Digging around the internet for Muziris-related information I was suddenly struck by the lack of anything about the Fort Koch-Muziris Biennale. The last one, in 2012, was a great success, but this year the event, due to start in December, is not out there yet. The biennale web site has artist interviews and reports of the 2012 event, but there is no programme. The link on the website is an impressive, completely blank page, no headers or information..
I shall probably be in Kochi in February and may catch the last of the exhibitions. It is probably the usual last-minute dash of Indian planning, but I feel uneasy on behalf of the international audience and exhibitors who should know by now what they are exhibiting and where. It is no small thing to mount an art exhibition at home, let alone a flight away. After the last success it would be sad to see this going the way of all tourist initiatives in Kerala, lots of hot air, a great launch and fanfare and then a slow sink into obscurity.
Phase Two of the Spice Trail, taking in the Muziris Heritage Project was launched in February with the creation of a new government company to oversee its development. That gives me a sinking feeling in my stomach too. Again, the web is mostly silent on current developments, apart from the usual "there will be" statements about new boat jetties etc. The original sites are being promoted, but the interesting developments are those by private individuals taking advantage of the heritage concept and creating their own spice trails within the state. There is so much to see that this may well serve the interests of "heritage" and tourism in the state far more effectively than the grandiose, stalled state projects.
Thursday 28 August 2014
Monday 18 August 2014
The joys of the road trip
Every trip we took to India seemed to be a road trip. The distances are sometimes not huge, but the time taken to get from A to B is stretched out by the state of the roads and the mass of other vehicles trying to prevent your progress. Indian roads are renowned for their lethality, lack of rules and general anarchy and we experienced this every time we landed. Once you have acclimatised to the prevailing culture of trusting to whatever god you have faith in, a journey by car is a delight of strange sights and happenings and the time goes quickly.
A source of entertainment is always the other road users. The horror show of whole families belting along a major road on one motorcycle, with the baby balanced on the handlebars soon loses its nerve-racking shock value and the novelty of the various types of vehicle provides an amusing backdrop to the endless tarmac. That is if you have tarmac on your particular road.
Buses, lorries, autorickshaws, jeeps, cars, trucks, motorcycles, bicycles and bullock carts all go about their frenetic daily tasks. These are some of my favourite transport photographs.
A source of entertainment is always the other road users. The horror show of whole families belting along a major road on one motorcycle, with the baby balanced on the handlebars soon loses its nerve-racking shock value and the novelty of the various types of vehicle provides an amusing backdrop to the endless tarmac. That is if you have tarmac on your particular road.
Buses, lorries, autorickshaws, jeeps, cars, trucks, motorcycles, bicycles and bullock carts all go about their frenetic daily tasks. These are some of my favourite transport photographs.
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| The sleeping cart driver |
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| Electioneering- make sure your voice is heard! |
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| The daily commute |
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| I was waiting for this man to take off! |
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| Camel rides |
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| Pig on a bike |
Monday 11 August 2014
Whatever next?
Now that I actually have the book in paperback form the question arises, what next? I never wrote the thing to get it read, particularly, but now it is out there I feel I ought to do something to let people know there is yet another travel / history book about India for them to enjoy.
Publishing was hard enough, but marketing is yet another new game to play and one with which I am not exactly comfortable.
I recently had the experience of sitting in a room with several acquaintances who enthused over the fact that I had written a book. Some of them had been to South India and were genuinely interested, but others seemed to think that writing a lot of words was an achievement in itself. All very embarrassing!
The dreaded Amazon gives many tips and articles on marketing, all of which hinge around having reviews on the site. I think that is going to be a very slow process. It is not a short book and most of the people who have bought it so far (thank you friends!) as far as I can tell, may not necessarily have bought or read yet another travel / history book about India. They have bought it because they know me.
I feel as though I have stripped off in public. I really wouldn't mind severe or negative reviews, I don't think, as long as they were honest. No reviews at all is really scary. Letting it sink without trace is such a relaxing idea!
Publishing was hard enough, but marketing is yet another new game to play and one with which I am not exactly comfortable.
I recently had the experience of sitting in a room with several acquaintances who enthused over the fact that I had written a book. Some of them had been to South India and were genuinely interested, but others seemed to think that writing a lot of words was an achievement in itself. All very embarrassing!
The dreaded Amazon gives many tips and articles on marketing, all of which hinge around having reviews on the site. I think that is going to be a very slow process. It is not a short book and most of the people who have bought it so far (thank you friends!) as far as I can tell, may not necessarily have bought or read yet another travel / history book about India. They have bought it because they know me.
I feel as though I have stripped off in public. I really wouldn't mind severe or negative reviews, I don't think, as long as they were honest. No reviews at all is really scary. Letting it sink without trace is such a relaxing idea!
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