Let's start with Akola, Maharashtra State, in the south of India which is where the ill-fat
ed Raj Mahal Circus was playing (see yesterday's post). I looked very hard when I was there to see anything that was remotely interesting either aesthetically or historically. To no avail. But if you happen to pass through by ill chance I would steer well clear of "The Venus International Hotel". You can spot it by the very grim concrete toadstools that are sprouting from flower beds outside its front windows. Even more tacky is the relief sculpture to be found b
ehind reception. After you've checked in you'll find that the sculpture foreshadows even worse to come. In spite of the "International" name in its title the hotel doesn't offer international phone calls so when I was there I couldn't phone home to Nepal. The restaurant is geared for a vegan diet so cautious omnivores can't even opt for one of the safer dietary bets in India, the plain omelette for breakfast. The greatest horror though is that the hotel doesn't serve alcohol in spite of the wine glasses that appear enticingly in the aforementioned relief sculpture. The only consolation I could take from the long hours spent on the circus rescue at the end of last week was the small amount of residual time that was left to me to spend at the hotel.I suppose there's not much chance of you passing through Akola (and I expect less so now after reading this post) however if you travel to India it's hard to avoid visiting Delhi airport. I
t is a real mess at the moment as the airport is being rebuilt to a grandiose design. Signboards everywhere request the visitor's understanding of any inconvenience with the promise of a better tomorrow. I remain unconvinced by this prospect as in spite of an improvement in airport infrastructure the problem will remain of the facilities being continued to be used by Air India. The ineptitude of Air India beggars belief. On the return trip from Akola I took a domestic flight with them from Nagpur to Delhi before connecting with the onward flight to Kathmandu. My suitcase was delivered to me absolutely soaked through. When I complained to the head of the baggage handlers (the highly indifferent, unblinking Ms Sangeeta Bawa) she told me that this was a result of heavy rain. It's not 
as if the monsoon is an unexpected arrival in this part of the world, but aside from that point of detail, I asserted that the state of my luggage was because Air India had failed to care for it properly in the inclement weather. She refused to accept this, but the picture I took shortly afterwards (right) of Air India baggage handlers operating in the pouring rain shows who was right and who was being downright dishonest.I can't get too upset about damage to material things - although you will be relieved to learn that my suitcase seemed to dry out satisfactorily in the end. What bothers me is the indifference shown by people like the baggage handlers and Ms Bawa to their fellows. While I have come across many fantastic people in India (some were with me on the rescue mission) there seem at times to be many more who don't give two hoots about anyone else in that populous society. That is not far removed from the mentality of the trafficker and for that matter of those who elect to do nothing to right the wrongs of society. While this mentality remains extant those of us who are fighting trafficking will continue to do so as part of an uphill battle.
