17.11.08 Vrindavan>Mathura>Hardiwar>Rishikesh>Laxman Jhula.... the longest stretch being eight and a half hours by train. The train. in sleeper class is infinitely better that the bus, But still pitiful compared to any form of transport in Thailand. What is the attraction to India? The sky is brown, there is trash everywhere, anything "public" and most budget guesthouses are filthy, people and animals alike defecate anywhere and everywhere. There is absolutely no order on the roads, which are in horrendous condition and shared alike by bicycle rickshaws, auto rickshaws, ox-driven carts, motorcycles, motor scooters, cars, buses, and trucks, almost all in one state of disrepair or another.... poverty is everywhere..power outages are the norm, even in big cities..The climate for the most part is unbearable. Beggars and street vendors alike tug at your arm relentlessly. Travel agents consistently lie about the tickets they sell you~ an overnight private "super deluxe" bus with people sleeping in the aisles and a broken seat that doesn't recline is not unusual. Rickshaw drivers lie about the price and vehemently deny the fact they get a commission for taking you somewhere you don't want to go..or they get on your bus and announce that this is your stop when it is not, then when the bus leaves they charge you an exorborant amount to get you where you need to go, duping many an unsuspecting tourist. The water is unsafe to drink. Unsafe? Nay, dangerous, and who knows how unsanitary the glasses and utensils they give you in restaurants are. They never seem to have the enough change, shorting you rupees right and left, this even happened to me at the post office while buying stamps. And the mosquito's it seems take extra pleasure feasting on foreign blood...So why do we come to India? This is a question I am too exhausted to answer right now....
Is it some sort of self imposed reality check? Someplace interesting where one can afford to spend a few months poking around? In truth, it is a a country drenched in culture and history, a land that spawned one of the worlds most colorful religions, that one based upon the story of God appearing on the scene with his flute in hand,,, loving the cows and charming the ladies,,,, And the other colorful Gods that come from around these parts. Buddhism and Yoga came from India as well. And Sanskrit, perhaps the worlds oldest language, whence comes the OM. And the second most common symbol in India, one seen outside of all temples, the swastika, which has been traced back more than six thousand years to the Indus Valley The mighty Himalayas, world tallest mountains, source of so many sacred rivers. This is an ancient culture, so much alive today. Brahmans, saints, sages, sadhus and baba's roam the country still, often with little more than the clothes on their back and their ritualistic paraphernalia, coming together every four years at the Kumbha Mela's, the largest gathering of humans on the planet. The tribal folk with their colorful garb, gypsies of the camel caravan. Men with turbans fifteen feet long, woman with their flowing mirror studded hand embroidered dresses and bazaar instruments, spinning in the desert. The traditional hypnotic music of the sitar and tablas. The temple bells that start ringing at four thirty in the morning. The bhajans (devotional songs) sung in the temples and broadcast over loud speakers all day long in some places, and all night long at certain times. The palaces of the maharajah's. The Taj Majal, one of the humanity's seven wonders of the world. A tomb. The Golden Temple of the Sikh's. Bodhgaya, the place where the Buddha figured it all out. And Dharmasala where the Dalai Lama now resides. Bengal in the east, origin of the great Bengal Tiger, and Darjeeling, famous for it's tea. Elephants, peacocks, monkey's, camels and of course cows.... can be seen all over India. The colors, all the women on this train are wearing bright colorful sari's made of fine silk or cotton, with a bindi on their forehead, bangles on their wrists, bells around their ankles, and rings in their ears, noses, fingers and toes. (the men all dressed in drab western clothes) The fact that many cities are considered holy places for one reason or another and so prohibit meat, alcohol and leather. The food, dosa's, curries, chutney's, pakora's, papadams, chapatis, samosa's.... chai.... all you can eat thali's for under a buck... The manner of greeting, different in each region but all recognizing some form of divinity, ever present here, Namaste, Radhe-Shyam, Hari Om, Ram Ram, Radhe Rahde, Hare Krishna, Asalaam Aleykum. Yes, "This is India", A country where once visited never leaves you. A country where when the time comes to leave it, one is all too eager, but before too long, India is calling you back. It is Heaven and Hell,,, often experienced on the same day. A land of extremes, as easy to love as it is to hate. India, for good or ill, there is nowhere else like it....
And now twelve hours later, I arrive back in Laxman Jhula, and India sunddenly takes on a surreal aspect. Almost indescribable, the feelings that washed over me as I approached to Ganga River with the wind blowing, and the air crisp and clean, and stars... the last time I really could see the stars was when I was here, so "hazy" the plains are. Besides this, I notice that it has been so long since I walked through a city or town that didn't smell like a sewer, sounds harsh, but it is true, Delhi>Jaipur>Agra>Vrindavan all had a stench in the air... it is eleven p.m., not a soul about, moved back into the same hotel, sitting here listening to Ganga flow by,, gazing at the waning moon, breathing good clean air... an overwhelming feeling bliss washes over me... feels like we have come home...
"And lately it occurs to me.... What a long strange trip it's been!!!"
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