Matheran is a small hill station tucked away on a mountain, about a 2 hours drive from Mumbai. It is symptomatic of all hill stations in Maharashtra, that have fallen by the wayside and become a nuisance to travelers. There is a complete nexus of people trying to rip you off, whether it be the car park (there are no cars allowed in Matheran, you need to park a few kilometers away and then either walk or use horseback…more on that later), the horse rides, the hotels which are overpriced and give you abysmal service in return, to even the medical tablets you may buy over there. The tourist who visit Matheran (and this applies to all hill stations in Maharashtra) are not seen as people contributing to the economy or to the livelihood of the people living there, but more as people who can be cheated, twisted and robbed. It is fairly obvious the local people have a complete nexus and are hand-in-glove with local officials to perpetuate this scenario.
Most people talk about how Matheran is beautiful because its one place where cars are not allowed. Now while this is great, I do not believe this is due to any eco-sensitivity of the local people or officials; its more that the horse owners “mafia” have a strong hold on the place to perpetuate and force you to use their horseback services at rates and prices that are set arbitrarily, altered based on what background you come from and which car you drive into the car park.
No wonder tourism in Maharashtra has fallen so low, and India itself cannot up its tourism profile. Even a small country like Singapore attracts 4-8 times the number of tourists that the vast land of India attracts. Unless we respect and appreciate tourists, are kind and polite, make places tourist friendly (at the same time preserving local sensibilities and culture), not much will change. While we believe we are a culture based on “Athithi Devo Bhav” (The Guest is Like God), in practice we are culture which practices “Chor Devo Bhav” (We are Robbers, So Rob the Guest First).
Dennis Taraporewala 