"Clouds come floating
into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my
sunset sky."
—Rabindranath Tagore
(Indian, 1861-1941)
Word for the day
Nubilous (adj)
Obscure or vague; indefinite
Malice towards none
Sidhu gets it, Modi still
waiting!
#ImranSwearing-In
First random thought this morning
It is commonly to see the countrymen feeling proud over the
achievements of even second generation of people who emigrated from India to
foreign lands decades ago. Like we recently celebrated Akshay Venkatesh winning
the Fields Medal (considered equivalent to Noble price for Mathematics).
Any achievement in the fields of science, arts, sports etc. must
be celebrated by the entire humanity, as all such achievements take us a step
closer to the Mother Nature. It opens another door of possibilities and show us
a new horizon for human potential.
But, we need to introspect, after every achievement of a PIO, and
ask ourselves what did we do wrong or failed to do? Why do talented people
leave the country to settle in foreign lands?
Make it a mission
Couple of years ago, I had an
opportunity to visit the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region, mainly lying between
the cities of Vijaywada (Krishna District) and Guntur (Guntur District). Since
the demerger of the State, this area has emerged as a new hotspot of economic
activity.
I had written about my experience
then (see here). However, in the context of my thoughts of the
potential for tourism in India, I find it relevant to reproduce the following:
"As
the pilot announces the commencement of decent on to the Gannavaram Airport
(Vijaywada), the outside view becomes mesmerizing. The lush green paddy fields
appear like a large football stadium with green turf. The banana and mango
orchards on the sidelines provide the perfect setting. The region is inarguably
one of the most beautiful in the country, as good as Goa and Kerala.
Andhra
Pradesh has the longest coastline in the country, with a number of serene
beaches. The state also has many scared temples like Tirupati Devsthan.
Intuitively, tourism, both religious and leisure, should naturally be the
mainstay of State's economy.
However,
nothing on the ground suggests that anyone is even thinking about this. There
are talks of industrial corridors, IT parks, agro parks but nothing on this
huge potential.
Manglagiri
in Guntur district (15kms from Vijaywada) is a temple town. A very sacred
ancient temple of Lord Narsimha (an incarnation of Lord Vishnu) is situated
here on a sleeping volcano. The town is also very famous for handloom sarees
and dress material.
The town
has absolutely no tourism infrastructure. No hotels; narrow lanes; no parking
space; no Hindi/English speaking drivers or guides - nothing.
Simlarly,
Vijaywada has Kanak Durga Temple, one of the most prominent amongst 52 Shakti
Peethas in the country. Again, no tourist infrastructure.
Both
these temples, and many others in the region, have the potential to become
economic magnets like Tirupati, Vaishno Devi, etc. But does anyone care.
The rural
areas in Krishna and Guntur districts are as beautiful as Vietnam, Cambodia and
Taiwan (the popular tourist destinations these days). But no one seems to care.
I had the
privilege of spending a day with M. Vindo Babu (a road contractor) and his wife
Lakshmi Tulsi (an academician). The couple runs a school for 500 children in
Vijaywada. 300 of these students are funded by the couple (fee, uniform, meal,
post school coaching).
Lakshmi
told me that the normal schedule of schools in Vijaywada (and elsewhere in the
state) is usually 10-12hrs even for middle classes.
These
schools are run as factory for producing medical, engineering and accounting
professionals. A large majority of schools even do not offer humanity as a
subject in senior classes.
I wonder,
without knowledge of their history, geography and Hindi - how these children
could be expected to make a career in tourism as a industry!
This
factory model of education is also destroying the local arts and cultural
traditions - something for which southern Indian states are traditionally
reputed for."
The point I am trying to make is
that tourism cannot be developed as a mainstream industry, unless:
(a) We assign a huge premium to our culture, food, traditions, history
and religion;
(b) Development of tourism infrastructure is undertaken on a mission
basis; and
(c) The State plays an active role in the development.
I will share my suggestions in
this regard, which of course I have shared with my readers many times earlier,
on Tuesday.
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