Shimla - why can't South India be like it?

Things that stand out when one visits Shimla is the clean place and the discipline of individuals. There is no smoking in any public place, including in the open. No spitting allowed and we find that people hold their spit / swallow it (hear some gurgling at times collecting the spit, but not chucked out into any corner). There was not a beggar we could spot. Hence everyone goes about their lives in peace, though troubled occasionally by monkeys. With such narrow roads, people still are always trying to work out the quick way to go past each other and solve the traffic flow. People wait patiently in their own lane and no one jumps the lane to go in front. They avoid jams instead of creating and solving them!

Shimla - Ridge and Mall Road - Cleanliness everywhere

The British architecture in some of the buildings, especially on the ridge near the Mall, along with the open spaces and clean environment makes one think that we are in one of the European cities. There are no plastic bags, paper, trash in any spot. Monkeys are found in most places and probably contribute to people's discipline in not putting trash anywhere/ everywhere. It is extremely clean and well maintained, in spite of the horse rides available (no shit! pun intended). No beggars around to spoil the nice atmosphere. No smoking and no spitting, makes it easier to keep things clean. There are a few smaller roads / shopping areas, where things are a tad unclean, but is still better than most places in India!

People are very courteous and always eager to help or give information. No one is out to take advantage of the ignorance of tourists or visitors. They are quite happy to provide good service and self-assured that the fruits of their service would follow to them naturally. Attention to detail in their own jobs and courtesy to help others, makes them very affable and true human beings.

Road discipline is also amazing. Narrow winding roads all around, with no protection from a slide into the valley, does not deter the drivers from doing the right thing for everyone's good. No one flashes their headlights in any hurry to say "I go first," unlike many parts of India where "I, me, myself first" is the norm. Automatically people move to the side and try to work out the best and quick way to get past each other - even the big vehicles like buses and trucks calmly get past each other in the narrow paths.

Indian Institute for Advance Studies - Shimla

So, why can't rest of India, especially, South India be like Shimla? Amazing personal discipline is the root of this wonderful environment and cooperation. Respect for other individuals, as an equal to themselves, is automatic for them. No spitting or smoking in public spaces, keeping the whole city clean, etc., comes from within. Road discipline is also due to self-discipline and respect for the fellow human being.

Is the good weather for most of spring, summer and autumn (including monsoon), the reason for this level of discipline? Is it the realization that, if one puts the individual ahead of the public, then everything could break down quickly in this hill station? Would it be possible for the South Indian's change their discipline to improve the life for everyone? Is it just the hot weather all year round that leads to irritation and bad social behaviour? People are inclined to work hard and not beg due to their own will power?

Politicians and Bureaucrats don't need to go on foreign trips to see how to improve our own cities. A visit and learning at Shimla is sufficient for people to take as example and improve ourselves. We have an excellent example of community, society and disciplined individuals, right here in North India.

Jai Hind!

Tourist Friendly - Udaipur & Jaipur

Extremely Tourist Friendly - that is the first, middle and lasting impression of visiting Udaipur & Jaipur. There are quite a good list of positive things, which are not found in most places in India, which makes us come to this viewpoint.

First and foremost is the politeness of all the people towards tourists. Every taxi / cab driver is fit to drive a limousine - they dress neatly, present themselves well, have very good courtesy. They are jumping out quickly at every stop to open doors for us & handling as much luggage as possible.

In every shop, we felt that there must have been some ISO / CMM training all across Rajasthan! We are welcome by a senior person who first describes every part of the shop, right at the entrance and asks which section we would like to visit first & suggests one if we even hesitate for a moment. Then, at each section, they seem to present a variety of items which "seem" to fit into your budget (they somehow seemed to have a good judgement of our mind). They do not hesitate to show you how many ever items that you wish. Then they show items at lower end of budget & do not let you go until you have seen the full bandwidth (items based on Maharaja/ Maharani designs). They are clear that "you do not have to buy, but please look at these items and you can see the quality and workmanship".

Every shop has a clear return policy - guarantee for 5, 7 or 10 years. This is written in the bill and/or stamped on the bill using a rubber-stamp. They promise that you can mail it to them & will get a replacement free of cost, for any defect for that guarantee period. Is this possible anywhere else in India - hardly a few place, I presume.

And coming back to the first point - every salesman is polite even in "encouraging" you to look at more things, more sections, etc. At all times "you don't have to buy it sir/madam" is used, liberally.

Then comes cleanliness of the two cities. Compared to many of the big cities, the roads are pretty clean. Even though there is open-sewage system with crude slab covers, one cannot see much filth or small anything bad on the roads. Hardly much trash lying around - our impression is that the people in general seem to have a better civic sense about the public spaces.

Rates for guides at important monuments, museums and tourist attractions are clearly posted & there is no haggling required. They are also polite and take you around the main spots. They also tell you that there are boards and plaques explaining some of the things (in some places) and we can choose to take the tour on our own without a guide.

At Jaipur railway station, the taxi drivers were canvassing us to go with them free of charge & they would take us to a few different hotels for us to choose from. Is that true - yes, but the only request they have is that we take a 1 day tour with them of Jaipur and they will drop us at the hotel in the morning for free. The politeness and courtesy is outstanding in spite of their education levels (may be I should not use "in spite of") - one driver admitted he was 9th Standard failure, another 10th standard drop out and a 3rd person was illiterate even (had started working with family from young age). They said that they earned 4000 rupees per month flat, or 3000 rupees per month + daily allowance for over-night out of town trips. Yet, they seemed a happy lot with no complaints about their situation / bosses / workload, etc.

Auto charges are nominal, though negotiated only. We did not have much of a problem in getting a pretty low rate (especially compared to Chennai) for the 2-3 auto trips we took. At the same time I did see a bit of "gang-up" on local travellers who wanted to go longer distance - demanding more than 10 rupees per kilometer that the local was willing to pay (they wanted about 16 per kilometer). My guess is that we got to go about 7 to 8 kilometers for just Rs. 80 on our trips.

Overall, it was a memorable vacation to Udaipur & Jaipur. We managed to visit Mt. Abu and Pushkar too, by taxi trips from respective cities and had a very relaxed and super vacation.

Wishing each of you readers a nice opportunity to visit these places & hope you will find it equally exhilarating as we found it.

Jai Hind.