This is a book rich with intelligent observations and although much has changed in Coorg and throughout India since first published in 1976 it is vintage Dervla Murphy revealing something of her humor, courage, determination and willingness to explore.[1] I was touched by her recording of this journey to India with her daughter who was then aged but four years, and in a way it is the recollection of mother and daughter journeying off the beaten track together that makes it a good read.
Murphy was a veteran traveler to remote parts of the world by the time she embarked upon this adventure and in it she revealed herself to be a parent who places trust in the being of a child, and it becomes apparent that Rachel her daughter was admirably raised to have confidence in herself and to face the unknown.
On traveling with a child, she wrote:[2]
A child's presence emphasises your trust in the community's goodwill. And because children pay little attention to racial or cultural differences, junior companions rapidly demolish barriers of shyness or apprehension often raised when foreigners unexpectedly approach a remote village.
I recall two touching pieces from the book, the first will draw a wry smile to anyone who has encountered the complexities of Hinduism for the first time:
This morning Rachel produced the Saying of the Week, if not of the Year. Having listened attentively but unprofitably to a breakfast-time discussion on the Bhakti movement in South India, she suddenly announced, during a lull in the conversation, ‘I think I’m too young to understand Hinduism. Will you explain it to me when I’m eight?’
Secondly, for all who have to face the question of money, and particularly if you have found yourself with none in a strange land:
This was the first time I was ever literally penniless – our last paise had gone on the train tickets – and I found the experience interesting. It underlined the extent to which even the poorest of us depends on what little money we have as an essential prop to our personalities; and I began to see the begging type of hippy, who has voluntarily made a vow of poverty, from a new angle. Not for nothing do most religious regard poverty as a pre-requisite for the perfection of sanctity.
[1] On a Shoestring to Coorg, An Experience of Southern India. Dervla Murphy (Arrow edition 1990)
[2] Murphy, Dervla (2009-01-03). "First, buy your pack animal". The Guardian.
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