Preparing for India

October 15, 2019

Well, we’re off to India tomorrow night. So, as usual, a few days ago, I tested my blog site to make sure it was working and, as usual, it was completely fucked up. (I had to type that twice, because my iPad put in “ducked up”. My iPad should know me better than that by now. I’ve never ducked up anything up.). A few days before that, I’d written, jokingly, to my web guy, Glenn Crocker, to let him know I was about to travel, so that he should expect an emergency call to deal with a disaster.

So, in my usual distraught state, the only state in which Glenn has experienced me, I called Glenn. And, as usual, after we messed around and did a bunch of things I’d never have done on my own, Glenn fixed it. So, if you ever need anything fixed or any web help, contact Glenn, he’s great. (glenn@netmud.com). Better not tell him I suggested it, though, or he might not respond to your email.

So, I should tell you a tiny bit about India, stuff you probably already know.

India is a part of South Asia and its northern frontiers are defined largely by the Himalayan mountain range, where the country borders China, Bhutan and Nepal. It shares its western border with Pakistan separated by the plains of Punjab and the Thar Desert. In the northeast the forested mountain regions of the Chin and Kachin hills separate India from Burma. In the south, the Arabian Sea to the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal to the southeast, and the Indian Ocean to the South bind it.

The Ganges, which is the most sacred river in India, is the longest river and the Gangetic plain which occupies the north central and eastern India is the most densely population area in the country, while the rocky Deccan plateau occupies most of the peninsular India. This vast land mass is home to varied vegetarian and climates – ranging from alpine to equatorial.

Historically the Indus Valley civilization, which existed in the northwestern part of the Continent from 3300 to 1300 BC, is considered the earliest urban culture to exist. Since then until Independence in 1947, India was ruled variously by the several foreign powers with the dominant being the Muslim and the British. Muslim rule started in the 11th Century an culminated in the great Mughal Empire which was annexed by the British East India Company in the 18th century, ending with Independence in 1947, with the division of the sub continent and the formation of two countries – India and Pakistan. India became a republic on 26th January 1950.

India is the birthplace of four of the world’s major religions – Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. Of the current population of 1 .2 billion, Hindus form the largest religious group, followed by the Muslims and the Christians.

Here’s a map of India, with the places we’ll be visiting highlighted in little brown boxes.

And, just for the hell of it, here’s a couple photos from last year’s trip to India.

I’ll meet you on the plane to tell you a bit about how this trip came about.