"The Rural Blur"

My favourite part about the long train journeys around India is something I've entitled "The Rural Blur." Standing at the doors of the train cars (which are normally open, with the outside world shifting past)

you can get an interesting look at India "behind the scenes," so to speak. India, as it is experienced by the traveller is often full of noise, crowds, colours, and generally, urban areas. From the doorway of a cross-country train ride, you get to see rural India in the midst of its peaceful stillness. It is a rare glimpse of the side of this country I have yet to really engage with. A group of men sitting on stools, smoking "beedies" together. A mother taking her children to their small shelter for bedtime. A single incandescent bulb, a campfire, or often no light at all during the late evening activities of farming villages alongside the railroad tracks. It proves to me that there are people with peaceful, unhurried lives. The world needs more people like that. I need to be more like that. My hands grip the support bars beside the doors, I feel the wind tearing at my beard, and I watch as these tranquil scenes fly by, often listening to the second half of the Weakerthans album, "Reunion Tour" (starting with the song "Sun in an empty room"). Put that on in your headphones and see if you can picture it.

The album finishes with a song called "utilities," and it has become a kind of prayer of mine:
"Got a face full of all this weather
smirking smile of a high pressure ridge
Got more faults than the state of California
and the heart is a badly built bridge.
Seems the most I have to offer
doesn't offer much.
Make it something somebody can use.
Make this something somebody can use."

As I head to Kolkata at the end of this week, that song may be playing in my ears, and that prayer will be on my lips. In the hope that when I reach that city of 15-20 million (depending on who you ask) I may be able to recognize my faults, humble myself, and be of some use to somebody, somewhere in that hectic urban jungle. May I have ears to hear, words to speak (when necessary), but most importantly, willing hands to serve. I know Eli wants the same. I'm so glad we're doing this together.

Sun Rhymes With Fun.

Apparently even Rajasthani people consider these things "heat waves." By these "things" I am referring to the days where time spent in the sun is like time spent as an ant on a patch of tar outside the house where the 9-year-old with a microscope lives. Y'know? Needless to say, the days where I play football (soccer) in the mornings with Eli and a bunch of Indian University students and Ultimate after school with some members of our group, without sufficient time in the shade, is enough to send me to bed with a headache for an extended period of time. Time spent in class is becoming more and more of a test of physical endurance. Luckily, it's April and class is almost over. But how weird is that!? My last 2 exams are on the 10th and the 12th, then I have to finish up my 2 independent study paper's and by April 16th, it's all over. Crazy.

I've recently been informed about my extended readership (ie - people that read this blog to get the latest news on Eli, Remy, Michelle, or other members of our group). SO, without further ado about myself, here is a quick update:
Remy's beard was looking luscious today.
Eli was wearing his usual brown T-shirt. Lookin' good.
Michelle Ball helped set up an easter egg hunt with our group in Udaipur (the town where we spent last weekend). It was good. I think I won.

Also, Alexia and I got to attend our first Indian wedding last week with our Indian parents. It was unbelievably extravagant. There was enough food there for a small city, and there was about the population of a small city in attendance. Very cool.
A group of us (Remy, Matt, Olivia, Steph, Abra, and I) also had a great adventure to a village about an hour from Jaipur last week. We ate lunch in a small house with the family of a man (named Monu) Remy had met on campus, had an impromptu volleyball game (where Remy had to ceremoniously cut a red ribbon and give a speech to all villagers in attendance...hilarious), and visited some of the sites with a jeep full of our "escorts." With traditional Indian hospitality, we were stuffed with food, treated like royalty, and not allowed to pay for anything. We also became the centre of attention for various crowds of curious people. It was a fun, but very hectic, excursion.

In other news, Eli and I have a train ticket for April 17th from Delhi to Kolkata. We'll be heading to volunteer with the Missionaries of Charity and hang out in that crazy city for a few weeks. Should be awesome.

Gnarly Dunes

From Jodhpur Fort, overlooking "the Indigo City."


Jodhpur, featuring the fort.



Dunes.

A Dynamic Duo.

Camel riding. Remy looked so at home on his camel. The rest of us were awkward. I wrote in my journal that his "true Egyptian" was shining through.

Sunrise. (me)

Sunset. (Eli the acrobat).

Eli the kung fu master.

Me. That dune was a great one for jumps.

Sand dunes good for jumping off of, playing king of the dune, tossing a disc around on, and just generally staring at because they are so beautiful. The Thar Desert was beautiful, and the forts in the towns of Jaisalmer (near the Pakistan border), and Jodhpur were breathtaking. Rajasthan is very different from other places we've been. The harshness of the desert and the prevalence of fascinating ancient styles (from archicture to the best freakin mustaches you've ever seen) make it very unique. In the middle of the day in the Thar desert these days it is between 40-45 degrees in the sun, so about half of our group was sick in the course of the week - I'm attributing it to a mixture of interesting food, general sickness, and intense sun/heatstroke. But I was fine, so don't worry Mom. Although the heat really takes it out of you. I really enjoyed exploring forts, doing some traditional Rajasthani dancing, eating GOOD food, star gazing from sand dunes, and going on a camel safari. It was a good week, and now it's back to work here in Jaipur. Enjoy the photos.

Peace.

...also!

I forgot to mention who the people were in one of the photos below. The girl is Alexia (my current housemate), the guy is Peter (my Mysore roommate), and the other guy with the beard is me.
Ok. Bye!

My Indian (Grand)parents

I live in Jaipur now. In Rajasthan. In the wonderful Indian home of Prabha and Naveen Lal Ji. I have their son's old room, and Alexia (my housemate) has the upstairs room,which once belonged to their daughter. Their children are 40+ years old now, so I don't have to worry about competition for my bed. Hugging is generally frowned upon in India between members of different genders, and generally when you meet an older person there are certain social norms in Canada that say you probably shouldn't hug them...but such was NOT the case for Prabha. She greeted me with the ever-present twinkle in her eye and turned my handshake into a warm hug! They are such fantastic people. They are remarkably progressive for the older Indian generation: they tutor children from the nearby slum, have Muslim and Christian friends (they are Hindu), know how to use a computer (sort of), have traveled to other countries (they've been to Canada!), and they've had students from all over the world stay with them for the past 15-20 years. In short, Alexia and I hit the jackpot with our Indian family.

I am a huge nerd. I spend my days writing papers and going to the University of Rajasthan, where our group has our classes. Luckily the University is only a 15 minute walk from our house. A highlight was an ultimate game we had with some American students we met (and 1 or 2 Indian guys that tried to learn the game as well). It was great to play a real 7 on 7 game. I miss it a lot these days, although a few of us toss the disc during our lunch break in the hot sun.

Another highlight is watching Cricket matches after dinner with Naveen. Well, Cricket interspersed with hilarious corny Indian soap opera's. Oh man. You don't even know bad acting/filming until you've seen these. But Cricket is sweet! We played a game with some Indian students we met back in Mysore, and now I feel I could get into watching this. A few of us plan on attending a Rajasthan Royals game in the upcoming weeks.

Well...that's all for me. I had mutton kebab's. They are typical Rajasthani food. deee-lish! Tonight we're heading out for a week long adventure to some other places. I'll tell you about it later. Peace.

Photos...FINALLY!

At the bottom of Jog Falls. Sweet moment. (Eli and I)




Western Ghats. The boys.






In the Jungle - Western Ghats.





Hampi sunrise. Me.

Hampi. Matt Stock.

Mysore.

Mysore downtown.

Manakshi Temple. A big un.

Sunrise over the Bay of Bengal, Pondicherry.

Train sunrise.

Varanasi. River Ganges. Hilarious.

Yep.

Yes, that is the legendary "scorpion." We had fun in front of the Taj. I actually can't believe we did this.

Turtle Bay. On the Arabian Sea.

Solar Eclipse through a telescope in Ernakulam, Kerala.

Sunrises and Vomit

Pondicherry was a beautiful coastal French-influenced South Indian town. Although the best Dosas I ever had were in a dingy basement paint-peeling restaurant in Madurai, Pondicherry featured some wonderful food with the influence of the French. And as much as I LOVE Indian food, some French influence never bugs me too much either. Pondicherry reminded me of Pi Patel. I feel like I understand him better now. Maybe. I saw the sunrise over the Bay of Bengal on a beautiful humid morning with my friend Alexia. I slept a lot in Pondicherry. My body seemed to be sick without the actual "being sick" aspect...but that came later.

After a 36 hour train voyage to North India, our group arrived in Varanasi! If you are trying to picture India (especially because I have yet to figure out my stubborn camera and these Indian computers), you probably are picturing something like Varanasi. It is the mental picture I think we all have of India. The Ganges River, the ghats (steps) down to the water filled with people bathing and doing laundry, the banks covered in temples, cremations, and hundreds of people. But before I get into that: how cool is the idea of being sick out of a bus on a bridge over the ganges river? eh? What a view. My body couldn't have timed it better. After 24 hours of intense illness, I went into recovery mode (and antibiotic consumption mode). The first REAL "sick in India" experience. BOOM. Luckily I felt well enough to actually meander around Varanasi on our last morning to see the sights I described earlier. Eli, Dan, and I went out on a rowboat in the wee hours of the morning to see the sunrise over the river and to see Varanasi really come to life. It was a beautiful morning and (hopefully) soon you'll be able to see the pictures.

A day of vomiting. A couple of beautiful sunrises. Then off on a train to Jhansi, where we arrived this morning. We saw the famed Jhansi fort today, and got a brief taste for this city, and we head to Agra tomorrow morning. Jhansi was home to the Indian version of Jean of Arc. Apparently she died on a horse, weilding a broad sword, steering her horse with the reins in her mouth. Yikes.
I think a bunch of us are planning on seeing a bollywood film tonight (in Hindi) entitled "My Name is Khan." (first name: Sheshar?) Khan is THE bollywood male star. He's the Brad Pitt. The George Clooney. The Emilio Estivez. etc.

I don't know what else I was going to tell you. More to come I suppose. I've gotta go grab dinner. peace.