Bill Oddie, 75
Interview with Bill Oddie, 75
Published: 10 February 2017
What surprised me most about the experience? Advertising hoardings. No brick is left uncovered.
Bill is a wildlife presenter and comedian who first found fame as one third of The Goodies, an off-beat comedy series in the 1970s and early 1980s. In more recent years, Bill has promoted his lifetime passion for birds from the status of a hobby to a job, and presented wildlife programmes from around the world.
Bill is an avid photographer and loves being outdoors. He’s been to India three times before to bird spot and see the wildlife, and on this trip he is looking forward to taking photographs of his discoveries. He is also very interested in Hindu art, visiting temples and shrines, and exploring Indian classical music.
What surprised you most about the experience?
Advertising hoardings. No brick is left uncovered. Most are adorned by masses of advertising for ayurveda herbal medicine that feature the local doctor beaming at the camera.
Tell us about one of your adventures
I was invited to take part in a parade celebrating Tigers at the Puli Kali festival. There were about 50 men painted as tigers, and I rather fancied joining them. Alas, they had run out of tiger painters and I got a bloke who could only do lions! In fact he did a fine job painting a lion on my bare belly, which he considered an ideal canvas.
I joined in the parade, dancing, singing and being feted by the crowd as "the only white man who has taken part". At the end I was being cheered and was being given high fives! When it was time to leave and we got in our car, a vital question struck me: how do I get the make-up off? Our driver suggested paraffin, turpentine or white spirit, none of which I had packed! So our driver disappeared for five minutes and came back with a plastic bottle full of something that looked like water, but presumably wasn’t.
That night I was truly weary. I went up to my room and spent half an hour scrubbing and wiping. I went to bed but an hour later I awoke with a dry mouth. I reached out to the bedside table, grabbed a bottle of clear liquid, gulped down half the bottle until I realised that it wasn't water, it was paraffin! I fell back to sleep wondering if I would ever see the dawn..
Do you see India as somewhere you could live?
I have visited it four times now, and I truly believe everybody should go there if they can. There is much to be entranced and intrigued by, but I did find the noise annoying. Traffic rattles around day and night, with motor horns honking ceaselessly, interrupted frequently by the yells and protests from intrepid pedestrians trying to cross the road, presumably to be heard above the traffic. Added to which, I like my bit of London!
