Backwards into Delhi

I'm reading a book which Mom lent me, called "Backwards into Delhi", by Bunny Knott. Mom thought I would enjoy the book, and indeed I am finding it immensely entertaining. Bunny Knott and her husband Ed are intrepid retirees who travelled to India for several months in the mid 1980s. Bunny is a cozy lady with a personality to suit her name. Her husband Ed is a very agreeable and pleasant man who clearly dotes on his wife. Bunny reminds me a lot of the character of Mrs. Pollifax - she is an optimist in some daunting circumstances, and delights in many of the same everyday occurances which I also experienced in my travels to India. Little experiences such as being offered a beverage while shopping, or waiting interminably for money to be changed are greeted with much pleasure and enjoyed fully. She is charmed by each and every Indian she meets, which I'm sure brings out the best in their behavior, too.

She also faces with great equanimity, if not excitement, some grisly things such as dead bodies lying on the sidewalk in cities (two so far in the book) and a dead bloated dog in the Ganges. She also is intrigued by Kali Puja ceremonies complete with animal sacrifices - so she's not your genteel normal retired lady.

Avinash and I have done many of the same things she details on our trips, especially since we also didn't do things the high-dollar way. Many things have changed in India since the mid 1980s, but much is the same. I think we stayed in the same hotel in Ooty as she did, and saw the same sights - but unfortunately, we did not see any trace of wild elephants at the madumalai sanctuary. There is much in the book which sounded very familiar in South India.

I did find it humorous that they took two rickshaws everywhere they went, but I think many of them were bicycle or hand rickshaws. We've always squeezed in two with luggage in one, but that's nothing compared to how many Indian schoolkids fit in an "auto". Avinash says at least one guy always has his butt hanging outside.