In The Valley of Gods: A Personal Journey

satyavadi #50

``A typical honeymoon in Kulu Manali would cost about Rs 30000 -40000..
Which LOWER MIDDLE CLASS person can afford that much for a honeymoon? ``

Yaar, perhaps you have a very high standard of living. Let me give you lower middle cast estimate -
From Delhi Rs 1500 for two people return trip by bus. Hotel Rs 600 for 4 days. Food Rs 600 for 4 days. Local travel $2000 for four days. Utram-shutrum Rs2000. For a typical lower middle class, middle-middle class person marriage is perhaps peak of life (all downhill after that - Ain`t I correct Dostmitter. And people try to save for that occassion.
I write this because I have been through that path.

Harimou
Had a good laugh!
Thanks
Now I can get back to my Homeworks :(

Stude
Thanks for the clarification.
Do you have to know my mother tongue? I don`t want any to fall under any type of generalization.

Ref Studebaker #38

[And if Harimou doesnt stop it Balore or Hyderabad Air port may be named Tiou Sultan Intl. Air Port ;)) ]

You got my vote for Hyder Ali International Airport for Hyderabad and Tipu Sultan International Airport for Bangalore. Maybe then Lahore International Airport would be re-named Lala Lajpat Rai Airport!

Ref Stuka #43

[Indians have no clue on how to laugh at themselves. Anal retentiveness is a Brahminical trait.]

Whoa, whoa, whoa! Stop right there! What percentage of Indians are brahmins?

Also, if anal retentiveness were to be practiced widely, we wouldn`t have so much sh!t on our streets!

Ref Studebaker #38

[I love south Indians .I was reacting to Haramiou`s declaration of Urdu as Pakistans Language .]

I love you too. It is just that Urdu is Pakistan`s official language.

Ref Radhika #42

[Ok I am lil confused now. I was referring to Tipu`s comment
``You Sankriticised Southy do whatever you want south of Mumbai or Vindyas ........ ``
Not yours. I didn`t know you guys were the same. (R u?)]

Sigh......

Yes. And so is Ashok, Sadhna, Lajwanti, etc., etc., etc. Studebaker is affectionately known on Chowk as 12-Head but his nicknames have exceeded 12 and he is now known as Hydra.

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Stuka::

That was funny!!:)

My question was asked only half jokingly. I have seen you rant against Brahmins and vegetarians and vegetarians that insist that their food in five star hotels be vegetarian. And I might have missed some other groups here.

So what gives?
:)

Stude, dude, This is not going anywhere. I can see that :)

I don`t know how this conv to Tipu/Stude?? went from talking abt Sanskrit being root of all Indian lang including Hindi and South Indian Lang and (to some extent Urdu) to ``making Urdu as a national lang``

Anyway No I am not Harimau or mao or whatever

What is this bullcrap about honeymoons? aaye waDDay nawabzaaday. We had our tamboo erected in the village for the first week and half...and it was great fun. Everyone helped with food, making the bed, heating up the water for bath, washing the clothes discretely etc. Only problem is falling asleep during the day on bainT di kursi while waiting for lunch. one can hear cousins taunting in the background..achha achha baRhi neend aundi ay..chalo koi nai sauN lao dinay dinay(with the naughtiest vocal expressions).

Satyvadi:

``what do you have against everyone other than Punjabi Khatris?``

I am shocked!!! How can you say such a thing??

I have nothing against Punjabi Jatts either. Jats of Hharyana and UP are a different matter though. :)

Thank you Saminasha, harimou, sadna, banjaara and urstruly(partypooper!).
banjaara, there are two aspects to commercialisation. We all like the idyllic to remain idyllic and unspoilt but we also like the nicer roads, infrastructure and restaurants - not to speak of the jobs and economic prosperity that commercialisation brings alongwith it.
Re. Delhi, although I stayed there for a few weeks, the problems of logistics, my unwillingness to drive in the kamikazi driving culture of that city and the lack of interest among hosts in my kind of cultural activities prevented me from going to a lot of places that I wanted to go.

friend:
``Honymooners going to Manali/Nepal etc are normally from middle-class/lower middleclass. ``

A typical honeymoon in Kulu Manali would cost about Rs 30000 -40000..
Which LOWER MIDDLE CLASS person can afford that much for a honeymoon?

What is your definition of lower middle class in a country with per capita $400(Rs 20000)?

The ones that go to the Kulu Manali kinda places are UPPER MIDDLE CLASS or at best middle middle class..

The lower middle class goes to the municipal corporation garden in the city or the adjoinng city (Gandhinagar for Ahmedabad folks, it`s 25 kms from Ahd)

Stuka:
``On this post I support you. Indians have no clue on how to laugh at themselves. Anal retentiveness is a Brahminical trait.``

Dude, what do you have against everyone other than Punjabi Khatris?

dost-mitter
``A strange phenomenon we noticed in Shimla and especially Manali was the sight of several honeymooners roaming about in pairs. We couldn`t tell whether they had planned their honeymoons together or just made friends while there.``

Honymooners going to Manali/Nepal etc are normally from middle-class/lower middleclass. (Rich people these days go to Mauritius, Andaman, Europe etc). Most of them take package tours - on planes or buses that run from Delhi and other big cities. It is not difficult to make friends in a coach full of happy young couples. As most of the young couple in India are inexperienced in ???, they sometime exchange tips on you know what. And as Veeresh pointed out, it makes sense to share a cab or 4by4. You don`t get bored in long drives to Rohtang or Manikaran sahib and save lot of money. It aso ensures someone nearby to take your photographs in filmi pose.

dost-mittar:

HP is a state and Shimla the state capital whereas Murree is not even a district. The comparison is more from historical perspective. Both lie at the foothill of Himalayas - at the southern intersection of Asian and Indian plates and both were developed by British. Thererefore, a good school, great administrative buildings and business centered arould Mall road are common features instead of one mosque, one temple, two mausoliums and five pirs and 100 stray dogs, a common occurance before British arrival.

Having been to Murree umpteen times because of its closer proximity to Islamabad and never been to Shimla or Inda, I can`t compare both places. From watching Shimla in movies, it has some resemblance but as city it is more like Abbotabad than Murree. Frankly speaking, I ma not much impressed by Shimla as compared to Murree. Murree is more compact place with beautiful mix of colonial and traditional architecture laid out on pristine natural beauty. The roads are lines with huge pine trees and every turn of street is breath-taking beauty and awe. The language of Murree is Potohari and I feel at home there since I can speak that language. People are very friendly and easy going.

I am most impressed by Rajisthan and places like Jaipur, Jaiselmir in India. The way nature has laid out geography, I seriously believe that no mountainous area in India comes close to the natural beauty of Pakistani northern areas with Murree being the southernmost place on this string of majestic beauty stretching several hundred miles all the way to chinese border.

Fortunately Murree is well maintained too. The hotel, motels are clean and service is excellent. Having a cup of coffee with friends on any of a number of places on the Mall is as nostalgic an experience as possible. What is more soothing than getting away from the sweltering heat of summer in Islamabad and in an hour sipping a cup of tea or coffee at Mall in Muree with cool breeze hugging the body, soul and surroundings. For us Shimla is no Murree.

There are some magical qualities of the Potowar region as a whole. Even the berries bushes, stones and stream just behind Islamabad University at the foothill of Margala Hills offer a sample of view stretching all the way to northern territories.