The Hard Sell

India really can be the home of the hard sell. No wonder so much telemarketing is done from this country. People's basic survival is at stake, no is not an acceptable answer and persistence is rewarded. From the moment we arrived there was the sales pitch. "We can arrange, Madame..." Sometimes it is helpful, sometimes an awkward pain in the ass if it's your host and you don't want it or don't wish for the attached strings.

When we went to the Jain temples in Khajuraho we encountered some self-appointed guides. They were insisting on showing us the temples and telling us everything about the idols. No was not an option. They told us they just wanted us to see and know. One man herded the group through the main Jain temple and explained what we were seeing. At the end he insisted we had to put donations in an open box. I turned around and put my donation in the official sealed temple donation box and he became very angry. "That is for the temple, not for me! I showed you. I want a donation." I walked away and as far as I know the rest of the group also put their donations in the sealed box.

At another temple in the complex it was quite dark. Some Jain and Hindu temples have the idol in a sanctum in the centre and carvings in a circle around the sanctum. A man inside this temple offered me a plastic flashlight. I thanked him and began to circle the main part. I noticed that someone, probably he, had covered all the windows with cardboard. When I came back around he demanded a donation for the god of the temple. Yeah, right. Another self-appointed temple guide disappointed. The government asks tourists not to give to these guys, or beggars in general, but it really does test your assertiveness.