Visiting beautiful places in India, not as a researcher, but a tourist accompanying my best friend from Paris, I was quite enamoured to find that low-income-group people are touring historical monuments with a great deal of interest. Both in the Christmas chill of the north and the warm balmy breeze of southern beaches, it was evident that holidaying has become a pronounced activity among the masses.

The consuming pattern is certainly growing after 22 years of economic reforms in India. At Orchha Palace in Madhya Pradesh, we were surprised that so many Indian visitors were climbing up and down the Jahangir Mahal, a particularly ornamented specimen of Mughal architecture built in the 15th century by the Rajput king of Orchha. It?s noteworthy that emperor Akbar?s queen and Jahangir?s mother was a Rajput princess, Jodha from Amber. Legend has it that Orchha Palace is where Jahangir took shelter when he incurred his father?s wrath for loving a commoner, as depicted in the film Mughal-e-Azam. Our host, the Rajasaheb of Alipura who accompanied us, commented that when there was no charge levied to see this palace, nobody used to come; but ever since a small entry fee was started, mass visitors are flooding in. Domestic tourism has surely come to stay.

In Khajuraho, the guide, Anand, was a very interesting personality. He?s actually a 40-year-old farmer, who does the job of a guide with fluent and admirable English. He wears a pair of stone-washed jeans with the US flag knit-stitched as his back pocket. In the high tourist season from October to March, he?s learnt how to excite both foreign and Indian tourists with the erotic exotica of Khajuraho?s temples protected as Unesco?s World Heritage. He makes R2,000-3,000 per day during this period. When Indians come with their whole family in a religious mood to worship at the temples built by the Chandelas, a powerful Rajput dynasty of the 10th to 12th centuries, he feels frustrated. He says it becomes very difficult for him to explain the details of the Khajuraho factor. Whereas, when foreign visitors hire him, it?s more interesting because they want to learn every detail from him.

In fact, I was watching Anand hold forth, displaying his vast knowledge of the 85 temples, revealing that only 20 remain today. He pointed out that the sculptures were part of the temple structure and not ornamentation. There were three types?divinities, female nymphs or apsaras, and the most famous, Mithuna, the sculptures of couples in graceful, amorous, coitus, or sexual positions. Sometimes, the foreign visitors totally flummox Anand. In front of one of the famous Kamasutra postures, a tourist asked whether the sculpture was the top view or the real standing position. Anand was at a loss to answer properly. The foreigner was justifying that it may be the top view, as the necklace is not falling, but straight. Another foreign tourist, who appeared to be a connoisseur of Khajuraho, explained that it is not the top view. He said nobody should look at the necklace because in Indian art and sculpture, the decorative part is more important than the realistic aspect of the necklace hanging. So, according to one foreigner explaining to another foreigner, this is the real essence of Kamasutra, ?sex with meditation?. Then Anand brightened up and congratulated the learned foreigner, saying he particularly enjoyed guiding Europeans who very seriously research the subject they are about to view. This farmer was certainly quick on the uptake and knew how to retain his business. Later, when I asked him about his parents and other family members, he answered that the older ones know nothing about these sexual expressions. For them, these are just like other temples.

Next, at the Victoria Memorial in Kolkata, after paying R10 per ticket, we found a phenomenal crowd. They had all come from villages and were entering the foundation steps, scrutinising the paintings, photographs, sculptures and weapons of the British Raj with huge passion and curiosity. But what disappointed me was the poor upkeep where metal shutters were put and painted white, and visible from outside was a huge dump yard of carton boxes and building materials on the top floor. I asked some of the young people in this crowd what had brought them in. They replied that they learnt about our colonial heritage from the Internet, that this large marble museum, built between 1906 and 1921, was in the memory of the empress of India, Queen Victoria. Even in Delhi?s Qutab Minar to Agra?s Taj Mahal, I saw at least three times more of mass visitors than foreign tourists. They were serious about finding out more about our historical monuments and keep the local guides busy.

The crux of the subject is that everybody has the mobile phone. Digital knowledge is driving India?s low-income society to enter previously uncharted territory. They are travelling within the country like never before. Our dogmatic and traditional political parties have still not understood the power of this growing curiosity and hunger to know new things that digital technology has induced. For example, when I asked taxi drivers and street vendors in West Bengal about the current political condition of the state, they say there?s serious improvement that they had not experienced in the 35 years of the Left government. Taxi drivers in Delhi, too, are highly appreciative of the new political era, where they feel their voices and woes will be considered.

People with basic, low incomes are changing drastically. The advent of digital technology is making them aware of their rights, waking them up to become digital mindset voters. Enjoying newfound transparency, they are excited about the prospect of getting their rights with political support through digital media. Exciting times are ahead, as we enter the polling booths at a national level in a few months. Unpredictability is slated to be the new political dimension tomorrow.

Shombit Sengupta is an international consultant to top management on differentiating business strategy with execution excellence

(www.shiningconsulting.com)