First impressions of India

Dr Andy Ashley visited India in February for a series of symposia, organised by the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Chemical Research Society of India (CRSI). He spoke to us about his first impressions of India – the hospitality, the sounds and colours, and of course the food.

In February I travelled to India with three other academics from the UK, for a series of visits and symposia. I was invited to speak at the 13^th RSC-CRSI scientific symposium on the chemical Sciences – designed to bring together senior and early career investigators from both countries and to facilitate research collaborations.

As part of the trip we were also taken to give talks at various institutions in Chennai and Vellore. We were hosted by Rajesh Parishwad, from the Royal Society of Chemistry’s office in India, and the welcome we received from everyone we met was extraordinary.

Monday

We arrived at the airport in Chennai early in the morning, to be greeted with a heady heat, and set off in a taxi for Vellore as the sun was coming up. I’ve never been to a place with such a different culture, and I’ll admit I was a bit nervous.

Our first visit was to a private university called Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), and the ride took about three hours. In our bleary-eyed state all the new sights were almost kaleidoscopic. There were cows walking around, lots of dogs, and lots of people.

The approach to driving and traffic in India is well known, but it was overwhelming to experience it in person – at one point in the journey there was a truck travelling at speed in the opposite direction to us but on the same side of the road. It’s very loud as well, because everyone honks their horns at each other, but after a day or two you completely get used to all of it.

India is an exceptionally diverse country, more so than I was expecting. I was amazed by how vivid the colours were, the sounds and the smells. The food was amazing, and the warmth of the people was matched only by that of the weather. It was sunny and around 31 degrees in February – very welcome after shivering in the UK!

When we got to Vellore we were shown to our guest house and given an amazing meal – the first of many in the country. My favourite food from the trip was Sambar, a kind of tamarind soup. Despite being a rampant carnivore back home, I was surprised to discover just how good vegetarian food can be – to the point where I completely forgot about eating meat.

At VIT we met many of the academics there, and I noticed how many of them were women in senior positions – more so than you would normally find in the UK. It was really pleasing to see.

Educational institutes in India are not allowed to sell alcohol, so VIT was a dry campus – which came as a bit of a shock to some of us! – so that evening Rajesh and another colleague took us to a hotel bar off campus for a drink. En route we had another new experience – travelling in an autorickshaw (known elsewhere as a tuktuk), which was exhilarating to say the least!

Tuesday

In the morning we all gave a talk at VIT, and there was a really impressive turnout – they had pulled out all the stops to welcome us. The symposium was attended by everyone from undergraduates to senior academics.

After the talk we were presented with gifts: brightly coloured shawls (I have to say that mine was the best colour – a vibrant purple-pink – which all the other academics agreed) and trophies!

In the evening we had a delicious rooftop meal, catered by the university, where we met a lot of members of the chemistry department, along with other departments as well.

Wednesday

On Wednesday we returned to Chennai and it was a very different experience from the first time because the jetlag had settled down and we were a lot more awake. By this point I had completely assimilated to accept the organised chaos – everything seemed a lot calmer and I had settled into all the noise.

Chennai was extremely busy and noisy, yet we passed lots of happy bovines plodding along the streets. We stayed in an amazing hotel, with the biggest pool I’ve ever seen in a hotel. As ever the food and hospitality were fantastic.

Thursday

We travelled to the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras to give further talks. Rajesh had tried to arrange visits to institutions with a range of funding levels, and this one appeared to be towards the top of the scale.

Later that evening we attended a discussion forum on UK–Indian collaborations, hosted by Ale Palermo from the Royal Society of Chemistry, followed by a slightly raucous evening in the hotel bar!

Friday

On the Friday we gave another talk at the University of Madras, again to a full house. The chemistry team there took us out for a meal to a restaurant chain with a real family-run feel. Those of us from the UK tried to learn to eat with our hands, which we certainly weren’t very good at!

Saturday

Two students were kind enough to give up their Saturday to take us to a famous historic site outside of Chennai called Mahabalipuram. The temple was amazing, and we also walked on the beach. Yet again there were happy cows everywhere, including one that looked like he’d just built a sandcastle!

I had many apprehensions about visiting India because it’s such a different culture, but I assimilated really quickly. All of us want to go back, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the trip to others.

It’s a great opportunity to get out of your box and gain a perspective on how things can be done differently. A few times I was asked "how do you think we can do this better?" and I would say "actually I think you’re doing it better than we do".

Back home, I managed to set up a collaboration between someone  I met in India, and a colleague of mine at Imperial.

My first trip to India was absolutely amazing, and because it’s such a large and diverse country, there’s so much more to see; it definitely won’t be my last visit. I cannot wait to go back some day!