Sitting in the sunshine in our wild garden surrounded by daffodils in all their brilliant shades of yellow to cream, with the first blossoms on the fruit trees showing, and the continuous bird song whilst they go about the busy business of feeding their young, my thoughts turned to India. Here in lovely Scotland it is a welcome return to Spring in all her glory, but in India it will be very hot by now and the heat will reach intensity before the longed for monsoon returns to quench that ancient land's thirst.

We were back in India last November for a whole month. It was wonderful. For me to return to India is always special, a sort of homecoming to the Land of my birth, and each time there is something new and special that I notice and am so pleased to see. Last year it was the very real progress that is being made to alleviate Delhi's traffic congestion. My goodness it is bad, but with the construction of so many fly over road systems and the mandatory conversion of the auto rickshaws to compressed natural gas, progress is being made. When I visited Mumbai I saw a real difference in the maintenance of the beach area and work going on to renovate the great Victorian architectural landmarks in the city. The real problem for all of India is the plastic detritus from packaging, and carrier bags. I believe Goa is contemplating banning these items, and realistically maybe India's Central Government will have to be really courageous and do it nationwide, despite the plastics lobby!

Please do not think I am being critical without being aware of what is going on here in the West. Litter and non eco friendly detritus is an abomination anywhere, and even here in this gorgeous area of Scotland, that is very under populated, we recognise there is a huge problem. The United Kingdom has been negligent in its attempt to preserve its countryside and insist that its towns and villages recognise their respective responsibilities for preserving their beauty through clean and litter free public areas and streets. Having made mention of this problem I can go on to say that generally, India is making such progress and its tourism industry is eager and willing to welcome more people.

I was there to research my second book which will concentrate on the great wildlife parks and also the wonderful historic sights of Madhya Pradesh - the heart of India. We thus had the opportunity to stay in private homes, five-star hotels, heritage hotels, havelis and game lodges. We travelled by plane, train and chauffeur driven individual transport, plus a few hours here and there by elephant! We had a fantastic trip which will be transformed into the book, along with relevant information pertaining to wildlife conservation and the history of areas visited. Graham saw his first glimpse of 'the snows' when we went up to Naini Tal, and as for tigers, well…. what can I say! I personally had ten tiger sightings and one of leopard; Graham saw a second leopard. Naturally we saw all the other wonderful creatures of the Indian jungle. It is an experience imprinted on my memory and my heart.

India is a safe and welcoming country with a huge diversity of interest for the individual traveller. Be it history, adventure, beach, trekking, wildlife, botany, spirituality or shopping it is all there for you to choose. Sadly there is never enough time in a holiday to fit in all of what takes one fancy. That however should not be a problem, just return for another holiday with a different emphasis and interest.

We have all recently been spectators to a war, the full consequences of which we cannot yet fathom; I do however believe, along with the rest of the travel industry, that any danger to tourists and travellers in this regard is well past. By October, the start of the season for India's tourism industry, all should, God willing, be normality. By then even the threat and complication of SARS should be contained. I do not wish to sound judgemental, but what has happened in China has highlighted that some countries can be very selfish and irresponsible. Hitherto China was reaping huge tourism rewards, which now may have to reinvent their attraction. India to my mind is the sleeping giant of the travel industry if only her Central and State Governments can grasp the opportunity and really help the entrepreneurial private sector. In my discussions with hoteliers and people in the tourism industry they are so eager to move forward. Perhaps the Indian Tourist Board should become more proactive. I have seen some big advertisements recently but the odd A4 advertisement cannot do all the work. It requires people to go and visit and return, and speak highly of a value for money place, or itinerary, in a welcoming country demonstrating its ancient beauty with a warmth and understanding of what the traveller requires for a worthwhile holiday.

Mandu, in Madhya Pradesh would be a very good holiday destination in the monsoon season. It is easily accessed from Mumbai by air to Indore, and then by a car with hired driver, being about 100 km (60 miles) away. A taxi would also be quite suitable, but I always prefer to have my own car and driver for comfort and security, and it is not expensive. The ruined temples and palaces of Mandu, make 'the legends of love in the city of joy' come alive. 300 years ago Mandu, a vast hill fort in Madhya Pradesh was deserted, but 400 years ago it was a flourishing city. It perches on a ravine-ravaged plateau 600m (2000ft) above the surrounding plains. In the monsoon, and shortly after it, the whole place is a vision of ancient stone and the green vegetation that comes to life with the welcome rains. In fact it is a celebration in stone of life and joy; of the love of the poet-prince Baz Bahadur for his beautiful consort, Rani Roopmati. Mandu, with its natural defences, perched along the Vindhyan range was originally the fort-capital of the Parmar rulers of Malwa. Now its two dozen ruined pavilions, palaces and tombs cover 13 sq km (8 sq miles). They were once buried in dense jungle but are now dotted around a landscape that become lush and green every monsoon.

Sir Thomas Roe, the ambassador of King James I of Britain passed through the gate on the Emperor Jahangir's triumphal procession of 500 elephants. It is worth recalling that James I became the king of England exactly 400 years ago, when Queen Elizabeth I died in March 1603. Up until then he had been King James VI of Scotland - 400 years ago the Union of the Scottish and English crowns took place, an anniversary that will be commemorated later this year here in Scotland. The settlement of a few hundred people at Jamestown in Virginia in the New World, now known as the United Sates of America only took place in 1607. The Dutch East India Company received its charter in 1602. Now centuries later the visitor to Mandu can take about three days discovering the ancient splendours of the place, and at the same time have a relaxing break. The sacred river Narmada flows serenely in the valley and I think is truly one of India's most beautiful rivers in its 800 mile (1000km) journey westward to the Arabian Sea. Mandu has a mix of monuments, there is the Rewa Kund Group, and then the Nilkanth, which is the sacred shrine to Shiva in a magnificent setting at the very edge of a steep gorge, and then quite close by is the Nilkanth Mahal. The latter belongs to the Mughal era as this was the palace constructed by the Mughal governor Shah Badgah Khan for Emperor Akbar's Hindu wife. Truly there is so much to see and appreciate. Information and details can be found on the Madhya Pradesh tourism site: www.mptourism.com

Ajanta and Ellora caves have both been seriously renovated. There is now optical fibre lighting so one can see quite clearly the whole beauty of each place, but without damaging the antiquities from a hot light source. These are again very easily reached by plane from Mumbai to Aurangabad. The Jet Airways flight is direct, or was. The historic caves at Ajanta are 110 km (64 miles) away and Ellora only 30 km (20 miles). Again I would advise a hired car with driver. Twenty years ago both these cave sights were very popular tourist destinations but interest waned and I think people found the attractions were not sufficiently maintained. Now however the recent renovations have added to their attraction, and both the Welcomgroup and the The Taj Group have a hotel at Aurangabad. I am not a spokesperson for Jet Airways, but in my considerable experience as a world wide traveller I rate it seriously as an airline in efficiency, service and comfort and ..it is an important and! Punctuality. I used this airline on my last trip to India.

Please consider a holiday in India; I am confident that you will be rewarded for your choice by a fun, 'battery recharging', and inspirational few weeks. When you come to depart and your hosts say 'phir melengi' which can be translated in Scots to 'haste ye back' you will agree and already be thinking of how to plan - the next holiday. Take care.

Aline Dobbie May 2003 This article is the copyright of Aline Dobbie

Happy elephant, happy Aline and Graham on her back!

This is the time of year when people begin to plan their forthcoming holidays in India during the autumn and winter season, when once again the sun is not an enemy and the rains have hopefully come and departed, leaving a clean, washed and refreshed land awaiting its visitors.

This time last year we were doing the same thing and elected to do a research trip lasting a month, in my case, to discover the beauties and attractions of the various big wildlife parks. I decided to visit Ranthambhore, Bandavgarh, Kanha and Corbett. I have long ago visited others in the South but recently we concentrated on those in central India. Let me say quite simply that the time spent in these wild and wonderful places was so worthwhile and the memories gained, Graham, my husband and I will treasure for ever.

Bandavgarh Park's beautiful elephant grass

Each park has its own specific attractions in terms of topography and flora and fauna for one to see. All of them have that intrinsic beauty of a wild special place with peace and tranquillity. Ranthambhore must be very beautiful when the rains have been and the lakes are full, but sadly on our visit and indeed, just now it must be struggling to survive in the current drought and heat. This is an ongoing problem for the park authorities and all of us who care about the conservation of animals in that area. Bandavgarh was however looking beautiful. By mid November the elephant grass is in flower and looks quite superb, a sea of waving white and silvery plumes in a jungle savannah with a herd of chital deer grazing and the call of the peacock in the morning sunlight is sublime. It requires one to be on the lookout and alert to spot the signs of the big predators and then the urgency is there… the driver and naturalist become very excited, the anticipation mounts and with supreme good fortune perhaps one sees tiger, or leopard, or bear. For us tracking a tigress on elephant back was an ultimate thrill. We had ten sightings of tiger and two of leopard in our last trip in three parks, plus plenty of encounters with all the other denizens of the Indian jungle.

My advice is however, go to see everything. Be it a tiny owl sitting in a tree winking at you in the sunshine, or a Sambar stag stately in his caution, or a herd of wild pig quietly drinking at a water hole, enjoy and marvel at them all. Wild elephant at Corbett and Nagarhole are magnificent, but even being on elephant back for a three hour ride is wonderful. A sort of stately ship on land just firmly ploughing through the undergrowth and wading across wide shallow pools where the mahawat knows it is safe to walk, is a perfect way to see, and be seen. Believe me, if you do not see tiger, be sure he will have seen you and may even play games with you. In Corbett there was no doubt by the evidence of the fresh pug marks that a tiger was tracking us as we were reciprocating. The frustration was that he succeeded where we did not!

India has the highest number of migratory bird species of any country in the world. Go to Keoladeo Bird Sanctuary, it is one of the world's great sanctuaries situated near Bharatpur, which is just inside the border of Rajasthan. The best viewing times are very early in the morning and late afternoon. No motorised transport is allowed inside the park so one either walks, or more sensibly hires bicycles or is carried in a cycle rickshaw. Our rickshaw wallah was so knowledgeable and fun to be with and I wrote of him in my book India: The Peacock's Call. The bird sanctuary can be comfortably included in an itinerary along with the sublime Taj Mahal, Fatehpur Sikri and a visit to Deeg, which is very close to the sanctuary. Deeg is a little visited palace of the Maharajahs of Bharatpur but so interesting because of the vision of its architect. All this is in my book. I would recommend travelling by train to Agra and picking up a driver and car. Alternatively, one can fly to Agra from Delhi.

Tigress resting as seen from elephant back

Kanha is considered to be the king of the parks and one can understand why, it is huge and very well maintained. We were very fortunate and also saw a tigress from elephant back there and my photograph encapsulates that moment which was amazing for us all. Kanha requires some dedication to get to as it is truly in the heart of India and thus so interesting. Sadly Madhya Pradesh has still to work very hard to upgrade the roads. The easiest way to reach Kanha is to travel by train to Jabalpur from Mumbai, Kolkatta or Delhi, and be met by a driver and car for the three hour onward journey. It is worth it and we had some of our happiest experiences with Tara, the world famous elephant who belongs to Mark Shand, the author who is famous for the book Travels on my Elephant. Tara now lives permanently at Kipling Camp where we stayed, and thus we were able to share in her daily bathing ritual in the Banjari River close to camp. Again, this was one of the great thrills of my life and fortunately my photography was successful. Tara is a huge animal, but to see her wallowing in the river and behaving like a toddler in the bath and refusing to come out when the mahawat beckoned was so good. The gentle afternoon sunlight shone on the great animal as she plunged and sprayed herself, as we sat nearby on a boulder and then, when persuaded to come out on to the sandy bank, we were 'allowed' to scrub her and pat her in the shallow water. She loved my rings and with the gentleness and delicacy of a small person kept feeling them with the tips of her trunk which act like an index finger and thumb for her whilst lying on her side in the water. I loved her and stroked her ears and gently scrubbed her trunk with a brush, her eyelashes are about two inches long… and then her ladyship ambled out ponderously on to a boulder and stood on three feet, using her trunk to wield a twig with which she sort of achieved a pedicure, but really it looked like a pachyderm manicure, just requiring nail varnish! After her bath when she was fully dry from the sun's rays she was saddled up with the howdah and we returned to camp on her back, a truly beautiful experience. Happy elephant happy travellers!

Tara the elephant soaking in the river

All these lovely experiences are there for you also to enjoy, but it is a sobering thought that an increasingly urban existence is led by vast populations the world over and thus we have to educate the average man and woman that 'the wild' is of vital importance to us all - the majority of people have lost touch with 'the wild' in the entire developed world. Solutions considered by conservationists a decade or two ago will not necessarily work today because of the 10s of millions increase in population. That we all know applies to India. In my lifetime the same landmass now is home to 600 million more people than when I was born in Uttar Pradesh.

There are 500 national parks and wild places in India, but in the long run unless there is a more integrated conservation policy these will be substantially subsumed by population pressure. It requires us all to be proactive and help exert pressure on expedient politicians to ensure these wonderful wild places are conserved and enhanced, so that the tiger, emblematic of India, a glorious animal, is allowed to live in the wild and thrive, admittedly not in the numbers it once did.

Tara allowing Aline to help bathe her

Now apparently it is not fashionable to recall Gandhiji's tenets for living, but I am a child of independence and he will always continue to inspire me with his ideals. He said 'The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated'. He also said 'All creatures have an equal right to live on this earth'.

Please go and see all this wonder for yourselves, enjoy the very Heart of India, and when you are back and standing at a bus stop, or waiting to catch a train, in the grey pouring rain of a winter's morning, be cheerful, remember you have been and seen some of the world's most wonderful animals - Gandhiji also said if we all do a little then we shall achieve a lot. Let us all play our part in conserving the tiger and his habitat in India. Enjoy yourselves and take care.

Aline Dobbie

This article is the copyright of Aline Dobbie as are the photographs accompanying it. June 2003

In August my thoughts inevitably turn to India, it being the anniversary of Indian Independence, and I was born within the same twelve months. Looking back at India I am also in a way reviewing my own life. This time however there is poignancy for me personally, activated by a sharp clear memory.

Awakening on 15th August with the gentle sounds of Classic FM on the radio, as I contemplated the promise of another beautiful day, the tempo changed and a tenor was singing O Solo Mio - the lovely old Italian song. There, in my visual memory was the young Rajiv Gandhi laughing; he and I were on an Air India 707 awaiting take off from Mumbai (then Bombay) International Airport, - it was 1961. We were teenagers, Rajiv must have been about seventeen, and I was fourteen and returning to school after a holiday. Rajiv presumably was going to investigate his potential university career at Cambridge. There were a lot of young people on that plane and the chatter and laughter of carefree youth not even thinking of what our respective destinies would hold. O Solo Mio was playing on the aircraft's sound system prior to takeoff.

Destiny can seem a histrionic word in as much as one person's destiny is another person's life struggle. Rajiv Gandhi's destiny was tragic, but my life continues, God willing, stable and secure. Life has from time to time been challenging, painful, sad, happy and contented - that is usually the way for us all.

Now let us consider India's destiny, recalling that her first prime minister's immortal words were '…..a tryst with destiny…' How sad that 56 years later one continually reads of, or sees on the news, the appalling acts of religious intolerance and bigotry. Throughout history whenever a people have persecuted others for their beliefs and culture, invariably their own beliefs and pride have been diminished and reviled. Intolerance just breeds intolerance; we have seen it here in Britain, and to this day here in beautiful Scotland there are still the 'saplings of racism, religious bigotry and a peculiar ability to have a collective chip on the shoulder'. Some would say that is the result of being a small and rather introspective nation, which until recently was subsumed into the nation known as Great Britain. Bad habits die hard and elements of Scotland continually return to whining when something goes wrong but never conceding that it might be their own fault and thus our own Scottish collective responsibility.

India however is justifiably proud in being the world's largest democracy, now embarking confidently on its 21st century journey as a prosperous global power. It seems to me to have shed its mantle of saintly third world developing country. Indians in their energy and enthusiasm are whenever possible embracing the modern world and I think India is going to be the giant of this century; indeed Indian expertise in so many scientific fields is immense and most particularly in the IT industry. Huge international companies are urgently investing their economic futures in India, and generally the benefits to India herself outweigh any negative issues. This will all continue only if the country as a whole has the discipline, courage and generosity of spirit to understand its own dilemma.

Let there be respect for all religions and a tolerance and respect for the respective cultures therein, providing of course they do not in any way demean individuals or harm humanity. Gandhiji tried to show India and indeed the watching world that one is able to take the good from every religion and meld it to give one spiritual comfort. Some would say, No! That has no integrity; so be it. Some require the purity and austerity of a single mantra and doctrine. But in no worthwhile belief or philosophy is there a directive to hate, torture, rape, terrorise, subjugate or kill one's fellow human beings. How many times fanatics in every belief have twisted doctrines to achieve cruel ends, but that is all man made and self serving, as we are witnessing elsewhere in the world, and now tragically again in India.

To have a pride in the nation's Hindu Heritage seems eminently sensible and desirable. Constructive pride leads to benevolent behaviour whereas destructive fervour and hate leads to a downward spiral.

Please, India and the great worldwide Indian Diaspora, ensure that your country does not implode with hatred and destruction; the birth of Independent India was accompanied by tragedy and we do not need to see it re-enacted for the horrified eyes of our grandchildren.

This does however require people to be civic minded and not feel that they can continue to enrich their personal lives but leave the welfare of the nation to someone else. Inevitably, the resulting moral vacuum will be filled by someone who has a greed for power and self aggrandisement, usually with psychopathic tendencies as a characteristic. The twentieth century was full of leaders like that both in the West and the East. Africa as a continent continues to display some of the worst features of humanity when people accrue total power and dispense with democracy.

India should be a permanent member of the Security Council of the United Nations, and I know that there is currently a huge lobby seeking to achieve this with which I agree, but were there to be further sectarian violence and killing that would become an empty achievement.

Beloved Bharat, Land of my birth your Destiny is to be a shining beacon of religious pluralism and democratic diversity. Display the strength and wisdom borne of your antiquity, withstand the temptation to retaliate, but display courage, tolerance and above all, control. May everyone's God bless you.

Aline Dobbie

This article remains the copyright of Aline Dobbie

Today as I write this article I cannot but think of all those who have fallen in conflict, it is after all Armistice Day. Annually here in Britain we honour the Fallen of two world wars and countless other conflicts that have taken place in the last century and sadly now, in this century.

Yet a couple of weeks ago Diwali was the cause for celebration and a feeling of renewal; the festival of light has now become so widely recognised that even the White House wanted to be seen to be participating. That is wonderful really in that it demonstrates to the world that India's Hindu culture has reached the four corners of the globe and that Diwali is worthy of everyone's recognition.

Out of the two annual rituals Diwali came into my conscience first as a tiny child in Monghyr in India's state of Bihar. Now Bihar has shed its southern areas to the new state of Jharkand. In my childhood Diwali was pure delight with houses completely lit up by the candles in little clay pots. Last year whilst we were in Delhi we were able to go through this timeless ritual at Tikli Bottom, when staying with our good friends the Howards. On a calm evening as the light faded into dark, the birds started to roost the sky had a few stars and we looked for the New Moon of Diwali. Graham and Martin were busy lighting the little oil lamps but a slight breeze mischievously blew them out and the men would start patiently again! Perhaps this year Martin used a more modern form of light. Yet when the darkness came we stood at the doorway to Tikli with Martin and Annie and the grandchildren of the housekeeper and waited for the goddess Lakshmi to enter in. I realised that I had not had the good fortune to celebrate Diwali in India for exactly 40 years - it was so good to be back.

However material and brash and glitzy it becomes the Festival should be kept alive in one's heart as a chance for a new beginning, hope, family togetherness, kindness to one and all. For me of course those could be the adjectives to describe Christmas, which is another universal celebration, but to us Christians should be a time for spiritual commitment and joy in the symbol of new life. This year we will have the good fortune to celebrate Christmas in India in Goa; now that will be truly something special I am confident.

But for the hundreds of thousands, indeed millions who have died in war they never had the opportunity again to rejoice in Christmas or celebrate Diwali. Their annual ritual is to be a name or a face in the period of Remembrance. A strange thought for me is that circumstances conspired that a sombre reflective ritual should be sandwiched between two that increasingly grow in fantasy and flash. We are told that though the survivors of the First War are so very old now and few and far between, and even the Second War's veterans are in their last decades, that as a people we are still very conscious of the great debt we owe them all. Young people appear to have a great respect for the War Dead, possibly because television brings home the ugly truth right into one's sitting room courtesy of documentaries and fiction. This is a good thing obviously but how sad and odd it has been that it took so long for the West to recognise the supreme sacrifice made by so many from the East.

Being a soldier's daughter it was always there in the back of my mind once I grew old enough to be taught about these things. However, when I studied history at school the Great War as it was called was still not yet on the GCE syllabus. Modern History had not yet become a recognised subject, so for our generation of' baby boomers' there was a huge gap between the zenith of the British imperial empire of 1911 and the 1950s and 1960s. One only learnt about it through personal research unless of course undertaking a history or politics degree. Yet two cataclysmic events so shook the world and changed the paths of huge nations.

By the end of the First World War 1,100,000 people from British India - now India, Pakistan and Bangladesh - had served overseas, at a cost of 60,000 dead. Some 9,200 such soldiers won decorations, including 11 VCs. In the Second World War the Indian Army had two and a half million men, the largest volunteer army the world has ever seen. And 87,000 died for us. There have been 20 different conflicts since the Second World War in which people have paid the ultimate sacrifice, just as has happened in Iraq this year.

It was such a good thing that last Remembrance Season The Memorial Gates in Hyde Park to the Commonwealth War Dead were dedicated by HM The Queen to give us all a lasting tangible reminder of that huge sacrifice. This project was the brainchild of Baroness Shrila Flather who made it a five-year project to raise funds for this monument and committed herself to the huge task of raising the funds. Now this year we have seen HM The Queen unveiling the Memorial to all the Australian Forces who died. Both were so long overdue.

Diwali this year for us was a quiet affair but no less enjoyable. Having been inspired by last year's experience in India I bought some tea lights and lit a path of them in our porch to shine into the night. It was a cold Scottish night but the wind was absent and the little lights shone like beacons past my bedtime. We had the opportunity to eat mithai and reminisce. Now the shops are filling up with all things Christmassy and some trees and street decorations are already up and twinkling away and people are beginning to think of shopping and hospitality and family gatherings. I think it is rather sad really; it all starts too early because it allows commerce to exploit the sentiment and ritual. By the time the day arrives huge numbers of people will be depressed, exhausted and burnt out. Hopefully the nation's children will still enjoy it in their innocence, but I doubt that lasts above the age of five years these days. The spiritual content of Christmas appears to be receding yearly and indeed many have dispensed with that part of the festival entirely.

Just occasionally though something or someone lifts one's heart and rekindles the flame of kindness, tolerance, brotherhood and family unity, and it can happen in the strangest of ways. Our lives are so busy these days that people do not have the time for reflection and self analysis that spirituality is in fact designed to give one. But, stop, listen or look and it can happen. A small child will sing away to himself 'Away in a manger….' completely oblivious to the onlooker, or an elderly person over a cup of tea will start to recollect their youth and how it was in those days, pause and listen to them. A new recipe will be given prominence in the press and inspire another attempt at Christmas cake or fifty ways to cook a turkey. Each time one has to try and find that essence of the season and then sometimes something quite odd and moving can happen and lift up one's heart.

In December 1999 as a family we had been through a challenging time and as we drove to the midnight service in our little Kirk at Culter it was dark and windy, but quite clear. The country road is narrow and winding with fields right up to the edge of the road; we came round a corner and there the car's headlights picked up what looked like a thousand lights, but in fact it was the eyes of the sheep, sitting in a field resting from their endless munching of grass. It was a fleeting experience but it took my mind back to the Christmas story of the first Christmas when the shepherds were visited by an angel in the fields whilst they watched their sheep; having heard the news they left to pay homage to the light of the world born to a man and a woman in a stable in Bethlehem.

It was strangely moving to be transported back to the origins of the Christian story, and what were we doing? We were travelling to the Kirk to give thanks for the Christ Child, two thousand years later close to midnight in a northern cold land far from Bethlehem. Our ritual and singing and greeting of each and everyone would cement the timeless feel of Christmas morning with its age old opportunity for renewal, tolerance, respect and giving love and fellowship. In the Hindu belief you have this opportunity at Diwali too.

When I am in Goa this year at midnight service I will think of home and light a candle for family happiness and love and unity and very probably look around me and find something new and wonderful that will act as an inspiration. Take care of yourselves.

Aline Dobbie

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