snack stalls.

I expected a picturesque hill-station in the mountains and instead there’s just an less than attractive blot on the landscape. The once lovely town is now reeling under the weight of ever increasing tourism. Shops, houses and hotels are squeezed into every conceivable location, there’s hardly a view of surrounding mountains which does not contain shabby buildings clung to the hillsides. Between buildings, if a space is to be had then it will be full with rubbish, rubble or ruin of some kind. The plastic bag population seems to multiply in India along with the number of people.

Regular road-shows and concerts are robbing the environment of its charm, the Mall was an area where people could enjoy a peaceful stroll in the evenings, but now you are more likely to hear someone screaming on a microphone and have to push through human traffic jams, making it a hassle to move around.

I’m disappointed, I expected more. Some of my friends back home were, I know, preparing to hear reports on remnants of surviving colonial influence on town planning and construction, atmosphere and taste. Instead Shimla is now an example of how to take a step backwards in town planning, and I suspect as in the rest of India, it’s a case involving corrupt officials and developers’ greed.

Quite frankly India is starting to wear me down, from my initial excitement the surroundings have started to quash my usual bright and optimistic outlook. The oppressive crowded and noisy environment, the hoards of people, the hocking-up and spitting everywhere, the smells and the heat, the pollution, the general ugliness, the lack of personal space, the stares, the cramped-conditions, the dirty drains, the insensitivity and sometimes thoughtlessness of people, the constant fight to walk down the street, drive anywhere, shop, get on or off a train or bus all come together to outweigh all other things. It aint a novelty no more.

There are diamonds in the rough, and brilliant ones at that. You can be prepared to have your breath taken away any number of times by endless encounters. India is a colour palate of experiences, but the impact of these things is artificially elevated by the grimness of the surroundings. People tend to romanticise India, but I can’t think of anywhere less romantic. Clearly I’ve only touched the surface of such a huge land, and perhaps I’m being unfair or quick to judge, but right now the way I feel is that what I have seen does not inspire me to dig too much deeper.

.. though I expect I'll feel differently after I've left :)