Today is India’s 44th Birthday. It is strange to be reading ‘Midnight’s Children’ in the very towns and states he mentions, and to imagine the strange and historic events of which he tells. The newspapers carry full page adverts from, for example, the Information and Public Relations Department of Uttar Pradesh, proclaiming “Let’s celebrate like never before, by making ours a society where Hunger, Hatred and Fear are no more!” and President Mr R Venkataraman’s speech exhorts Indians to “remind ourselves: Neither rituals; nor progeny; nor wealth; but only renunciation brings true happiness” in the context of celebrating India’s advances, whilst enumerating the colossal hurdles to be overcome. The greatest of these is the population growth - 40 m on Independence, 800 m now. In 1947 births exceeded deaths by 687 per hour, according to Rushdie. My maths wither at the calculation in 1991. The second greatest priority is education: elsewhere in the National Herald is a piece by the Union Minister for Human Resource Development urging “the entire nation to lend its full support. The target is that with the dawn of the 21st Century there should be no child out of school, no adult illiterate and no young person unemployed.” A high dream indeed.

The President also laments inter-state, inter-caste, inter-language, inter-faith, inter-party rivalry and calls for a renewed national sense, which has degenerated into selfishness and threatens the future. He recalls Gandhiji’s favourite hymn “he is the true Vaishnava who knows the peeda (pain) of others!” All remain absorbed in their own peeda, not that of the nation. How can his goals be achieved?” The education programme plans to make 80 m people functionally literate by 1995. Literacy has risen from 14% to 52.1% since 1947. Still a long way to go, but education and population control are seen to be interdependent. What a challenge.

We spent the day in Jaipur, mooching, crossing words with the Tempo driver who changed his bill from 13 to 30 Rs, and were ‘saved’ by a shop owner who gave us drinks, then followed us all day on his Vespa to try to lure us to buy. The aggrieved Tempo driver returned to the Guest House and managed to screw 10 Rs out of the house boy … or so we think he said. The billet was lovely. Just two guest rooms in a very clean Sikh house with a charming, elegant couple with excellent English. They recommended a hotel in Jodhpur, and off we went. The crowds walking out of town were phenomenal. 6 or 7 deep on both sides of the road for the full 15 km to the airport and beyond. Any many of the women with substantial picnics on their heads! Jodhpur was a 40 minute flight away