Love and India in a time of Covid
Words, voices and images: Connecting to cultures around the world
"For many in India, finding shelter from the virus was next to impossible and we worry about so many of you at this time".
So let’s step back and take a journey in pictures and stories through Southern India with the Creative cowboy films crew and think of our friends across this beautiful and incredibly complex country.
The roads in India, as well as the ever present danger, the corners, the suddenly oncoming lorry or bus, the myriad of smaller vehicles and people – all in disorder. We pass accidents, recently overturned cars and burnt out buses, pilgrims perhaps, who will never reach their earthly destination.
We weave our way across the country east to west, from the Bay of Bengal to the Arabian Sea, then further south and back again to Chennai – in all five weeks on the road.
Pictures are selected at random, the text tells another story.
The roads in India, as well as the ever present danger, the corners, the suddenly oncoming lorry or bus, the myriad of smaller vehicles and people – all in disorder. We pass accidents, recently overturned cars and burnt out buses, pilgrims perhaps, who will never reach their earthly destination.
We weave our way across the country east to west, from the Bay of Bengal to the Arabian Sea, then further south and back again to Chennai – in all five weeks on the road.
Pictures are selected at random, the text tells another story.
Out of Africa
So when did modern humans reach the sub-continent?
Before we start to think about this, the general trend internationally looks as if it is to push dates back, Australia is just one example. Since the time we have been exploring that continent, dates for the arrival of Homo sapiens have been pushed back from 40-50,000 years ago to at least 65,000 years ago (Malakunanja II rock shelter in Arnhem Land in the North of the Continent). Sumatra to the north-west looks like 65,000 years plus.
So the dates for the first arrivals of modern humans in India span a significant period, in the literature anything between 60,000 and 120,000 years ago. The debate intensified because of the discovery of stone tools at the Jwalapuram archaeological site in Andhra Pradesh dated at around 74,000 years ago. This time line then suggested that Homo sapiens had arrived in India before the ‘Toba super eruption’ in Sumatra of around 75,000 years ago. The eruption caused significant damage to life on earth and particularly in the region, causing an extended and global volcanic winter as the ash obscured the sun over a period of several years.
Population
The population of India billion will soon reach 1.5 billion, which is around 19 per cent of the world’s population, overtaking China in the process.
India has a population density of just under 500 people per square kilometer, that compares to around one person per square kilometer in Western Australia and around 8,000 per square kilometer in Singapore.
India’s population growth is slowing but remains high in the poorest states. The population is projected to peak at about 1.7 billion in around 40 years from now.
Levels of pollution in India are already very high, the air we breathe can be choking, so managing populations and human impacts on the environment are going to be crucial to ensure that future generations can lead healthy lives.
Modern and renewable energy systems are going to be crucial here.
Vegetarians
It goes without saying that the food in India is wonderful, the food is particularly wonderful as much of it does not include animals. The history of vegetarianism or a non-harming or killing diet is long and extends back several thousand years.
The seven pillar edicts of Ashoka (pillar 5)
Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Piyadasi, speaks thus: Twenty-six years after my coronation various animals were declared to be protected -- parrots, mainas, aruna, ruddy geese, wild ducks, nandimukhas, gelatas, bats, queen ants, terrapins, boneless fish, vedareyaka, gangapuputaka, sankiya, fish, tortoises, porcupines, squirrels, deer, bulls, okapinda, wild asses, wild pigeons, domestic pigeons and all four-footed creatures that are neither useful nor edible. Those nanny goats, ewes and sows which are with young or giving milk to their young are protected, and so are young ones less than six months old. Cocks are not to be caponized, husks hiding living beings are not to be burnt and forests are not to be burnt either without reason or to kill creatures.
One animal is not to be fed to another. On the three Caturmasis, the three days of Tisa and during the fourteenth and fifteenth of the Uposatha, fish are protected and not to be sold. During these days animals are not to be killed in the elephant reserves or the fish reserves either. On the eight of every fortnight, on the fourteenth and fifteenth, on Tisa, Punarvasu, the three Caturmasis and other auspicious days, bulls are not to be castrated, billy goats, rams, boars and other animals that are usually castrated are not to be. On Tisa, Punarvasu, Caturmasis and the fortnight of Caturmasis, horses and bullocks are not to be branded.
Flowers
As image worship became very popular decorating the icon with a variety of flowers became associated with divine consciousness.
“Speaking to these artistes, whether in the temple or the Sathara Street is very educative. Even as they speak their hands are busy selecting blooms and leaves from the baskets of flowers. How do they manage to make a perfect fresh garland year after year?” The Hindu January 2014
Animal life
The King Cobra at a maximum length of just under six metres is the most spectacular. Hard to imagine today but in its range, which also includes South East Asia, the heaviest wild King Cobra recorded was at Singapore’s Royal Island Club in 1951.
Smaller but rather more active snakes in human habitats in India include the Common Krait, the Indian Cobra, the Saw-scaled Viper and Russell’s Viper. India has the most snake bites, more than any other country each year, and some 10,000 or more fatalities each year a result of these snake bites.
Large numbers of people, around 72 per cent of India's population live in smaller villages and rural communities, less than adequate access to antivenin are factors in these high death rates. This compares to Australia where the snakes are equally as venomous where there are typically less than five deaths each year from snake bites.
Tigers
Public movement has been severely restricted with special emphasis on not allowing children come out in the open. As a result 45 schools at Kundahchappai, Doddabetta, Thummanhatty, Anikorai, Kadanad and nearby places were closed. Gripped by panic, people in these areas are having sleepless nights.
Road works
The roads we are travelling on have also become the trade routes of India. The roadsides are places of work. What happens by the roadside tells you a lot about a place here. All along the road there is hard work and clusters of enterprise. Even the remoter rural roadside places will suddenly reveal a workplace and intense activity.
A sculptor here, a brick making family, a coconut seller, small market stalls, potters, carpenters, workshops, a goat herd, furniture makers, onion processors, all spread along the road's edge.
Out of Africa
So when did modern humans reach the sub-continent?
Before we start to think about this, the general trend internationally looks as if it is to push dates back, Australia is just one example. Since the time we have been exploring that continent, dates for the arrival of Homo sapiens have been pushed back from 40-50,000 years ago to at least 65,000 years ago (Malakunanja II rock shelter in Arnhem Land in the North of the Continent). Sumatra to the north-west looks like 65,000 years plus.
So the dates for the first arrivals of modern humans in India span a significant period, in the literature anything between 60,000 and 120,000 years ago. The debate intensified because of the discovery of stone tools at the Jwalapuram archaeological site in Andhra Pradesh dated at around 74,000 years ago. This time line then suggested that Homo sapiens had arrived in India before the ‘Toba super eruption’ in Sumatra of around 75,000 years ago. The eruption caused significant damage to life on earth and particularly in the region, causing an extended and global volcanic winter as the ash obscured the sun over a period of several years.
Population
The population of India billion will soon reach 1.5 billion, which is around 19 per cent of the world’s population, overtaking China in the process.
India has a population density of just under 500 people per square kilometer, that compares to around one person per square kilometer in Western Australia and around 8,000 per square kilometer in Singapore.
India’s population growth is slowing but remains high in the poorest states. The population is projected to peak at about 1.7 billion in around 40 years from now.
Levels of pollution in India are already very high, the air we breathe can be choking, so managing populations and human impacts on the environment are going to be crucial to ensure that future generations can lead healthy lives.
Modern and renewable energy systems are going to be crucial here.
Vegetarians
It goes without saying that the food in India is wonderful, the food is particularly wonderful as much of it does not include animals. The history of vegetarianism or a non-harming or killing diet is long and extends back several thousand years.
The seven pillar edicts of Ashoka (pillar 5)
Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Piyadasi, speaks thus: Twenty-six years after my coronation various animals were declared to be protected -- parrots, mainas, aruna, ruddy geese, wild ducks, nandimukhas, gelatas, bats, queen ants, terrapins, boneless fish, vedareyaka, gangapuputaka, sankiya, fish, tortoises, porcupines, squirrels, deer, bulls, okapinda, wild asses, wild pigeons, domestic pigeons and all four-footed creatures that are neither useful nor edible. Those nanny goats, ewes and sows which are with young or giving milk to their young are protected, and so are young ones less than six months old. Cocks are not to be caponized, husks hiding living beings are not to be burnt and forests are not to be burnt either without reason or to kill creatures.
One animal is not to be fed to another. On the three Caturmasis, the three days of Tisa and during the fourteenth and fifteenth of the Uposatha, fish are protected and not to be sold. During these days animals are not to be killed in the elephant reserves or the fish reserves either. On the eight of every fortnight, on the fourteenth and fifteenth, on Tisa, Punarvasu, the three Caturmasis and other auspicious days, bulls are not to be castrated, billy goats, rams, boars and other animals that are usually castrated are not to be. On Tisa, Punarvasu, Caturmasis and the fortnight of Caturmasis, horses and bullocks are not to be branded.
Flowers
As image worship became very popular decorating the icon with a variety of flowers became associated with divine consciousness.
“Speaking to these artistes, whether in the temple or the Sathara Street is very educative. Even as they speak their hands are busy selecting blooms and leaves from the baskets of flowers. How do they manage to make a perfect fresh garland year after year?” The Hindu January 2014
Animal life
The King Cobra at a maximum length of just under six metres is the most spectacular. Hard to imagine today but in its range, which also includes South East Asia, the heaviest wild King Cobra recorded was at Singapore’s Royal Island Club in 1951.
Smaller but rather more active snakes in human habitats in India include the Common Krait, the Indian Cobra, the Saw-scaled Viper and Russell’s Viper. India has the most snake bites, more than any other country each year, and some 10,000 or more fatalities each year a result of these snake bites.
Large numbers of people, around 72 per cent of India's population live in smaller villages and rural communities, less than adequate access to antivenin are factors in these high death rates. This compares to Australia where the snakes are equally as venomous where there are typically less than five deaths each year from snake bites.
Tigers
Public movement has been severely restricted with special emphasis on not allowing children come out in the open. As a result 45 schools at Kundahchappai, Doddabetta, Thummanhatty, Anikorai, Kadanad and nearby places were closed. Gripped by panic, people in these areas are having sleepless nights.
Road works
The roads we are travelling on have also become the trade routes of India. The roadsides are places of work. What happens by the roadside tells you a lot about a place here. All along the road there is hard work and clusters of enterprise. Even the remoter rural roadside places will suddenly reveal a workplace and intense activity.
A sculptor here, a brick making family, a coconut seller, small market stalls, potters, carpenters, workshops, a goat herd, furniture makers, onion processors, all spread along the road's edge.
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