February 2008 Archives

I picked up a few books in a little bookstore in Darjeeling. One of the winners was a slim volume titled "Delhi is not far" by Ruskin Bond. I don't see it available on Amazon, but his "Best Of" collection has the story.

Like many short stories it has a tremendous sense of place including the brooding last two paragraphs.

"This is the real land, the land I should write about. My Mohalla [neighborhood] is but a sickness, a wasting disease, and I should turn aside from it to sing instead of the splendors of tomorrow. But only yesterdays are splendid ... There are other singers, sweeter than I, to sing of tomorrow. I can only sing of today, of Pipalnagar; where I have lived and loved.

Yesterday I was sad, and tomorrow I may be sad again, but today I know that I am happy. I want to live on and on delighting like a pagan in all that is physical; and I know that this one lifetime, however long, cannot satisfy my heart."
---Ruskin Bind, "Delhi is not far"

For the most part, I have refrained from writing about India since I got back. I found my experience pretty overwhelming and I wanted to take some time to really think about it and make sure that I was writing something true instead of simply being a victim of something akin to "Jerusalem Syndrome."

In India nothing is quite the way people described it,  yet it
is almost exactly what I expected. The people are  the real magic in
the spell that overtook me while I was there. Whether it is the breathtaking kindness of old friends or
the con artist looking for another $5 in 'taxes' it makes no difference -
India is heady, "through the looking glass", "back of the wardrobe"
magic.

I wanted to go to India for 6+ years. No doubt the anticipation colored my experience. However, I've run into lots of people who wanted something for a very long time only to discover that they hate it in actuality -- they were only in love with the idea.

My trip was not entirely without minor hardship. I had to change hotel and air travel plans to accommodate the realities of traffic. I was asked to pay taxes that don't exist. I was pestered by shopkeepers unwilling for me to leave their store without some trinket. I slept in a hotel room with no heat where I could see my breath every night. My driver pulled out in front of a large oncoming vehicle more than once. I ran into strikes that changed my plans and demonstrations that blocked my progress. I could go on, but you get the idea. There were obstacles in my travels.

India itself is a magical place to visit because of it's sharp contrasts and fascinating history and cultures. Not only are there contrasts between Minnesota and India, there are significant contrasts to be found in India. Every street scene you encounter has the kinds of contrasts and variations that you usually only find in an Ansel Adams print. Beyond the simple magic of the place, I think there were four things I brought to India that helped that made my trip such a positive experience.

I had a good attitude. I'm sure my experience of India, overwhelmingly positive as it was, was colored by my attitude. I generally couldn't wait to see what was going to happen next. I genuinely hoped that the thing I saw wasn't the wheels of a speeding Tata truck running me over, but generally I was just waiting for the next good thing to happen. This attitude was my good luck charm.

I was prepared. Based on what I had read and heard from other people I was prepared for realities much worse than what I experienced. I think knowing that you will run into a bathroom on a road side which isn't configured like the road side rests in the states helps you mentally prepare.

I was lucky. I ate things which may not have been 100% safe. I never got sick. I spent hours in cars on busy roads and didn't experience an accident.I'm sure my trip would have a lot less fun if things hadn't gone so well. For instance, being in a car accident where drivers are having heated exchanges would have been difficult. Being robbed would be awful. Being sick in certain circumstances would have been difficult. Combining bad experiences would have been beyond tough. I can understand why long term travelers hit a certain wall where they face difficulties and road blocks for days on end and suddenly reach their wits end where they just want a day without hassles. I wasn't there long enough to be that "tired exhausted traveler."

I had friends. In Pune where I spent the first week working with my peers I was the recipient of overwhelming hospitality. They gave me good advice and made me believe I would be just fine. They made sure that I knew I could call them day or night if I was in need of assistance. I didn't have to call on them, but knowing that I could was a powerful backup plan. I don't know if it was entirely true, but the way I was received by friends - both old and new - in Pune made me believe that I would make friends while I was traveling. Having the attitude that I would make friends, made the everything better.

I can't wait to go back. There is an amazing amount of natural and man made beauty to soak up. I think I could travel for a year and still miss seeing entire civilizations and epochs.

Next time I want to spend more time there, both in the office and exploring the countryside.

I was in Cincinnati last weekend. I had a great time. The highlight was hanging out with my aunt and uncle of course. Two of the places we went were especially memorable.

One really cool place was the Roebling bridge that crosses the Ohio River. It's like a miniature Brooklyn Bridge and uses the same design elements although it is much smaller. I had to walk it.

The other cool place was Jungle Jim's. It's hard to describe this place, it's like an odd grocery store but a lot more than one is used to seeing in one place. I've never seen so much interesting food under one roof. I regret that I somehow missed the whole goat's head that is available in the butcher shop.

Here I am sitting in the world's plushest loo.

This was the early light on Tiger Hill.

Here is the crush of photographers who got to the Taj late in the morning after sunrise. I was glad we got there before the big crowd. The woman in the sweater was laughing at me for taking all the pictures of the photographers.

The Taj Mahal wasn't very high on my personal list of things to see in India. I had friends going so I figured I might as well go. I mean I wouldn't go to Cairo without seeing the Pyramids so how could I miss the Taj?

I am happy to report that is was well worth the effort it took to get there. All expectations were exceeded including how long the drive from Dehli to Agra is.

It's far more amazing in person that I would have expected and I am glad I went even if it met re-arranging my travel plans and spending a good part of Sunday in a Dehli hotel room watching cricket and VH1.

My room in Darjeeling was cold enough to see your breath. I had no idea how wonderful a hot water bottle could be in this situation.

I am going to the Taj today with friends.

I finally made the pilgrimage to my favorite bakery in India. The service was fast and everything I tried was amazing.

I gt up very early on Tuesday and drove from Mumbai to Pune. The roads were empty and the sunrise in the hills inspiring.

Here I am eating dinner cross-legged at a Rajastan themed park. I have a turban on my head which one of the servers lent to me. My friend Sonali and her husband are seated on the right.

Tonight I finally had a ride on a motor bike in Indian traffic. It was fun. We didn't go through the worst traffic but I got a good taste for the roads.

Next time we'll take a long ride.

I have seen a lot today. I saw a cricket match, a political rally, a herd of cows in the road, wonderful shops, new friends, old friends, delicious meals and even a human powered ferris wheel.

It's almost too much for me to take in one day.

I'm a vim guy if you didn't know.

I spent an extra hour or two in the Newark airport and flew uneventfully to Mumbai. A gentleman asked me to trade seats so he could sit with his friends and I ended up with an aisle seat in the middle, with no one sitting next to me for the duration of the flight. The woman on the other side of my row was from Pune so I got to ask her lots of questions about my destination.

I slept fitfully, but it seemed to go by quick.

I retrieved my luggage without incident and eventually found my driver, Singram. We left the airport around midnight. We raced through streets in Mumbai that were thick with smog. The ride to Pune was fun and involved lots of honking and agile driving. My driver made many memorable lane changes that reminded me of my racing days. We ate something very delicious, likely made of potatos and cauliflower, at a truck stop right before the mountain passes started in earnest. I got into the hotel at about 3:30 AM local time. I can't bear to figure out how many hours I had been traveling since I left my home.

Today's breakfast was delicious. I usually don't eat spicy food for breakfast, but it was so good I had to have seconds.

First flight at 2:15 delayed until 5:08. That would mean a missed connection, so my airline put me on a 12:55 flight, which is now delayed until 3:15. Anyone want to lay odds on where I spend the night tonight? I think there are three choices -- Newark, an airplane or my own home.