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A Rastaman in India
Taurai Maduna
April 04, 2005

All pictures by Taurai Maduna

If there is anything I'm going to remember about India, the world's largest democratic country, I'm sure it would be the way people drive in New Delhi. Here is a place where your hooter is more important than your indicators! Driving in Delhi requires great skill and patience. Delhi's private transport is mainly comprised of auto-rickshaws, a scooter like taxi. There are also some bicycle taxis as well as some small cars which run on what they call compressed Natural Gas (CNG). The buses are marked: "propelled by clean fuel". But despite all the chaos on the roads I never saw one accident! Strange but true. And the drivers do not yell at each other like we see during a Zimbabwean traffic jam.

But one of the things I disliked about India was the hooting from cars and motorcycles. There is no way one can drive in India without a hooter because it would just be an invitation to be crushed. The noise levels are so high that the government has introduced a law that is meant to curb the noise pollution.

With a population of more than one billion there is no doubt that something has to be done to reduce the population levels. Some of the trucks in India are inscribed "we two, our two". This is a population reduction campaign, which means the husband and wife will have two children.

One of the strange things about Delhi was seeing cows in the city. The cows seemed to move anywhere they liked without any hassles from the public. I was later told that cattle are sacred in India and they command high respect. The cows in Delhi did not eat grass but instead scavenged for food in the piles of garbage.

Being dread locked in Delhi had its advantages and disadvantages. Because of my hair some people mistook me for the former Zimbabwean international cricket player Henry Olonga. Whereas some kept staring at me wondering about my hairstyle and some even touched my hair and exclaimed in surprise! For a moment, I imagined what it felt like being in the minority. It's like being a black man in an elevator full of white people who are just staring at you and wondering what's going on in your head. At least for once I was in a country where a Zimbabwean cricket player is more popular than the president. Some people kept telling me that they liked Tatenda Taibu and that he was a good player. Well it seems the young player is a good ambassador for the country. Maybe the government should consider giving him a diplomatic passport. Indians love cricket. When I was in India it was the time that the Pakistan President Pervez Musharaff was meant to visit India to attend the last one day international (ODI) which they were playing against Pakistan. The Indian government took this opportunity for some "cricket diplomacy" with the Pakistan president. Imagine Mugabe as the Patron of the Zimbabwe cricket team, traveling to the UK to watch cricket at Lords and Tony Blair taking this time to try and chat with Mugabe about solving the crisis back home and maintaining good relations.

What I liked about India was the food. Next time I go out to eat I will order chicken Tandoori. I just loved the way it was cooked. The other thing about India is you quickly notice that men do the serving in most places, be it offices or restaurants.

I also had the once in a lifetime opportunity to visit the Taj Mahal, one of the world's most famous monuments. The Taj Mahal was quite fascinating; it is one of the great things that men do for love. The Taj Mahal, located at the city of Agra in the State of Uttar Pradesh is one of the most beautiful masterpieces of architecture in the world. The Taj was built by Shah Jehan in honor of his wife Arjumand Banu who was later known as Mumtaz Mahal. Mumtaz and Shah Jehan were married in 1612 and over the next 18 years they had 14 children together. Mumtaz Mahal died while giving birth to her 14th child.

I was the next big attraction at the Taj Mahal because of my hairstyle. Some people asked me to take pictures with them and their kids. Maybe I should have charged for these pictures bringing back much needed foreign currency!

India has it's own vibrant entertainment industry. Their film industry is known as Bollywood and can be seen on most of the television networks. According to a study report "Indian Entertainment Industry - Focus 2010 Dreams to Reality" it is estimated that the Indian film Industry is about USD13billion.

I flew back to Zimbabwe on a Kenya Airways flight from Nairobi. As I left Jomo Kenyatta International Airport I wondered if there would be a time when our International Airport in Harare would ever have so much air traffic. On my arrival in Zimbabwe the only plane that was at the airport was the flight I was in and it was not even staying because it was en route to Zambia. I understand most international airlines are avoiding Zimbabwe at all costs. The situation at the airport is pathetic. There seems to be more workers at the airport than actual people traveling. I am left to wonder what the government means when it says tourism is booming in this country. Until there are a lot of international carriers arriving in Zimbabwe and we have more tourist arrivals then yes, I would agree that there is indeed a tourism boom in Zimbabwe.

From the airport, I caught a cab. On the way the taxi driver told me how bad business was and that he wasstruggling to make ends meet. He counted for me on one had the number of flights that land at the airport each day.

I was glad to get back home. I was looking forward to a hot bath. But I was sad to be informed that there had not been any water for the past 5 days. Damn the Harare City Council. I might be glad to be back in Zimbabwe but I guess I have to put up with all the things that don't seem to be in order.

Let me end here before the ZESA gets cut!

*Taurai Maduna is the Information Officer at kubatana.net. He writes in his personal capacity. He recently visited India as part of a learning exchange programme.

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