Sachin Bali, 29, an associate vice-president at HSBC, travelled to Israel with his brother Neeraj for a friend’s wedding in November. In between the festivities, they hit the road with no fixed itinerary
Why Israel?
It is, perhaps, one of the most underrated Mediterranean countries as far as tourism is concerned. Despite having great beaches, superb food, ski slopes, thriving cities, an amazing history and a unique mix of Eastern and Western cultures—not to mention the wacky Israeli sense of humour—few Indians visit Israel unless on pilgrimage. For us, the impetus came with a wedding invitation. My brother had visited Israel a few years earlier and his fascination for the country had rubbed off on me.
Your first stop?
Tel Aviv, which is to Israel what Mumbai is to India. Our friend Irit, the bride-to-be, lives in a suburb 40km from the city. Within minutes of reaching her place, we had made ourselves at home while Ofer, her fiancé, prepared the nargila (or sheesha, the complicated cousin of the humble hookah). Irit, a former aid worker in Africa and Sri Lanka, and Ofer, a businessman deeply involved in Israeli- Palestinian peace efforts, are secular Israelis—Jewish by religion and global in outlook. While cooking dinner, we made plans for the next day.
A tour of Tel Aviv?
Right. We had hired a Mazda 3— it is a good idea to rent a car as soon as one lands in Israel, as public transport is off the roads by 11pm—with a GPS navigator and a map that talks. Most of the time, it talks too much.
Anyway, we parked our car in a shopping mall and headed out. And who should we encounter but a group of Hassidic Jews, ultra-orthodox Jews who devote their lives to prayer and living by the Book. They do not usually mingle with outsiders, live in tight-knit communities and generally mind their own business. This lot, though, was the exception: They followed a 19th century rabbi whose basic message, as Irit explained, was “Don’t worry, be happy”. We had to wonder if Bobby McFerrin ever met them!
So, this group travels around in vans, parks on the side of the road or on top of a busy intersection, sets up their ghetto blasters, belts out foot-tapping music and starts dancing to express their joy in life. Passers-by are welcome to join in. In fact, Neeraj did—and was most embarrassed to find that I had actually caught him on camera and, thus, had evidence.
Seriously, we couldn’t have asked for a better introduction to Israel or to Tel Aviv, a city with the buzz of New York and the traditions of the Middle East (West Asia).
That’s very contemporary Tel Aviv. Did you touch base with history at all?