India - the centre of the known world (once upon a time)...

I always used to joke that, whilst Britons were painting themselves blue and calling it the height of fashion, my Indian ancestors were building a great civilisation. It turns out that there may have been an element of truth to it. 

But let's go back to the beginning...

Ros had received an invitation to a lecture by the Scottish historian William Dalrymple, linked to the launch of his new book, "The Golden Road - how Ancient India Transformed The World", in West Kensington. Normally, she probably wouldn't accept such an offer, especially as Parliament hadn't returned yet but, given my heritage, she asked if I'd be interested in a trip to London. And, perhaps because I don't get out as much as I ought to, I said yes.

Greater Anglia offer a "London Evening Out" ticket, which allows a traveller to go down to London in the afternoon and come back the same day for a very reasonable £27 (£41 first class, should you fancy a bit more space and leg room), and so that's what we did last Tuesday, heading down to Liverpool Street and across to Notting Hill Gate before taking a leisurely stroll from there to West Kensington.

The Bhavan is, apparently, the largest centre for Indian classical arts in the United Kingdom, located in what was originally the local parish church before undergoing a radical rebuild and reconfiguration twenty years ago. The old nave is now the Mountbatten Auditorium, and it was there that the lecture took place in front of a very engaged, and predominantly Indian, audience.

The lecture itself was, even for an audience more familiar with Indian history than most, something of an eyeopener, propounding a theory that, far from the Silk Road being the preeminent channel of trade between east and west, it was in fact India that served as the primary trading partner of the Roman Empire. As an aside, it was noted that the Silk Road as a concept was the invention of a German writer in the nineteenth century, and that the term only became widely used after his works were translated in the last century.

So, what is the evidence? Well, you'd expect to find hoards of Roman coins across Europe, and perhaps around the Black Sea. And, if there was major trade between China and the Romans, in China. But, there are no significant finds there. In India, on the other hand, major finds of Roman coins have been made. And William Dalrymple offered us plenty of other examples of sculpture and art which point towards significant, regular interaction between Indian and Roman traders in the Red Sea ports of the time.

Delivered with great verve and conviction, Dalrymple spun the threads of his story over more than an hour, to the extent that, as he finished, we concluded that we really needed to get away to catch our train rather than stay for a light supper. We did find time to purchase a signed copy of the book, which I will make time to read at some point, and I suspect that a great many will have been shifted subsequently.

I know that Jonathan Calder has also written about the book and offered more detail on the argument offered by the author, but for those of you who think of China as being the preeminent trading partner of Europe in the distant past, you might find that the book offers a rather more balanced perspective on India and its place in the ancient world. Think of it as a recommendation...

India - a challenge ahead for HMS Brexit...

Declaring an interest as someone of half-Indian extraction, I’ve argued on occasion that, whilst much attention is given to China’s emergence as a world power, both military and economic, there should be more attention given to its democratic counterpart, India. It’s an uphill struggle, I acknowledge, but still an important one.

In terms of the domestic debate here, India falls under the category of “obvious trading partner” post-Brexit, i.e. someone we can increase exports to. Now, putting aside the fact that United Kingdom governments have treated Indian citizens in a manner akin to leprosy victims in terms of visa access over the years, the action of Theresa May in effectively vetoing the proposed EU/India Free Trade Agreement, is hardly an encouragement to the Indian Government to prioritise us over, say, the European Union.

But, of course, some of the more lacking in self-awareness supporters of Brexit believe that, as part of the (jolly old) Empire, the Indians will be only too eager to sign something - fifth largest economy in the world, you know, Commonwealth ties, old boy.

Except that, according to the Centre for Business Economics and Research, with its Conservative-friendly world view, Britain’s economy is already smaller than India’s, and with India’s trend growth rate far higher than that of the United Kingdom, the gap will grow fast. In whose interests is a trade deal then, who will be able to drive the harder bargain? Not a difficult question to answer, is it?

Any trade deal will require significant visa liberalisation, and thus more Indians coming to Britain to work and study - a tough sell to those who voted for Brexit, and indeed for the Conservatives, in order to reduce immigration. And the net figure will be worse still, as the chances are that few British citizens will wish to make the reverse journey.

It gets better though. By 2034, India is predicted to be the third largest economy, with the likes of Indonesia, the Philippines and Bangladesh in the top twenty-five. And they know that. The bargain will get harder, not easier, and the Hindu nationalist administration that runs India is hardly likely to hold back from  using that growing power imbalance to settle some old scores.

Meanwhile, the European Union will be keen to gain preferential access to the Indian market. It has quite a lot to offer, isn’t as attractive to Indians seeking to work abroad but offers plenty of opportunities for the rapidly growing number of middle-class Indians to spend money as tourists. It also offers access to a market six times larger and, in significant cases, wealthier than that of the United Kingdom.

Negotiations with the Modi administration should be interesting, and something of an eye opener for the Johnson-led Conservative Government. How they respond to the challenge may be a guide to the future economic prospects of the United Kingdom, and the ability of the Conservatives to deliver their rather generous promises.

They’d better learn fast...

If attempting to catch your flight, do not, I repeat, do not, try this yourself...

Onwards to Mumbai, on the 13.30 IndiGo flight from Terminal 1 at Delhi Airport. So, naturally, one should aim to be the airport well in advance, right? And, if travelling in a city you don't know particularly well, you would make sure of your route first, wouldn't you?

I am not a huge fan of airports, so I left my hotel at 11.15 after a leisurely breakfast (of which, more later), allowing an hour and a quarter to get to the airport, with the intention of arriving an hour before flight time. It was one of those days, however, when everything seemed to travel in slow motion, and it was 12.35 by the time I reached Delhi Aerocity to catch the shuttle bus to the domestic terminal. Ten minutes until close of check-in (45 minutes before departure) so still hope maybe?

That hope was quickly extinguished, as I was confronted with an elderly bus with a missing driver, so my ten minutes was down to three, with the bus ride ahead. As it turned out, it was a circuitous bus ride and it was 12.57 when I reached check-in. With the air of a condemned man, I approached an IndiGo staff member who pointed me to check-in zone G, where I could be helped. I was not optimistic...

And then, to my surprise, hope. An IndiGo staff member saw me, brought me to the right desk, bypassing the queue, to a man who looked at the booking on my iPhone. It was 12.59. Without batting an eyelid, he said yes, printed off a boarding pass and handed me back to his colleague.

The world then became a blur, as the queue for security was ignored, my briefcase was placed on the screening belt and I was escorted to a seemingly express gate for personal screening. I was then led to my gate. From arrival to gate in ten minutes, in India of all places, and a flight caught against the odds. And, at the end of it, an exit row seat with extra legroom (which I hadn't paid for).

And so, I am in Mumbai, in another hotel room. Next stop, Eagle's Nest...

Adventures on the Delhi Metro

I could imagine that arriving in a strange city at 6.35 a.m. could be quite stressful, especially one that assaults the senses as Delhi does, with its noise and its poverty. And, even though I am a relatively seasoned traveller, particularly in India, a sleepless night on an aeroplane is not the ideal way to start a trip.

Having booked a hotel some way from the airport, and not being too keen on local taxis - let's just say that the traffic is diabolical, the driving slightly worse - I had decided to try the Metro system, something the locals are quite proud of. So, what do I think?

Well, as a first impression, it lacks a certain something, i.e. ticket machines that work, although a very polite and helpful young man did sell me a token for the Airport Express to New Delhi Railway Station, for the princely sum of 100 Rupees (about £1.10) - very cheap by international standards. It isn't really designed for people with luggage though, as they insist on screening your bag and making you pass through one of those metal detectors.

The train, however, is clean, quick and, surprisingly, rather empty. Mind you, the fare is extortionate by local standards. In just twenty minutes, the train speeds into the centre and, if that had been all that I had to do, it would have been fine. However, I still had two more rides, in the middle of the morning rush, on the equally clean, but rather cheaper and busier normal metro lines.

Stopping only to purchase a 19 Rupees ticket to Rithala, at the end of the Red Line, I then had to join a long queue to pass through security (not very serious but time-consuming, nonetheless). Despite that, the Yellow Line train to Kashmere Gate was pretty quiet. It was there that things got a bit more lively, as the connecting Red Line train was much busier. It had, however, emptied out by the time it arrived at Rithala, where I learned that the locals haven't really got the hang of letting people off of the train first. Confronted with a wall of people, I was obliged to force my way through them, running a few of them over with my luggage in the process.

I did get to my hotel, however, and was checked in by 9.30. So now my game plan is a gentle nap, followed by lunch. The afternoon will sort itself out, I guess...

Time for another journey - London to New Delhi via... Helsinki, obviously...

I am an inveterate traveller. In some ways, the actual journey is almost as anticipated as the destination, especially as I do like to find less obvious ways of getting from A to B - London to Pula via Stuttgart and Zagreb, or London to Copenhagen via Brussels and Hamburg, to name but two trips in the recent past.

So, having decided that a trip to visit my family was overdue, I searched for airfares and, taking into account convenience of flight times, airline reputation and so forth, I came to the conclusion that the best option was, somewhat unexpectedly, Finnair.

And yes, I had considered British Airways (too expensive), Turkish Airlines (nasty arrival and departure times in Mumbai), Lufthansa (expensive and not that convenient), Ethiopian Airlines (awful connection in Addis Ababa) and a raft of others, but Finnair, whose flight arrives in New Delhi at 6.35 am and departs again at 10.40 am, offered that optimal combination of comfort, timing and affordability.

So, I'll be on a British Airways flight out of Heathrow Terminal 3 in an hour or so (it's a Finnair code share flight as they're both part of the One World alliance) and I'll be back soon enough. Don't worry, I won't be silent whilst I'm away...

It's so easy for Indians to get a visa to come here, right?

And this is just the beginning...

I spent a slightly frustrating afternoon on Sunday, applying online for a visa to visit my family in Mumbai at the end of the month (this is, I acknowledge, surprisingly early for me to do this but that's Ros's influence for you...). A vast series of questions are asked, and data regarding my parents, my spouse, my job, where I've travelled in India (ever) and internationally (in the past ten years!) is required. It is, compared to most places where a visa is required, a bit of a marathon.

However, it is done, and now all I have to do is deliver the original form to London, with the right photographs, and a visa should be mine.

My frustration would have been much greater had it not been for the fact that I know what an Indian national has to do to get a visa to come here to make a similar trip. You can fill in the application form online. Unfortunately, you then need to supply;

• passport
• two photographs
• evidence that you have enough money to support yourself during your trip, eg bank statements or payslips for the last six months
• details of where you plan to stay and your travel plans
• a letter of invitation from the family member you are visiting
• evidence of their financial and employment circumstances, eg bank statements or payslips
• evidence of their immigration circumstances in the UK showing they’re permanently settled or have asylum humanitarian status in the UK, eg a valid visa or immigration stamp in their passport

But it does get better. You then need to get your fingerprints and photograph taken at a visa application centre - there are thirteen, in Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Chennai, Delhi, Goa, Hyderabad, Jalandhar, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai (2) and Pune (you have to pay extra to use the one in Goa). There are parts of India that are a very long way from these.

There is no guarantee that your application will be accepted, as I have discovered - in the current environment, the Home Office are not minded to be generous.

The price is, interestingly, broadly similar to the amount that India charges UK nationals for a tourist visa - 8715 Rupees for a visa to visit the UK, £82 for a visa to visit India. The Indian High Commission in London are rather more efficient than the British counterparts, with a three working day turnaround, compared to the British target of ten working days.

From a personal perspective, I could see that India has a rather greater incentive to make the acquisition of a visa rather easier - it is a real deterrent for potential tourists, and given that tourists have choices, anything that puts them off is undoubtedly harmful to their economy.

But, nonetheless, with the emergence of an Indian middle class who are discovering travel - and you see more and more Indian tourists in places they weren't found ten years ago - it may become an issue for the British tourism industry too...