Travel Fearlessly in India: Enjoying India Guides
By JD Viharini
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About this ebook
EMPOWER YOURSELF TO FEEL SAFE IN INDIA!
Are you worried about traveling in India? Don't be! Imagine yourself fearlessly exploring the amazing markets of Mumbai, strolling the narrow lanes of Old Delhi, roaming the ghats of Varanasi, riding a camel across the Thar Desert, wandering the hills of Rishikesh, trekking in the high Himalayas or relaxing on a houseboat in Kerala's fabulous backwaters. With the confidence that you know how to stay safe, you are ready to enjoy the best that India has to offer! Go for it!
Knowledge is power—and this is knowledge you can't afford to be without if you are a woman traveling in India, whether you are going solo or with others.
Learn about:
• the essentials of personal safety
• the cultural issues relating to women's safety in India and other South Asian countries
• how non-Indian women are perceived and the challenges we may face
• why India is actually safer for visitors than Indian women
• how to minimize and deflect sexual harassment
• strategies for dealing with various potential situations and problems that might (but probably won't) arise.
"Ongoing media reports of incidents related to women's safety in India, and the concerns they give rise to, mean that accurate and comprehensive information about the issue is invaluable more than ever. Travel Fearlessly in India, What Every Woman Should Know About Personal Safety serves this purpose for foreigners visiting India. It's a must-read book that will empower you to explore India confidently. Even if you've already been to India, or are planning to stay a while, you'll learn something from this very insightful and helpful resource." — Sharell Cook, author of Henna for the Broken Hearted, and India travel contributor/expert for Tripsavvy.
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Travel Fearlessly in India - JD Viharini
FOREWORD
When I first came to India as a tourist in 2000, I was more concerned about getting sick or being scammed than rape or sexual harassment. I researched Indian culture thoroughly before my trip, took precautions, and made sure I dressed in a conservative and smart manner. I was generally treated respectfully and, much to my surprise, even complimented on my attire. However, these days, a growing number of negative media reports about incidents of sexual violence and misconduct in India have created overwhelming safety fears in women’s minds.
Personally, I don’t feel that India is unsafe for foreign women. It’s uncomfortable at times, yes, but not particularly unsafe. Yet, lack of awareness and understanding of Indian culture often unwittingly make foreign women a target of it.
I’ve lived in India since 2005 and have explored much of the country during the course of my work, writing and managing the content for About.com’s India travel website. I’m also married to an Indian man. This has given me some excellent insights into Indian culture. Nevertheless, it’s taken me years to unravel it -- and I’m still learning! There are major differences in the way men and women interact Foreword
in India compared to the west, and the ways I’ve had to adapt my dress and behavior don’t come naturally, but are necessary.
Rather than minimizing India’s issues and focusing only on the positives, as some writers tend to do, I believe the key is to have realistic expectations and unbiased information. Know what you’re likely to encounter and how to deal with it! This will remove fear and give you confidence.
Hence, a practical book about Indian culture is an invaluable resource for foreign women when visiting India. And, I can’t think of a better person to write such a book than J D Viharini, a single American woman who’s been living in India for more than a decade. She visited India for the first time in 1980 and since then has extensively throughout most of the country by herself, using all modes and classes of transportation, and staying in all types of accommodations (from Ritz to the pits,
as she says). Not only does she know what it’s like to travel solo as a foreign woman, she’s developed great insight into Indian culture and how the country functions at all levels.
I greatly admire how J D Viharini has integrated herself into Indian society, and the way she shares the vastness and diversity of her experiences. Her life in India has not been insular. She’s spent time staying with traditional Indian families and in poor villages. As a result, she’s developed a profound and deep understanding of India and Indian culture, which is reflected in her book.
Women’s safety is a sensitive topic, and as J D Viharini pertinently points out, unfortunately quite a few people have the idea that cultural requirements of modesty are a justification for victim-blaming.
It’s easy to underestimate the importance of dress and respect in Indian culture, especially when Indian women can frequently be seen wearing shorts, skirts, and sleeveless tops in major Indian cities. However, as the book explains in detail, this does not reflect the values of the conservative majority.
Travel Fearlessly in India, What Every Woman Should Know About Personal Safety is a remarkably comprehensive, sensible, and astute book that’s packed full of perceptive information, tips and strategies. It covers everything from the mindsets of Indian men and how they conduct themselves to what you need to do if you have to go to the police. It’s a book every female should read, and re-read, before traveling to India.
— Sharell Cook
India Travel Specialist for Tripsavvy and author of Henna for the Broken Hearted
PREFACE
When I first considered publishing an update to the first edition of my book Travel Fearlessly in India, I estimated that maybe I would modify something like 10–20 percent of the content. I ended up rewriting almost the whole book. Although not so much has changed since I wrote the first edition of Travel Fearlessly in India, my perspective has shifted a bit and I’ve found better ways of expressing what I want to get across.
You may notice that I put a lot of emphasis on cultural factors. That’s because understanding and respecting the cultures we are traveling in is essential when in a country as different from our own as India is, for reasons of safety, as well as for enjoyment and education. If we are encumbered by prejudices about those who are not like us in some way—we tend to be fearful when confronted by them. Being in a foreign country exposes us to differences we probably wouldn’t encounter at home, and this tends to wear away our prejudices. As the prejudices die away, we feel less fear.
So many of us have grown up with prejudices inherited from our families or communities. As if that’s not bad enough, there are many fear-mongers fanning the flames of bigotry and prejudice for their own purposes. But the reality is that we don’t have to be terrified of life outside of our own country or familiar environment. We don’t need to fear people just because they seem different.
Exposing ourselves to new cultures gradually helps us become more tolerant as we meet people who don’t conform to our prejudices—and the reality is that most people don’t. Many Americans, for instance, have a strong prejudice about and fear of Muslims. I’ve gotten over that because the count- less Muslims I’ve encountered in the course of my travels generally do not fit the usual stereotypes. Most Muslims I know are peace-loving, decent people who happen to have different beliefs. I’ve never met any who