Guilt trip

The company organising these adventure-cum-philanthropy tours is the Massachusetts-based Relief Riders International. Conceived by Alexander Souri, the first tour took place last year. A third group of 15 Americans arrived this month. Souri, a special effects expert who has worked on films such as The Matrix and X-Men, says the idea of riding across the Rajasthan desert while helping the poor came to him when he paused to take stock of his life after his father8217;s death.

8216;8216;People are looking for a life-changing experience away from the tourist circuit. They want a good time but they also want to leave an imprint on the people they meet. And the horses are there because I love horses,8217;8217; he says.

The tourists arrive at New Delhi8217;s Imperial Hotel and then travel by road to Dundlod Fort in Rajasthan, where they pick up the horses8212;the Marwari breed that8217;s particularly suited for the desert8212;and load camel carts with the supplies they have paid for. The giveaways include 6,804 kg of food, medicines, educational material and booklets on AIDS.

Also rounded up is a herd of goats, which accompanies the horse-riding tourists as they visit the villages, up to five in a fortnight-long tour. The goats are handed over to those who need them for milk but cannot afford to buy the animals.

Prior to their arrival at a particular village, Souri arranges for a local Indian Red Cross team to conduct a medical camp, offering routine check-ups and treatments for minor ailments and infections8212;mainly eye or teeth-related problems. The tourists pitch in by helping the doctors, while a local troupe of actors entertains the waiting villagers8212;everyday, around 400 people are treated8212;with an AIDS-awareness street play.

8216;8216;We register the villagers, hand out fruit and water to them while they wait, manage the queues and give medicines. Some of the braver ones help the dentist extract teeth or give gum treatment to old men and women who have never seen a dentist in their lives,8217;8217; says Souri.

The hard work over, the Good Samaritans retire to their comfortable, tented accommodation or a hotel room for a hot shower and a good meal.

Judith Shaw, a 59-year-old retired editor from Richmond, Massachusetts, says her husband and friends thought she was mad to go on such a tour. 8216;8216;But the kindness I observed among Indian villagers and my glimpse of a different culture were unforgettable,8217;8217; she says. 8216;8216;One old man helped register 10 old women who had come on their own and were confused. He put himself behind them in the queue. Frankly, I don8217;t think that would happen in America.

8216;8216;I got more out of this trip than the villagers. I recommend it to anyone who wants an intense holiday with intense emotions.8217;8217;

For Tim Donahue, a semi-retired businessman from Ashe County, North Carolina, voluntary work in Rajasthan was way more appealing than working in American slums. 8216;8216;It8217;s the chance of discovering a new culture and helping people. It8217;s these things that make this trip unique. Charity work at home won8217;t give you that, will it?8217;8217; he says.

But Caroline Duncan says that her 8216;8216;relief8217;8217; trip has made her more likely to do voluntary work in the US. 8216;8216;It8217;s made me more aware of others. I can never forget the gratitude of an old man who wept when I gave him a baby goat.8217;8217;

Some Indians, though, react cynically to Americans flying in to dispense the milk of human kindness and flying out, relieved of guilt. They see it as condescending, tokenistic, an easy way for Americans to get a moral high.

8216;8216;They should have a splendid holiday and forget the white man8217;s burden. What good are these sporadic, one-off events? At least the missionaries stayed on in the country. These people just vanish. Let them go to New Orleans if they want to help people,8217;8217; says columnist Parsa Venkateshwar Rao Jnr.

Another person who considers the idea simple-minded and half-baked is veteran social activist Ranjana Kumari. 8216;8216;By handing out things, they8217;re just killing their guilt and not allowing the villagers to keep their dignity and self-respect. I8217;m sure their motives are sincere but they need to understand that poverty is part of a wider reality,8217;8217; she says. 8216;8216;They8217;d do better to work in their own country to get their government to pursue policies that help India.8217;8217;

But Dr Mahesh Arora, a local Red Cross doctor who attended the medical camps, is appreciative. He believes that tourists who wish to connect with ordinary Indians instead of sticking to five-star hotels and sightseeing should indeed be welcomed.

8216;8216;Some of our branches in remote areas lack funds and people, so whatever supplies the tourists brought were helpful. I know holding camps once or twice a year is not much but it doesn8217;t do any harm either. Both sides get something out of it,8217;8217; he points out.

Asked how villagers reacted to seeing an American cavalcade galloping towards them across the dunes with overladen camel carts bringing up the rear, Dr Arora chuckles. 8216;8216;They thoroughly enjoyed the novelty of it. If nothing else, it gave them a break from their drudgery.8217;8217;

If India does not appeal to Americans eager to merge compassion with recreation, Souri offers them Sri Lanka8217;s tsunami-devastated coastline. His next idea is an adventure tour that will combine beautiful beaches with helping to rebuild wrecked schools.