The White Tiger, Discount Airlines, and Yoga

Our first day in New Delhi, I picked up a new book in the hotel bookstore. Turned out that the author was awarded the Booker Prize the very next day and now the book is sold out throughout Delhi. "The White Tiger" by Aravind Agida is a novel about how the old traditions of India clash with the new realities of modern India. It is funny, sad, inspirational, and controversial. It is available in the U.S. next week. I recommend reading it.

India has been flooded with discount airlines to compete against the state-owned airline, Air India. Jet Airlines, Kingfisher, GoAir, Indian Airlines, Air Deccan, IndiGo, and several others are all trying to capture the business of the exploding middle class and business travelers. Unfortunately, most of them are going belly up due to high fuel prices and too many players in the market. Looks like only the merging Jet and Kingfisher will survive. And both of them are laying off hundreds of employees and cutting back their schedules. We flew Jet to and from Varanasi. Very comparable to most U.S. airlines, but the airports are totally third world and in need of complete makeovers.

I took an hour long yoga lesson on Friday while Caren did a walking tour of the old city of Varanasi. Went thru a lot of breathing and stretching exercises. This could be very good for my golf game.

It is very difficult to make rational sense of Varanasi. Many people have cellphones, yet a lot of homes lack running water. Political candidates are all promising to provide sewers, fresh water, and better education - but you know what happens to the promises of politicians. There are many people forced to sleep on the street, but the streets are choked with traffic (including numerous cows). Bottom line - Varanasi will likely look the same 10 years from now as it does today.

We are back in Delhi for one night and tomorrow we head to Jodhpur for the start of bicycling.