BY ANTONIA FILMER

For the first time in 35 years we are planning a Christmas abroad. The loss of our 30-year-old daughter from neuroendocrine cancer last June made the first Christmas at home without her an unbearable time.

My husband, Charles, and I are Mr and Mrs Jack Sprat, he was born and raised in Kenya before joining the British army.

I was born and raised in London during the time of pirate radio stations. Charles likes a penknife, something to build or mend, a camp fire and yarning; I like ancient architecture, textiles, spices and spirituality.

He took a deep dive into spirituality after our daughter died and in over 30 years of visiting Kenya I have learned to love a camp fire and sleeping under the stars. I chose the right husband, he would be my luxury on ‘Desert Island Discs’, if we were marooned on a desert island he would have a hot shower rigged up before dark.

Charles’s stomping ground has been Kenya, we have travelled far and wide across that astonishing landscape, we have been comfortable and uncomfortable, bogged down on our own at dusk in a small car with a hairdryer engine next to a pack of 14 lions- we had to pick scrub to place under the wheels to get traction to get the hairdryer out, all the while dodging the cantankerous buffalo hidden in the scrub; we have been charged whilst on foot by elephants and in a vehicle by rhino, been nose to nose with a cheetah and smelt her breath when she got into our jeep, watched cobras mating, and seen the grief of the mama ostrich as her baby was taken by hyenas. Kenyans are so friendly and wanting you to enjoy their country. We love Kenya, the people and the place.

Since the early 80’s I have been to India many times but Charles only twice and only for a couple of days, the limit of his sightseeing was Padmanabhapuram Palace, seat of the Maharajas of Travancore but now in modern day Tamil Nadu. Thus Christmas 2023 will be spent in India, he is hoping to know India better, Charles is planning a Rajput route. Rajasthan is the obvious place of introduction to India, the desert climate is wonderful, the panorama spectacular, the colours intense, the history is full of brave battles and conquest, there are stunning forts, ancient Hindu temples galore, and the cuisine is delicious I cannot wait for that cardamon tea, former palaces have been transformed into boutique hotels, there are Marwari horses for Charles to ride, and even a chance of seeing a tiger.

Before our marriage, in the early 80’s I travelled on my own in India. I will have to limit conversation and observations that begin with “When I”. Travelling on one’s own is so exciting as others include you and take you with them on adventures that would not happen to two people. My brother who had spent time in India advised me never to be in a hurry, so I never took a taxi, if trains were delayed I read on my backpack at stations all around India. I did not have one day’s tummy upset in 4 months and still to this day have never been sick in India, in those days almost everyone spoke English and the only irritation I ever had was loosing my camera and my diary.

I did not have a plan, after a leisurely ramble around Rajasthan, staying in some remaining Dak Bungalows (former colonial pit stops for officials travelling to and fro) and the palaces of friends, from Mumbai I took a train south to Bangalore, Mysore, Cochin, and to Trivandrum to look up Kerala’s famously candid and romantic poetess and novelist Kamala Das, who insisted I visit her ancestral home and village of Punnayurkulam. I inhaled a cocktail of tradition, temples, humour, culture, yoga, ayurveda, vegetarianism, Katakali (an ancient predecessor of mime), Kalaripayattu (arguably the oldest martial art in the world) and of course the inescapable politics; my head was bursting with India and India was exploding in my heart.

Since then I have been to many states, made many friends and watched India transform. Gone are the days of the ubiquitous Ambassador car, now the traffic is made up of international vehicles, New Delhi has a metro and a cyber city of high-tech skyscrapers in Gurgaon, AirBnB and phone signal/wifi are pretty much everywhere, the shopping malls, the comfy cinemas, the incredible welcome and hospitality given wherever you go; the guest is “king” in India and it certainly feels like that.

India has jettisoned the remnants of colonialism, the symbolic renaming of Rajpath/Kingsway to Kartavya Path and the new Parliament building Sansad Bhagwan are all signs of India’s growing independence and sovereignty over her own affairs. The old Sir Edwin Lutyens building will turned into a museum, symbolically.

India’s monuments and temples are part of the current culture and the ancient history of the land where civilisation began 5000 years ago. There is a big push in India to develop the tourism sector, making sites and information more accessible to domestic and foreign travellers. But India is not just incredible architecture, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has instilled a new found confidence in citizens based on their exceptional history and the success of so many Indians overseas, a success that is now being realised on the ground all over India. Satya Nadella CEO of Microsoft and Sundar Pichai CEO of Google are oft revered as examples of Indian achievement and there are so many, Indian chefs, comedians (Brits and Indians laugh often laugh at the same humour), writers, economists, and political people are acclaimed all over the world.

Indian ingenuity and innovation traverses science, biologists and biochemists have won Nobel prizes and Indian women are astronauts, fighter pilots and gold medalist shooters.

ISRO will be launching an Indian rocket carrying 36 OneWeb UK satellites in March; India’s first dedicated scientific mission to study the Sun is expected to be launched by July; and recently Dr S Somanath, Chairman, said that ISRO is trying to create space tourism for the future using methane for fuel. India is up to speed on Net Zero and plans to close 30 plus coal mines and introduce clean energy with thorium rods in a prototype Fast Breeder reactor at Kalpakkam, near Chennai. India is already the pharmacy of the world and is now the first to produce an indigenously made Covid-19 nasal vaccine “Incovacc” developed by Bharat Biotech.

The current G20 Delegations are being hosted by Heads of States from north to south and being exposed to the sciences of India, the diversity of Indian culture and the independence of Indian thinking.

Thus India has a lot to offer tourists, discovery is part of the journey. On our break from a traditional English Christmas Charles and I will be seeking solace and soaking up the atmosphere.

This article by Antonia Filmer features in the latest print edition of Country Squire Magazine which is available to buy here. Antonia is former British Vogue Fashion Editor, Home Furnishing Design Director of Laura Ashley Ltd, producer of Garden Operas for 10 years to benefit a children’s charity. Antonia is an inveterate traveller and is currently the London correspondent for The Sunday Guardian of India.