Thoughts running through my head

Having been travelling a short while now, I've noticed the change in how we get about, act, and see things. Street-vendors are now a safe source of sustenance, helped by our stronger stomachs having been here a while. In fact the best chia is from street vendors for around 5 rupees, and freshly cooked food is just that, only cheaper, nicer and more "authentic".

The beggars, touts and hustlers that we struggled with so much Jamaica and to a point Kenya now seem to fade into the background, with little more than a "Nahee", and occasional "Chello" for the more persistent as we make off without eye-contact.
It sounds harsh, and I do think it is.
But we are doing what we can for people while we are here, doing the work we are doing. Giving money to beggars doesn't help them, in fact with organised "professional" begging rings, it's ensuring the women and children are back there again the following day. They often don't get to keep the money themselves, or it goes on health-damaging substances, which is why we'll happily give biscuits or fruit if we have them on us, rather than cash. However, some people have cottoned on to this fact, and will ask you to buy powdered milk (usually coffee-mate) for their child, only to then re-sell it back to the shop when you've gone.
Disabled people, those suffering from leprosy and such I think do warrant spare change, as there is no other income for them. However, I read a report that children were being purposely deformed, in order to secure better begging opportunities for the parents, and themselves when older.
It's a shit world, and if we gave money to everyone that asked for it, we would have to go home now.

I find the touts can occasionally be amusing. Maybe our state of dress (Mrs G wears a Salwar-Kameez & bindi for teaching), body language, use of select hindi words etc mark us as being in-country a while, so not worth the effort for the professional tout. Instead they can banter, laughing at our use of hindi, offer trinkets for 1000s of rupees and even imitate our english accents, all in good humor.

I've found India to be bad and good. It's a cliche to say it, but it really is a country of contrast.

I love it as much as I go crazy with it.

The people are genuinely lovely, and I cannot imagine being offered into someones family home in the UK, to stay as free guests as we were by two Indian businessmen one evening. It's hard in situations like that not to feel uncomfortable, like there is an ulterior motive, but they were buying us beer all night (and refused my offer to buy one, which I think caused mild offense), and were really, genuinely, keen to tell us about Indian culture and show us pictures of their families. Those chaps really added to our awareness of Indian etiquette, customs and what is proper and polite in male and female company. I've promised to keep in touch with them and updated them on our travels.

The following week we watched scores of blokes drop their kecks and shit by the side of the railway, uncaring as to who was watching. Weeks later we watched a young indian male grope a female tourist, blatantly and without care. Another demanded sex from one of the young female volunteers, and followed her all the way back to camp pestering her. Mrs Grasshopper had her backside groped today while in an office lobby, the bloke making off before I could grab and drop him. It isn't just western women who get this though- it's called "Eve-teasing", and is a serious problem for any female.

Being married is uber-cool here, with children even more so. Respectability is everything, and at the same time there is often no respect for things us westerners would assume naturally.

I don't think I'll ever "get" India. Just go with the flow....