Anyone seen the mosque?

• Dynamite_dinah's Profile
• About this blog
• Entry from Bhopal and Sanchi

Trip Start Feb 27, 2006 Previous
Entry Trip End Mar 29, 2006 Next
Entry

  Bhopal and Sanchi, India
Sunday, March 5, 2006

Somehow or other I found the Sarwate bus station in Indore, trailed by rickshaws, a few cows and stray dogs and a sea of eyes - again I suppose a sole Western woman in salwar and a little bag on wheels is a curious sight! Finally finding the Bhopal bus, I ended up sitting next to two lovely women in their twenties who had been separately chaperoned onto the bus and carefully seated next to me - solidarity in women surrounded by mostly men. They were highly educated, both teachers - one an associate professor of sociology - with excellent English. One was married recently - through an arranged marriage - the other was desperately trying to stay single (wants to follow in Mother Theresa's steps and give herself to helping other people). Struggling to sometimes understand their accents (and their Hinglish which they spoke to each other - many well-educated people speak a mix of the two languages at the same time, interchanging every few words - sounds hilarious), we talked about the differences between the West and India and hardship for even middle-class women, still needing permission to do anything and limited choice in selecting husband. Both of them are allowed to work but despite changing values (for better and worse) and increase in more 'loose' culture reflected through TV programmes, adverts, clothing - these women represented the majority of middle-class people who stuck close still to their religion and the family morals. The professor asked me for my views on how legislative reforms, technology, inward investment and education might change the lives of Indians.... it was certainly an interesting debate. I've already started noticing a more materialistic lifestyle creeping in just in the last 12 months, with a huge increase in ownership of mobile phones (decent ones too!) and newer cars, motorbikes etc.

We shared some 'breakfast' from a street vendor called poha - a mix of rice and crispy noddle things - possibly where my slightly dodgy stomach started - although probably like last year, I'm just needing a break from curry and spices!

Arriving in the sprawling industrial city of Bhopal, sadly known for it's poisonous chemical disaster in 1986 which killed thousands and is still affecting the population (one of the girls on the bus had lost her mother to cancer and they though it was connected to the chemicals). My hotel round backing onto a main road of Bhopal near the Old City (not that you can really tell the difference between old and new cities - they both look like a noisy jumble of roads, market stalls and crumbling buildings), was quite 'mid-range' by Indian standards - probably equivalent to two stars in the UK. Proper reception, room service, full range of TV stations (from Oprah, the guru someoneorother preaching to a massive crowd of pilgrims, Hindi films with heroine and spurned lover, half-naked Indian women dancing and singing on Indian MTV, news, BBC World, HBO etc.), internet connection, big comfy bed and most important decent toilet and hot water in working shower (although no shower cubicle of course) - yipee my first hot water in a week! Still shabby as anything but safe and meant I could easily sit in bedroom in evenings and eat there too as venturing out into the streets at night without other people is not advisable and especially not for a women - even going to a restaurant in the day time is considered odd for a woman alone.

I worked out, despite still finding no English speakers and everything written in Hindi, which bus to take down to the main mosque, the Taj-ul-Masjid and a Muslim family - Bhopal has a large muslim population - squeezed around me giggling under their black veils, pushing their baby girl at me and prodding me with their hennaed hands. I was pushed out of the bus at the hospital and asked a man where the mosque was in Hindi, but he didn't understand me.... then I looked up and saw the enormous towering minarets of one of the largests mosques in India. Now used as a religious madrassa (school), I saw from the courtyard (no-one else was there) a learning session of young buys in progress.

Still not wanting to resort to the safety of a rickshaw, I jumped on a shared taxi - a tempo - which seemed to be heading towards the new city - TT Nagar - on the edge of one of the large lakes. As it was Sunday, this bustling market was more what I was used to - similar to a busy day on Wembley market - well not really I suppose! Lots of women and families out shopping, so I just relaxed into the flow and negociated over some new salwar fabric in cotton (watch this space for the fashion parade photos to follow!), which I then left with a tailor's stall where I was measured up!

I took a rickshaw back to the hotel to cosume vast amounts of water, a tin of emergency tuna from my back, and relax in front of TV, as the dirt, heat and dust of the day had left me dehydrated, with a headache and churning stomach.

Print this entry Share Bhopal hotels

Previous Entry Next Entry