The Indian Government is considering going back to putting flesh-eating turtles in the Ganges, because decomposing corpses keep surfacing and the overall pollution is unbelievable. See the kind of crap religion gets you into ?
13
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Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.I have been hearing how contaminated the Ganges is for about 60 years now...world's largest latrine,
AnneWimsey
Level 9
Sep 11, 2020
0
The flies will not be happy, but they can’t vote so...
indirect76
Level 7
Sep 10, 2020
2
In the mid-70s, I met a guy who had just motorcycled from India to Europe on his way back to Norway (man, he had some stories) and when he was in Delhi, he told me they were building a huge office building, sq. block size, multi-storied. Hundreds of workers were scurring around and performing tons of tasks that would have been mechanized in the West (such as using ropes and pullies to pull large things up). On one side was where hopeful job applicants lined up. It was 100 plus degrees. Small boys did walk through selling cups of water, but he told me, it was obviously not enough. The other side was where the bodies were taken of men who had died of heat stroke. He watched as three bodies out of the approximately 1000 laborers were brought out and wrapped up. He could not believe his eyes. That story of India always stuck with me.
yamaha45701
Level 7
Sep 10, 2020
3
Awful! I remember their scaffolding looked like that I saw in China, Egypt and other African nations...as if it had been put up with tinker toys and chopsticks.
Humans destroying the environment again for their primitive beliefs and their egregious idiocy.
skeptic70
Level 7
Sep 10, 2020
4
Also the lack of belief and respect for nature! Humans destroy everything. Minds body and soul. Which creates destroying life and nature itself. Scientist that destroy the natural part of life and food. No matter what humans destroy because they just don't care and everyone wants to push their beliefs and force everyone to believe like them. It is killing us all.
Friends, enamored for nearly a lifetime over the charms of India, were appalled … as I drove them home from their recent trip. Air pollution, everywhere and at every elevation. Congestion from overpopulation, extreme, rampant poverty, and a pitiful state of human existence ..I doubt they’ll ever go back…
Varn
Level 8
Sep 10, 2020
2
Right! While in India, I walked barefoot into temples, ate from street carts and thoroughly enjoyed everything....EXCEPT that, after I saw river-side cremations, where everything left over is shoved into the water and people downstream are bathing....I decided NOT to ''cleanse'' myself in the Ganges! People there must have amazingly robust immune systems! If they had composting toilets....if they had enough room to reinstate the old "Towers of Silence" (areas where bodies are exposed for vultures to pick them clean) and enough money to build infrastructure...
Interesting how people whose religious faith is this strong can convince themselves that those turds floating in the river will be ''cleansed'' by the river.
If you ever have the chance to visit India.....PLEASE DO SO! Yes, it's poor. Yes, sometimes it seems almost hopeless. But...the people, the colors, the joy they seem to take in life....and the FOOD....it's an amazing experience!
LucyLoohoo
Level 9
Sep 10, 2020
5
Varn:
As I mentioned above, friends, having spent a month there just prior to viral lockdown found it appalling! Having experienced both the streets, neighborhoods, and several temples, the kindest folks I know ..had nothing positive to share about it during our 4 hour drive home from an international airport. They were not angry, but shellshocked..
@Varn Many people have questioned my impressions and India tested my attitudes. BUT...poverty is a constant in the world and we cannot compare nations we visit to our own. There are tourists and there are travelers. Tourists take photos of horrible toilets, refuse to eat local food, insist on elegant hotels and never really ''see'' a country because they can't get past the poverty/pollution.
Travelers think of poverty as a chain-link fence. The poverty's there, yes...but, if we want to really SEE, we have to look THROUGH the fence and engage with the beauty behind it.
I saw women in gloriously-colored saris, selling cow-dung cakes they'd shaped and dried, for use as cooking fuel. They chatted and giggled and were obviously having a good time. I saw barefoot children playing soccer in the dusty streets, full of joy and noisy vitality. I saw historical marvels and felt so much AWE at what people have built there. The music and the dancing and the ceremonies (you really MUST attend an Indian wedding--I insist) and the traffic (an absolutely stunning mix of camels, elephants, cows, motorcycles, ''tuk-tuks'', cars and buses which seem to run on habit and good intentions, more than ''healthy'' engines) ... the food...the smiles, the courtesy and charm...
I'm sorry your friends were shell-shocked. I'd like to think they might give India another chance. Poverty/pollution/corruption exist in all parts of the world. I've seen garbage blocking beaches for hundreds of feet out into the sea in Malaysia and Borneo and dozens of other nations. It's not just India.
Varn:
@LucyLoohoo My friends are deeply ‘into India,’ not that impressed by their meditating, and learning to read sanskrit, I most often step back.. And, they’re worldly, well traveled ..and well off. They chose to ‘experience it close,’ were appalled, even sickened. They were more than tourists…
@Varn Again...I'm sorry. It's sad when someone spends a month being unhappy somewhere. There were two such women in the group when we went to India. I'll never forget their perspective.
Varn:
@LucyLoohoo They were not with a group, found their own accommodations, actually hired ‘drivers’ to tour some cities, and stayed at several Buddhist retreats.. When I drive their vehicles, their CD’s are all Buddhist chants 
They did not find what they were looking for, and thankful beyond description to be home ~
@Varn I used to travel with a small group of women (usually about 8) and that gave us security, good rates and the ability to hire local drivers with small vans. Again, I'm sorry your friends didn't see what they wanted/expected to see. Travel's like that. When you go...try to do it in November because that's when many weddings happen. The bands/horse-rentals, etc, are all on display and it's just stunning to hear all the music, see the colors and watch the groom as he rides proudly through the streets to get to his bride. Woo, hoo!
Varn:
@LucyLoohoo Doubt I’ll ever go to India, but - is sounds as though I’ll one day have a ‘pure Packistani’ Son in law, if two generations removed (and Atheist). I don’t think he’s been to Pakistan, but of course has family there.. I’d tag along, if asked…
@Varn I'll bet it's even more poverty-stricken than parts of India. But...what an adventure!
When your religious practices become too toxic, time to reconsider.
AgeofReason
Level 5
Sep 10, 2020
2
That isn’t a river it’s an open sewer. Sacred my arse! ...if you’ll pardon the expression ...or should I say holy shit that’s not a river but a raging health hazard!!
Marionville
Level 10
Sep 10, 2020
9
On the other hand Flesh-Eating Turtles would be a great name for a band.
jeshuey
Level 8
Sep 10, 2020
9
BRAVO!
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