Saturday, November 13, 2010

Travel Diary - Day 9 & 10

We took the morning flight to Xian. It is to the South-West of Beijing. We first visited the Terra Cotta Warriors’ Museum. During digging in a field by a farmer, this was accidentally discovered. An emperor got a whim. He thought that he had a lot of soldiers to protect him in this world but when he died and went to the other world, he would be totally unprotected. He had convinced himself that he was too precious whether in this world or the next to be left unprotected. He therefore made advanced preparations. He got an army of soldiers, officers and Generals along with arms, horses and so on made in terra cotta. He got it buried next to the designated place for his own burial. This is what was discovered in subsequent archeological excavations. Replicas of these soldiers are available for tourists to carry home. I bought a brass one that doubles as a lighter – a combination of the ancient and the modern. I have also bought a horse carriage replica reminiscent of those days.. Next we saw a film show in a circular auditorium where you get the feeling that you are right in the midst of all the happenings being projected on the circular walls which double as a screen. In the evening we were taken to a theatre where a stage show on the Tang dynasty that ruled China once upon a time was shown. The show was quite a glittering affair full of costumes, dances and songs. The show went on till late and being sleepy, I had a nodding acquaintance with the last part of the show in the sense that I alternately dozed off and awakened when some loud music was played. During the day, we were taken around in Battery driven cars that can carry 10 persons at a time. We do not have such cars in India. They could replace our “ Chhakdas “. We would, of course have to put up charging stations around the cities and towns to support them. Being non-polluting, they are worth a try. Next morning in Xian itself, we visited Wild Goose Pagoda. A pagoda is a structure built over some of the body remains of the Great Buddha such as nails, hair…etc. We also visited a giant size statue of a Buddhist monk around which a park has been built. Bazaars have sprung up around tourist sites and the same bargaining as in India is visible and audible here. There are two systems at work in China. The Communist and the free enterprise are managing to live cheek by jowl. As far as governance is concerned, it is Communist but in the field of Economics, it is free enterprise. This has the advantage that land acquisition or demolition of old buildings in areas to be re-developed is easy unlike in India. Free enterprise in a totalitarian regime that is supportive of business, has a great advantage unlike in a democracy where the wheels move rather slowly. On the flip side, a wrong decision, hastily implemented can result in a Himalayan blunder. Chances of course correction are less. In a democracy a Mamta can say Ta..Ta, Good bye to a Nano without bringing in any alternative means of economic development if she is able to carry her flock of sheep on a wrong path. In a totalitarian system, the fears and / or prejudices of the top man or men can result in a wrong decision. One of the young Chinese guides said that while her parents and grand parents were extremely appreciative of Mao tse tung for heralding the revolution, she was of the opinion that he lived beyond his effectiveness as a leader. According to her his two Himalayan blunders in his last days were :- 1) cultural revolution that took China back by a few years and 2) Allowing uncontrolled population expansion in the belief that more people meant more strength without taking into account the resources required to support a huge population. The present regime has had to impose a harsh measure of a one child norm to correct the earlier blunder. This public airing of a divergent opinion in front of a n alien audience like ours can be a propaganda stunt to show the kind of freedom available or that except from public platforms, one can air a dissident opinion without the secret service breathing down your neck. To me, it appeared to be the latter. We took a flight to Guilin and on arrival, we were taken to an educational institution where accupressure, physiotherapy are taught along with the use of typical Chinese herbs and oils. The total number of our group of tourists is 40 and all of us were individually attended to by a student of the Institute. We were given a bowl of hot water in which some herbs were put and asked to immerse our feet in it. Uncomfortable at first, later we got used to it. When the water got cold, some more hot water was poured. The massage, pounding and vibrating of our feet by manual means continued for an hour and a quarter. In my case my shoulders were also attended to. I have never felt so relaxed after a massage before this. The Institute’s director told me after inputs by the student attending to me that I had some problem with my lever that needed attention. One reslt of this massage was that next morning along with the stools, I passed a water coloured liquid. My sleep has slightly improved since. Checked into a hotel for the night and promptly fell asleep.

Pappa (Ramesh N Desai)

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