...is hamster, Mister Fawlty!

Kerala is a wonderful contrast of old and new, of heritage and innovation and of conflicting standards.

One of Kochi's new shopping malls

There's a tarmac road right outside, and buses, auto-rickshaws or taxis will take me anywhere for next to nothing. The half-hour ride to the shops in Cherthalla costs me 12 rupees. (- One rupee is one penny!)  I can look out  at the roadside and see elephants bathing. If I am headed  the other direction, I will soon be passing one of the impressive, newly-constructed, air-conditioned shopping malls. 

I love my new nightshirt

If I head for one of the many fabric shops, I can pick out a length of top-quality cotton shirting from a rainbow of choice. A tailor will copy my favourite design and have it ready for me to pick up in 48 hours, and the finished garment will cost me less than US $10.00. My children might well disown me when they see me wearing the clashing colours I have chosen, but I'm happy! 

A bootleg perfume shop

When I was travelling last month, I went to a perfume shop in Alleppey where they had copies of every perfume you can name, all priced at a pound or two. I don't have a particularly good sense of smell, and the shopkeeper had a very limited command of English, so I am a little concerned that while I might love my new fragrance, I may in fact be wearing Miss Dior.  

Bargains galore, and lots of excitement, but the two areas that might be of concern to European and North American visitors to Kerala - or to anywhere east of Istanbul for that matter - affect those delivering a service and those using that service. In other words, there is the question of the Health & Safety of the workers who are engaged on the many new construction projects. I watched the decorators repainting this building last month, strolling casually along parapets with no kind of safety equipment, and not even working from ladders. 

The other area of concern would be Health & Hygiene. India works not only to a different standard, but also to different principles. I remember being in the States a few years back and seeing American friends take out a pack of sterile tissues to wipe the bar of the shopping trolley, or purge their hands after using an escalator or public transport. In India, you live with the way the country is, you don't try to change it into something it's not. Let me cite something which might make sense of this attitude.

There was a fascinating piece of research from America last month, which will almost certainly be buried, destroyed or decried by big business. The research set out to determine the cause of the soaring rise in asthma, allergies and all kinds of food intolerance in the USA. The findings were no surprise to doctors in India, but were infuriating evidence to Big Pharma globally.   

The central conclusion was that people are not getting enough bacteria in their daily life. They are being raised in semi-laboratory conditions, and they never develop the natural resistance and immunities that a healthy body needs for protection. This process affects everyone at every age. Babies would normally absorb bacteria in their early months, but closeted in a sterile environment, their bodies do not develop normally. 

When I learned this, it was music to my ears, and I no longer apologise for the state of my kitchen in Minster Yard. When guests dine with me, they get the bonus of bacterial exposure that will enable them to live a healthier life.

Manuel and the hamster

And so, to the title of today's blog: what is the connection with Manuel and Fawlty Towers? I am assuming that my readership are all up to Pub Quiz standard on topics like Monty Python, and Fawlty Towers, and that you will remember the story of Manuel's hamster that escaped, creating havoc in the establishment as Basil, Sybil and the guests accused  him of harbouring, and then releasing a rat.

I am in deepest India, there are rainstorms most evenings - with spectacular thunder and lightning. The weather brings out different kinds of wildlife, including the occasional rat. Like the large specimen I saw skulking around yesterday evening. Fortunately, the intruder did not know that I am terrified of rats [- was that 1984 or Brave New World?] and it scuttled away quickly when it saw me.

Live and let live !

I talked to the owner here about this next morning, and realised that he faced a quandary, being caught between a desire to achieve the standards that overseas visitors expect and at the same time wanting to maintain a philosophy of living in and coexisting with the natural environment rather than fighting and destroying it, in order to create a different kind of environment for humans. With this being a year-round clinic and Ayurvedic hospital, they don't want to have quantities of deadly poison lying around, quite apart from the Indian ethos of "Live and Let Live" towards all creatures. 

Nonetheless, this was a rat, and European guests are not as tolerant as spiritually-minded Keralans. Action was taken this morning when Mattindia set traps in the hopes of coaxing the creature into captivity, from which it can then be relocated - whether on heaven or on earth.

I admire the Indian antipathy towards the Western preference for the kind of intensive cleanliness that incurs serious environmental pollution. I admire the bravado and personal responsibility of the acrobatic construction workers. This is India and it has one of the world's fastest growing economies; it would not be right if the buzz of growth and progress were to drown out the squeak of the occasional rat.