It was Sunday on the following day and the motorcycle shop was closed. So, I visited the office of the AOTS. The AOTS had the classes of the Japanese language on Saturdays and Sundays. Around 20 people were learning in the class then. The language of Tamil is spoken in that district of the South India. There are 18 official languages and some thousands of different languages spoken in India. Relating to the language of Tamil, a linguist Susumu Ohno said that the language is the origin of Japanese. According the president of the AOTS, who spoke good Japanese, the Japanese language is easy to them, because the two languages are similar to each other, not only in words but also in both word order and the ways of expressions. What is important in learning other languages is rather not words, but word order or the structure of sentence. The reason why Korean language is easy to the Japanese can be found in the fact that the two languages have the same structure, rather than the fact we use lots of common words from Chinese. Some people insist that the Japanese language is especially different from the other languages of the world. It is not true in fact. According to the classification of the languages of the world, Japanese belongs to the group of the "old languages", which covers more area of the earth than the "new languages" including the Western languages. The language of Tamil also belongs to the same "old languages" as Japanese. On the contrary, the reason why the Western languages including Esperanto are difficult to the Japanese is mainly based on the difference of the structure of the languages. There isn't enough time to spare for a subject of language. My travel doesn't begin till I get a motorcycle. To tell the truth I had already met a Royal Enfield. Before the trip I got the information in Japan that a Royal Enfield was displayed at a motorcycle shop near the foot of the Biwako-Ohashi bridge over the Biwako Lake, and I rode all the way to the shop to see the bike. Unfortunately I, a man of timidity, couldn't take a close look of the bike, for an employee stuck to me, seemingly pushing me to buy the bike. As a result I left the shop in vain, only having a quick look. I thought I should have seen it better. The method to operate the bike was totally different from Japanese bikes. First of all, I didn't know how start the engine. I decided to have a test riding in the back streets of the bike shop in Chennai. As I was scared, I asked the worker of the shop to ride with me on the passenger seat. But, no! I couldn't ride. Surprisingly, the brake lever was on the left and the shift lever on the right, and besides, even the operation of the shifting was reverse. On the following day I once again practiced in the field of the hotel before the departure. Whenever I tried to put the gearshift into the second, the engine stopped. I couldn't practice for ever though. I had to leave the hotel. I then thought I wouldn't care what happened. I would keep riding by the first gear all the way through Chennai. I made up my mind and threw myself on the bike. That was really an adventure more than else.

It was one of my expectations to see Hindu temples painted in bright colors in the South India.

Various kinds of animals appear in the road. Not to mention cows and horses, dogs, cats, goats, pigs, monkeys, elephants and even birds block the traffic. One day I saw a big bird like an American eagle swooped down to the road even in the town area. The rough surface of the roads is the same as in Mexico, however, you can manage to ride if you are very attentive.

But, in this country as in Vietnam, one of the two lanes of the road is often occupied for the private usage by the people who want to dry rice. Among them there are some lazy people who spread the ears of rice over the road so that the rice can be threshed by the vehicles. Although the speed of my motorcycle was only 40 kpm at maximum, I couldn't enjoy the view, always paying attention to the surface of the road. As a result, I couldn't travel more distance than I had expected and it took a long time to reach the destination. The reason why the motorcycling in the South India is weary does not only base on this traffic situation, but the high temperature.

In the district it was as hot as in midsummer even though in winter. The rainy season was over about ten days before and the sky was clear with the shining sun every day. I didn't sweat as much as in Japan thanks to the low humidity, however, I got very thirsty. I parked the bike every one or two hours to drink a Coke. It was as inexpensive as 25 cents. Everything is inexpensive in India. The most important thing for traveling is a hotel. I didn't take a tent with me to India and stayed in hotels. The cheap hotel charged only $1.5 per night. They surely had a bathroom. Food was also inexpensive. The breakfast with toast, omelet and coffee cost 50 cents. Indian breakfast was much cheaper. I sometimes had breakfast with a banana and tea. Both a cup of tea and a banana were 5 cents each. For supper I usually paid $2.5 to $3.5, including relatively expensive beer for $1.5. It was still rather inexpensive. This seems to be inexpensive to the Japanese, but never to Indians whose monthly salary is supposedly less than $800. Nonetheless, the Royal Enfield I bought costs $1,500 if it is brand-new. Not to mention a car, even motorcycle is a vehicle for the rich. Besides, the price of gasoline is 65 cents per litter. This is nearly the same price of Japan. India has uranium, but doesn't have oil.

Talking about uranium, India astonished the world by having a nuclear testing in the Thar Desert near the southwestern border of Pakistan after 24 years last year, on the 11th of May, 1998. Counteracting against this, Pakistan had the same kind of testing 17 days later on the 28th. The USA, the Soviet Union, France, the UK and China, the winning countries of the Second World War, have monopolized the nuclear weapons as the constant members of the Security Council of the United Nations. These countries have made already 2047 nuclear testings in total after the War, which was put an end by those field experiments in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In March, 1970, the Nuclear NonProliferation Treaty (NPT) was ratified. As a result, any other countries except these five countries were banned to possess nuclear weapons. India alone was against this selfish decision and made a nuclear testing after four years, on the 18th of May in 1974. Further more, the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) that was approved by the United Nations in 1996 enabled only the five countries to develop the nuclear technologies by computer simulation in the future. We certainly remember that France and China made the final nuclear test at the last moment in those days. As the result of the history like this, we witnessed the recent testing by India and Pakistan. The Japanese mass media all accused the two countries. Someone says that only Japan has the right to accuse those nuclear-possessing countries as the sole country suffered nuclear bombing, however, the nation enjoys, in fact, the security under the nuclear umbrella of the US, and never truly demand the abandonment of nuclear weapons that still remain a lot in the world. I can sentimentally understand the Indian policy, which consistently insisted the treaty is discriminating, better than the Japanese. Indians are very proud indeed.

Before the trip some people worried about me, saying that India would not be safe to visit. The South India is countryside far away from Pakistan. Pakistan wouldn't be able to make any profit by attacking this area. If Pakistan possesses nuclear missiles and even if one of them is shot to this direction, the missile with the flying capacity of 300 km will not reach here. Don't worry. This place is safe.

With regard to security, I have never felt danger in India, although the country have lots of poor people. I had felt dangerous atmosphere in the night in big cities even in the US or in Europe. In a big city in Mexico I was told to stay in the hotel room after eight at night, because robbers with a gun prowled after that time. Twenty years ago in Calcutta, I took a taxi from the airport late at night to look for a hotel. The taxi took me to an area like a slum. When I got off, the taxi driver asked me at double the charge that we agreed at the airport, and we had argument. The neighbors soon came to us and I was surrounded by 20 of them. But I didn't feel danger. Everyone was just standing there, listening our dispute. The driver himself was never threatening, solely repeating his desperate insist, "The charge was recently changed. If you have something to say, let's go to the police". 20 years later, walking at night in big cities of India, I didn't fell any danger at all either. I only found it a little annoying that beggars and taxi drivers talked to me on business. They didn't bother me much though. When I said "No", they obediently went away. First of all, their way of talking or attitude is modest and peaceful. This may be caused by their Hindu religion.

As is mentioned above, numerous Hindu temples remain in the South India.

The Turkish Muslims, who invaded from the northeast of India in the latter half of the 10th century, laid the foundation for the Mogul Empire in the 13th century, placing its capital in Delhi. However, their power remained in the north and central part of India and didn't reach the South India. In Madurai, which is located 200 km north of the cape of Comorin, the southernmost part of the subcontinent of Indian, the gigantic Hindu temples tower into the sky, keeping their everlasting grandeur. From the roof of the hotel where I stayed, I saw the five huge buildings with the height of 50 m towered over the city like the skyscrapers in Shinjuku, Tokyo or the Business Park of Osaka. Those belong to Sri Meenakshi Temple that receive lots of pilgrims from all over India. These five towers are made of stone and the surfaces of the towers are ornamented with numerous carvings painted in multicolor. Hindu temples are usually surrounded squarely by high walls like a fortress. The four of the five towers are in fact the grand gates at the north, south, east and west entrance of the walls. The ornaments of the towers show the persistent will of the Hindu to venerate icons and make us dizzy when we only imagine their enormous labor spent for those. This temple was constructed in the middle of the 17th century, when in Japan the feudal regime of Tokugawa closed the country and oppressed the Christian. Just in the same period when this representative Hindu temple was being constructed in Madurai in the south, the world-famous Islamic building was under construction in Agra, near Delhi 2000 km north of Madrai. The building is the well-known Taj Mahal. It is the tomb that Shah Jahan, the fifth emperor of the Mogul Empire, constructed for the memory of his loved wife, Mumtas Mahal. Any icons are not found in the building the same as other Islamic mosques. As is well known, Islam forbids the veneration of icons. However, Hindu is a polytheistic religion and accepts anything, while Islam is monotheistic. One can find the difference between the two religions only by sight - Hindu temples with a mixture of any kind of icons such as carvings of cows, elephants and even lions, and Islamic mosques with geometric patterns refined but giving a feeling of coldness.

India has, not only various languages, but also various religions.

He suggested his bad condition to me and frequently took a rest during the travel of 1200 km from Chennai to Kochi, and at last he ceased to move completely. Coping with this difficulty, I decided to have the piston and the cylinder replaced at a repair shop with a skillful mechanic near the hotel. Even the bike made all of steel probably gets tired if it travels every day on the rough roads in India. I also, for the first time, found that a motorcycle trip can make me tired. It was caused by the extremely chaotic traffic and the bad condition of my partner. Then, I understood, on the contrary, that the four motorcycles I left in Japan were really reliable. And I remembered the easy motorcycle trips in the US and New Zealand. I wished to ride, if possible, on a safer road. I supposed that there would be less traffic in the mountains than the towns along the sea coast through which I had been riding. There is a mountain resort called Kodaikanal, 200 km east of Kochi. Because this town is located in north latitude 10 degrees, it is hot during the day. However, it gets cold in the night as cold as in the winter of Osaka, for the town is in the Western Ghats and has the elevation of 2100 m. In this place a number of Tibetans are found. Maybe, they were expatriated from Tibet together with Dalai Lama. The high mountain may give them easier life than the hot low land. Those who find difficulty in a hot climate is not only Tibetans. In this small resort town there is one of the best international schools in India and 50 Japanese children are also learning there. If we have Japanese parents who send their child of 10 to 12 from Japan, it is surprising and admiring. But, I suppose their parents work in India.

When you travel farther north from Kodaikanal along the Western Ghats, you find another three mountain resorts.

Watching over the roof of the palace, I walked barefoot in the courtyard. At that moment I treaded on something soft. It was the dung of a cow or horse. I somehow don't care the dung of animals, but I have an strong abhorrence of human excrement. Unfortunately, both are scattered over in various places of India. I witnessed this also on the beach with full of tourists in the cape of Comorin. The ubiquitousness of excrements promises that the roads can be a wastes disposal place. Most Indians wondered about my pocket ashtray. It was a matter of course for them. It seems that Indians don't like harmony or regulations. The vehicles emit black exhausts to spread a smoke screen over the road. It is so dark and thick that it can block your sight of your on-going way. It is said that you can buy any big-name brands of the world for a really good price. Rumor says that all are imitations. In India there isn't any concept to observe troublesome rules for commercial rights such as trademarks. Accordingly, it is out of the question for Indians to pay for the satellite broadcasting that falls unwantedly down from the sky like rain. India, in this aspect, made me feel at home, for I am a lazy person who doesn't care at all even if the thing are scattered over the floor so much that I cannot walk in the room. I was able to smoke freely in the international airport in Chennai. Unlike many other airports of the world where smoking is recently controlled very strictly, the magnanimity of this airport impressed me so deeply that I almost shed a tear of joy.

There is a Jain town 100 km north of Mysore.

This place is famous for its gigantic stone statue on the top of the rock mountain. Although there were visitors, the monks were missing in the temple. The religion of Jainism was born in the same period as Buddhism, in around 500 B.C., with the purpose of reforming Hinduism. The other religion, Buddhism once experienced annihilation by the invasion of Muslims. I hear that the existing Buddhism in India is a new sect of Buddhism born after the Second World War. Jainism, on the other hand, has survived during the long history and has 4.5 million of believers. The religion is well-known by the fact that the believers never kill living things. The monks seek such a complete realization of their religious creed that they put on a piece of cloth for breathing so that they will not swallow bugs. On that day they probably hid themselves somewhere in the temple with the idea that they might tread on bugs if they walked around. Like the uncrowded temple, the town itself was less inhabited. Without much light in the town at night, the stars were wonderfully shining in the sky. It was a quiet and peaceful town unlike other busy and noisy towns of India. In contrast, Bangalore, located 100 km east of this town, is a big city symbolizing the modernization of India. Bangalore is the capital of Karnataka State which has an area of half of Japan, and is reported to be the city where the rapidest development in Asia is happening. Recently the software industry of computer system prospers there, and so the city is called a Silicon Valley of India. The wide streets in the city are flooded with vehicles and its air pollution is quite serious. Like in Ho Chi Minh City of Vietnam, I saw a lot of motorcycle riders who covered their nose with a piece of cloth, instead of a gas mask. It presented a contrast to the small town of Jainism. India is, in its all the aspects, extreme and diverse. Various kinds of gods, races, languages, religions, animals, sounds, odors, wastes, excrements, germs and poverty live together. The nature and the human are allowed to exist nakedly, absolutely free from restrictions.

While the nation's illiteracy rate is as high as 50 %, the country has the people who learn the Japanese language and who read "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance".

While there are a number of children who devote themselves to begging without going to school, the country has the international school that accepts Japanese children.

While a fried egg without any pepper and salt is served, curry so hot and stimulative that even the deceased could revive is served.

If you drink a Coke to avoid tap water in the fear that it is an incubator of germs, you sometimes find a rust battery in the bottom of the bottle. So, you switch to beer. It is as strong as Japanese "sake" and you get really drunk. Then you think about whiskey. However, it contains, in rare cases, methyl alcohol to deprive you of your eyesight.

While there are cheap hotels for $1 a night, there are expensive hotels charging $150.

A large number of beggars wander around the huge Hindu temples or the grand maharajah's palaces. While there are untouched fishing villages or deserted towns like a ruin, there are cities prospering in computer industry or even nuclear facilities.

Although the people are usually gentle and mild, they in times kill each other due to the different doctrines of their religions.

India resembles the towers of those Hindu temples in the south. A huge tower is formed in harmony by the numerous figures, painted in various colors, carved on the surface of each component stone. When you carefully watch each figure showing off its own world, you get so tired that you feel dizzy. However, you never get bored thanks to a series of discoveries you find in each figure.

In Indians I find unreserved, exposed energy that was naturally bestowed to us by birth. If their energy is unified in the same way as the Hindu tower, a nuclear explosion of immeasurable scale will be certainly brought about.