63/ 100 Paper Cup Dog
Leaving the Litter In
A few days ago someone who reads my posts sent me a private message to tell me that they enjoy my writing, but that they think I really ought to edit out all of the litter in the photographs because it’s distracting. They said the photographs would be beautiful if only they were somehow cleaner looking.
I disagree. I intentionally leave the litter in because it is all part of the scene that was there at the time. I am not trying to encourage you to visit India on behalf of a tour company by making it look really pretty – I am keen to show you how it actually looks and, more specifically, where the dogs that feature in my photographs live. India is very dirty, but it is still a very beautiful place all the same.
On our first trip we visited the city of Agra, home of the Taj Mahal. We had every intention of staying in a cheap bed and breakfast however we had such a crazy and exhausting train journey there that we made a last-minute decision to blow the budget, relatively speaking, and stay in a much fancier hotel for a few days. It was a very nice place indeed, and offered a welcome buffer from the craziness outside the high garden walls.
Rather than our accommodation being populated by other travellers from around the world, keen to explore, marvel at the sights, eat nice food and perhaps do a bit of yoga, this hotel was mainly full of Indian business men and women. They were here to work and, unusually for us, they were not interested in speaking to anyone unless it involved being unnecessarily rude to the staff who had become their slaves.
On our last day we found ourselves waiting in a small, darkly lit bar in the hotel along with several men all dressed in smart trousers and leather jackets. We were surprised when one of them turned to us and asked if we were tourists and wanted to know where we were from. He then announced that we were lucky because sat opposite us was a local politician who was, we were told, something of a big cheese in Agra.
They were here to record a podcast and asked if we would mind being interviewed whist they asked us our thoughts about our journey in India and, more specifically, Agra. We had some time to kill so we agreed and the politician’s assistants set up their phones as sound recorders and also started videoing at the same time.
His first question, ‘Were we enjoying our trip so far?’. We replied, ‘Mostly it has been brilliant but there had been a few issues along the way’.
His second question, ‘What did we think of Agra as visiting tourists?’. Well, unfortunately for the podcast, not a great deal. We mentioned that it had some nice sights and a nice palace but, on the other hand, it was absolutely covered in litter. The streets were the worst of any other city we had been to. The deep concrete culverts at the edges of the roads were completely full to the brim with plastic and polystyrene. Everywhere we went there were people simply emptying their rubbish out into the street. It was abysmal.
He replied by telling us that the India people actually love litter and that they thrive in it. ‘Do they really though?’ I asked. This was clearly not the interview he was hoping for.
The podcast was terminated and they went back to their expensive beers at the bar whilst we went outside to wade through crisp packets and rat carcasses to catch our taxi.
