Chased by an army of paddle boats on Lake Nakki, felt up by a young lame armed boy on a horse, followed by a group of men on my way to Toad Rock and crushed in a crowd at the Dilwara Temples…
Situations have arisen to bring Kath and myself infinitely closer, and by closer I mean in the physical sense of the word. We took a bus trip to Mt Abu, the double sleeper was the size of a single bed… perhaps smaller(?). The journey was all about spooning, we were trying to maximise the use of the little available space, sooooo cosy.
Beware of the men in India, beware of the pubescent boys in India, beware of the crowds in India. Beware, BEWARE, beware. I don’t mean to hit you over the head with the ‘BEWARE’ stick, no, actually I do mean to hit you, someone should have given me a good hard whack. Kath tried, oh she tried, she’s just finished a book ‘The Indians’, which is an psychoanalytical look at the Indian culture. She’d been reading me tid-bits from the book and it paints the men as sexually depraved and consequently perverted. I have to say I need to read the book, work out what sort of credentials the authors have and then I’d like some more opinions before I draw to many harsh conclusions. Kath on the other hand has attracted heaps more male attention than me, she was even flashed and followed at the mall, the security guards did nothing for her and it wasn’t until a shop keeper yelled at the man and gave chase that the he disappeared. She has every right to be more than a little cynical. I had my first real taste of the sleazy men in India at Mt Abu. For most of our stay there Kath was confined to the bed with a nasty stomach bug, her first bout of serious sickness. I was left to my own devices when it came to discovering the town.
First stop Nakki Park where a couple of times I was asked to join family photo’s- locals wanting their photo taken with a whitey. Initially I thought this was strange and it made me a bit self conscience, now having time to think about it, it’s really no different to me asking politely to take photos of the local people, they take a photo of the foreigner, I take a photo of the local who is foreign to me. We are all fascinated with the ‘other’.
I’m flattered that they are polite enough to ask, on many occasions I’ve notice men busily snapping away at us, taking photos on their mobile phones. After the park I was off for a stroll around the lake. Halfway round the lake I was bailed up by a cute young boy with a bandaged arm offering me a ride on a horse, I declined. But he was a persistent young thing “Auntie, Auntie, 10 rupees only!”, so I caved, it was after all “10 rupees only”- how they make a living I don’t know. I felt a little uneasy when he jumped up on the horse behind me. This sense of unease grew when he turned the horse around and trotted past a group of young men who I’m sure were yelling out obscene comments, it’s moments like these that I’m glad I don’t understand Hindi- I think I’m better off not knowing. Once we were past them again he turned the horse around and galloped back, cheeky monkey was parading me around like a trophy. I asked to be dropped off and he just sped the horse up, now I was getting angry. At this point in time we came across two men on a horse who started to yell at us and give chase, hmmm wasn’t I feeling like a goose for accepting the horse ride. Next thing I know the boy, wham-o, grabs my breast with his bandaged hand. Gross. I slap his hand hard and yell at him to stop. My outburst shocks him into submission and he halts the horse, I jump off with him demanding his 10 rupees, this I throw at him. I only handed over the money because the two men who’d been chasing us had caught up and I really didn’t feel like being chased by men on horseback for a measly 10Rs. Disgusted I stormed off, leaving them all giggling like school girls. I knew to watch out for the men in India, mental note- watch out for harmless looking young boys. Aside from that incident the stroll around the lake was majestic, there’s something about the fresh mountain air which is so invigorating and everyone else I met along the way was lovely. In the evening Kath still wasn’t well enough to leave the room, so I ventured out to investigate the night markets and had me a nice little dinner at Neelam, a restaurant in the heart of town. I didn’t stay out too late as I didn’t want to make trouble for myself. It’s amazing how men loiter around the streets, groups of men everywhere. When Jules(Kath’s boyfriend) gets here in a few weeks time I want to do some travelling by myself, now was the prime time to test the waters, did I feel safe being by myself.
On Sunday Kath was feeling better, so it was time to do some hardcore sightseeing- Dilwara temples. It was our first really touristy destination and despite being warned about the crowds, we reeaallllly weren’t prepared for it. I can deal with being crushed in a crowd, but not by men who have been leering at me and really squeeze in closer(way closer) than is necessary. We were badgered constantly and the entire time felt eyes boring into us from every direction. What should have been a relaxing stroll around the temples left us feeling dirty and gross. The afternoon wasn’t any better, we went for a paddle on the lake. Yes, I admit we took a large white swan which simply enhanced the spectacle we already were. We were happily paddling around until Kath noticed one of the sleazy men from the Temple following us with a video camera, then on turning around we discovered a whole army of boats(ok there were only six) in hot pursuit of us. In retrospect comical, at the time very surreal/disconcerting. We couldn’t shake them, the faster we went- the faster they went, it was men, women and families, so weird.
The next morning Kath was again sick, so I went to climb Toad Rock by myself. I had a attracted a group of men who started to follow me in town. On the way up the hill I stopped at a cute little temple, they also stopped. I wasn’t going to move until they had left. The priest at the temple gave me a tour of his garden, really sweet. Even though we couldn’t communicate with words, we were still able to have a conversation of sorts using exaggerated arm gestures. It was a really special moment, for that I have the sleazy men to thank. Once they had gone I tagged along with a family to the summit. No more man troubles*!!
On reaching Toad Rock I discovered a chai shop in a cave, so I treated myself to a chai. I felt good about myself, it was a beautiful morning and I had out-manoeuvred that nasty group of men. It worries me a bit, but I think I can deal with it. The key is being careful, I’ve taken to wearing baggy clothes and being very covered. Seems to work. In the afternoon we headed back to Ahmedabad. For part of the bus journey a young girl sat next to me- we had a stunted conversation, her English was really bad. She insisted that I have some of her jewellery, despite my protests, how could I tell her I would never wear it. In return I gave her some Australian money, causing much excitement for a group of people siting around us- the money was handed around and closely examined. What I found most surprising was when she placed the necklace over my head she kept repeating “MIND BLOWING!”. For someone whose grasp of English wasn’t so good, it was such a random phrase to come out with. I love bus trips for the random encounters! I think yay to the success of Mt Abu…
* I’m going to get some of my friends at NID to teach me a few ‘choice’ phrases, so next time I run into trouble with the men I’m better prepared.
