No Parking at the Gates of Heaven

Thinking about going back to India prompted me to dig out and read my notebooks from the first time I travelled there in 2005, when I worked with local governance NGO Sahbhagi Shikshan Kendra. This was the first photograph I took when I arrived in Delhi. Of course I knew that cows roamed free in Indian cities, but looking back I am certain I wasn't prepared for actually seeing them making their way through traffic.

Another unmissable first impression was the staggering array of temples and places of worship India has to offer. My favourite was one we passed on the drive from the airport. The sign above the door read, in English:

Gateway to Heaven

Before adding, charitably:

Admission Free

And then a final note, perhaps a reminder of the transience of our worldly possessions:

No Parking

Another sign we passed ostensibly apologised for the building work going on to improve the road, but could have been a message from those in power in India to those dismayed by the slow crawl of social change. It declared: “Construction in progress. Please be patient with delays for a better tomorrow.” It will be fascinating to see, some four years on, whether that "better tomorrow" appears any closer for the majority of India's billion inhabitants.