Dez in India

A more accurate map, which explains why my travel takes so much longer than I think it should….

LOVE this: http://www.upworthy.com/we-have-been-mislead-by-an-erroneous-map-of-the-world-for-500-years?c=ufb2

Side note: I must be old, because I recall when that old “West Wing” clip was prime time….

The fort has a long history as it was the principal port of Ceylon*. It was known for its trade with the Chinese, Persians, Greek, Africans long before the Europeans arrived; but once they got here it was colonised and fortified by the Portuguese, then the Dutch, then the British. The majority of the visible fortifications today are from the Dutch, although the Brits added the lighthouse. The fort was actually reinforced (for defensive purposes) as recently as WWII. Today the fort and its surrounds are a UNESCO world heritage site.

I spent the afternoon poking around the ramparts and wandering the streets (all of which can easily be accomplished in an afternoon). Then I went to the roof top restaurant of the Rampart Inn to watch sunset — clouds low on the horizon impacted the view of the actual set, but the colours backlighting the clouds were better than my iPhone 4 camera could capture… Also, it was fun people watching as everyone in town — locals & tourists alike — seem to gather at the ramparts for sunset.

*”Ceylon” was the Island’s name during colonisation — a British bastardisation of the earlier Portuguese colonial name. It was replaced with Sri Lanka in 1972 when the island country became a republic. The “new” name, Lanka, is close to the ancient Sinhalese and Tamil (the major local languages) names for the island and to this the honorific “Sri” was added. While “Sri Lanka” is used for most governmental things, “Ceylon” is still used for the local tea — as almost everyone agreed this term was an important distinction and signified high quality among other teas in the world. Plus, as the #1 export, practically no one wanted to mess with renaming the tea and risk losing market share.

Today was my first real morning* in Sri Lanka and I took a stroll along the beach in Colombo at Galle Face Green. It reminded me of walks along Bayshore Blvd at university.

It’s pleasantly warm here (85F) and the sea spray from the crashing waves felt great. Lots of people were out and about, walking, power walking, jogging, doing yoga in the park. The coast was free from litter (trash cans are available every where). I only saw one (very healthy & happy looking ) stray dog during the whole hour long walk. Although, I realise that I do miss something from “home” in B’lore: the ubiquitous cows. (That said, I do NOT miss the piles of rubbish upon which they dine.)

Across from the Green is a statute of former Prime minister of Sri lanka, S W R D Bandaranaike. (He was assassinated by a Buddist monk…)

*Since my flight arrived at 530am, technically, I have spent another morning here — but I refuse to acknowledge that insane flight. I am trying to block it from memory. Who thought a 3am departure time for a 90 min international flight was a good idea?!? Only my friend M, who plans her flights to island vacations around prime tanning hours, would appreciate this timing….

This was a fluffy article in the NYT recently, “The Good Men of India” by Lavanya Sankaran.

(As a business woman traveler in India, I’ve never been on a flight like the one she describes. In my observation, the business people are usually too busy trying to jump the line when de-planing or elbowing their way into the tarmac bus to the terminal to notice babies or other forms of human life.)

But, THIS is what you need to read, “Not Even A Few Good Facts” by Rajyasree Sen.
http://www.newslaundry.com/2013/10/not-even-a-few-good-facts/

Credit goes to my friend D who shared the Rajyasree’s blog with me.

This is Tipu’s local palace, built inside the fortified city of Bangalore around 1791.The outside walls are masonry and the inside is wooden. It’s open air on 2 sides, with graceful fluted columns, and almost solid masonry on the other 2 sides, with small windows. It gives the appearance if being 1 story; however, once inside (out of the glare of sunlight), you can see a perfectly symmetrical mezzanine level, accessible by wooden stair cases in each corner. Some painted surfaces (ceilings, wall recesses) remain, so it’s easy to imagine it as it once was. There is a formal garden on one side and an adjacent temple. I really think Tipu had great taste in small palaces…

Approaching the front, open air side:

The side wall viewed from the garden:

Inside, among the columns:

From the corner stairway:

Painted ceiling:

Painted alcove:

Adjacent temple:

View from mezzanine looking out:

Warning: I’m about to get on my soapbox….

There has been a lot of news about rape in India since I moved here (and long before, I’m sure). However, this September’s trial of the men convicted of gang raping and killing a young woman on a public bus in Delhi seemed to be sort of tipping point in the collective conscience. Also, it got lots of international press. Many of my concerned friends and family worry about my safety here because I am somewhere foreign with [presumed] different cultural norms… I want to take a minute to point out this uncomfortable fact: the “norm” when it comes to violence against women isn’t remarkably different.

Consider commentary like this recent US “news” report: http://www.upworthy.com/im-not-saying-she-deserved-to-be-raped-but-is-possibly-the-worst-way-to-begin-a-sentence-ever-3?c=ufb1. Sadly, there are people from all countries that find the mistreatment of women acceptable or, at least, excusable.

To be clear, I have no knowledge of the facts of the case they are discussing in the US media clip — and hence, I have no opinion about the merits of that case. However, I do take umbrage at anyone saying (or strongly implying) that a women (in this case, apparently a child) out at night drinking “deserves to be raped.” THAT attitude is not unique to the man on the news, or to any one country.

Women –and men– have to be vigilant about their safety no matter where they live or where they travel. Of course, it’s easier to keep safe when you have a home with doors that locks, reliable transportation and a police force that you trust will come to protect you if called. Please don’t delude yourself into thinking that the attitude used to justify these awful acts is unique to some place else, because it is tragically ubiquitous.