I can't believe how fast this semester is flying. We are currently in the last week of class, next week is our finals and then we are on our independent projects! I have reached my capacity for Hindi, all the tenses, cases, rules and exceptions are merging together.
Anywho, so what another whirlwind. Like I briefly mentioned, Jaisalmer was wonderful though not as relaxing as I had hoped. We spent a lot of time singing and my voice was hoarse for a few days after. However I learned to play this instrument called Kartal which are these two flat wooden plank-type things that go in each hand and click together in rapid succession. They look really easy, but let me tell you they are not. Our teachers gave me a pair so I will be able to show you how difficult they are to play. When we were able to explore, Jaisalmer proved to be a very photogenic city. The elaborate havelis, narrow alleys and the large Jaisalmer fort kept begging to remembered in every detail. While I took many pictures, i fear none do Jaisalmer justice. On a related note, a bit of a tragedy occurred. While my music teachers were very kind, patient and sweet, they were also a little pushy to be documented for promotional purposes. In one hurried--and on my part reluctant--documentation sessions, I accidentally erased over my amazing tiger footage...I was quite devastated, but what can you do?
After returning from Jaisalmer, only a day later I got right back on an overnight train to Varanasi, the holiest city in India. Though I was reluctant at first, I am very glad now that I did go. We left on Friday after classes and arrived in Varanasi at 9am Saturday. Rickshaws are not allowed within a certain distance from the ghats, so we walked through the bazars, past silk shops, food stalls, cows and lines of people walking in pilgrimage procession to the scared waters of the ganges together. Upon arriving at the waters edge, we were greeted with boats, masseuses, boat rides, friends, opium sellers and more. We got a little lost looking for our guest house and ended up exploring the ghats much further north than we expected. Our guest house was in the old city, very close to the burning ghats. When we arrived at the burning ghats the strangest thing happened to me. We were watching a cremation, several in fact, and all of a sudden I got very dizzy, as if I was about to faint. I wasn't upset by the images, nor was I hot or dehydrated, but my body all of a sudden got very overwhelmed. After sitting down for a few moments I was fine, but it was an interesting way to be introduced to Varanasi. Our guest house had a wonderful 24 rooftop restaurant with a free pool table.
Later returning to the burning ghat, we were able to watch from above about 5 cremations happening at once at various stages. One body had just been brought to the ghat, another was having its final bath in the Ganges. Another had just been placed on the pyre, another had been burning for a long time and I could make out the head, charred and sticking out from the wood. The last was having its ashes spread into the ganges and someone sifting through them looking for jewelery. I was told about 300 cremations happen at this ghat every day. Many people come to varanasi to wait to die. This was very interesting to me since it directly related to my project of Ganga and her symbolic power. I will not bore you know with all the amazing things I am learning and how they all correlate in fascinating ways, I'll make you read my paper later. But in general, the goddess Ganga fell from the heavens to cleanse the sins of this family, but not all of her fell. Consequently, Ganga is a symbol for spiritual purity and since part of her remains in the heavens, she is a direct link to the heavens as well. It is thought that all those who die in Varansi achieve mosksha instantaeously. There are many stories of people who are saved from hell (even if they were burglers or other questionable professions) who because a drop of Ganga's waters bushed his face carried by the wind they were sent to heaven instead of hell. Ok so enough about my research.
Most of Varansi was just walking around and exploring, watching people, seeing things I didn't understand, getting lost in the back alleys and discovering new things. In short I loved it. We took an evening boat ride to see the evening puja in a front row seat on the river. There were like 6 young men performing somewhat of a dance in synch paying homage to ganga and Shiva. We then woke up early for a sunrise boat ride to see the morning light bathe the pilgrims as they washed away their sins and their clothes. Later we went to the Bharata Mata temple, a place where the divinity is actually a marble relief of a map of India. Througout the trip I made many friends, people who remembered as I walked by, most of whom I forgot. On sunday we returned to the train station, only to find out in small incriments that our train was delayed more and more. Our train was scheduled to arrive in varansi at 3:45 pm, we didn't get on the train until 9:45 pm. Our train was supposed to arrive at 4:30am monday morning, we didn't arrive until 2:30pm, missed all our classes and we jumped off the train a few stops before ours and just figured out how to get to school. I have to say I am rather proud of how competent I feel to get around and deal with unexpected situations. What else is there to say? I have many pictures, tell me what you think! Scroll to the bottom, I have added more pictures (though some are sideways)
http://picasaweb.google.com/midnightdiamond/MySemesterInTheLandOfDjinns
Now I am working in finals mode and trying to get my ISP together.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Jaisalmer
So this will very short and quick since I have class in ten minutes.
Last Wednesday we left for workshops in which I chose to study folk music in the desert city of Jaisalmer. It was a beautiful city with lots of ornate havelis, however we studied music for about 7 hours a day and hence did not have much time to see the city. Some highlights were the fact that we had more teachers than students (4 students 6 teachers). We "learned" about 6 instruments and sang a lot. My voice is still a little hoarse actually. Another highlight was going to the desert sand dunes, the sand was like silk and the stars were so bright. Our teachers performed for us in the desert with two beautiful gypsy girls dancing.
Today I am on my way to Varansi. I am excited though also stressed since I just got back from workshops, I am tired and I am worried about my ISP research. Anyways, much love and I'll write more when I get back
Last Wednesday we left for workshops in which I chose to study folk music in the desert city of Jaisalmer. It was a beautiful city with lots of ornate havelis, however we studied music for about 7 hours a day and hence did not have much time to see the city. Some highlights were the fact that we had more teachers than students (4 students 6 teachers). We "learned" about 6 instruments and sang a lot. My voice is still a little hoarse actually. Another highlight was going to the desert sand dunes, the sand was like silk and the stars were so bright. Our teachers performed for us in the desert with two beautiful gypsy girls dancing.
Today I am on my way to Varansi. I am excited though also stressed since I just got back from workshops, I am tired and I am worried about my ISP research. Anyways, much love and I'll write more when I get back
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Holi....It was a long day
Saying "it was a long day" just doesn't quite do the last few days justice. So last Thursday we had our Hindi midterm, and though I still don't know my exact grade I have been told I did really well. After the test I hung out with Agni before he departed for Varanasi and Nepal. Katherine and I have a home stay-cousin (Amrit, the one from the barbecue) who offered to take us to a club Thursday night. So, feeling like rebellious teenagers, we packed all of our make-up and each of our one western shirts into a bag, and left the house in our kurtas. We went to meet up with friends to have dinner in Khan market and changed into our western outfits in a bathroom. We later realized it was way too early to go to a club, so ended up having to go home and changing back into our kurtas. When we got home we told Mama that Amrit was taking us out, she was very excited for us. We got once again re changed into our western outfits and showed Mama for approval before left (of which she was very pleased). Amrit picked us up from our house and with one of his friends from childhood took us to the country club where mama had taken us. we had a few drinks and danced a bit and then we went to this club that we had heard about. There were a lot of foreigners there, mostly techno music, and these funny Khajuraho life-size carvings on the back wall. Unfortunately the evening took a turn for me when Amrit's friend tired to be too friendly with me. We eventually went home at 2:30 am and I promptly woke up at 5:30 to go back to school with my bags packed for the weekend.
Friday was the day of things going wrong. At every step something little happened that could have irked me, but somehow none of them got to me. I'll spare you the whole story because I'd rather spend time writing you all the wonderful things that happened. After classes I went to my third cooking class and went straight to the train station where I met up with six other classmates to catch our overnight train to Udaipur, city of lakes. After not sleeping the night before, I slept very well on the train and the 12 hour journey went by very quickly.
We arrived in Udaipur at 8 am, and went to our guesthouse which was down a few alleys from the City Palace with a beautiful view of the lake from our windows. This was by far the most modest place I have stayed in thus far, nothing but a room with a bed, window and fan. The outlet had nothing behind it, the bathroom was shared by everyone, but it was absolutely perfect. There was an amazing rooftop with a spectacular view where we spent much of our time. We found a wonderful cheap place to eat, and from there wandered around for a bit. We found a great guy who made pint sized fresh juices without ice or water, i had a pomegranate and pineapple juice for about $0.70. We then met a Sufi who invited us to his gallery to get our nails painted with miniature painting free of charge. We got some beers and came back to our guest house and chatted on the roof for hours. In the evening we went to the city palace and found the most romantic restaurant ever. It was rather expensive, but for the quality it was really cheap in comparison for what would be equal to it in the US. Further more it was on the lake side where we could see the lake lit up at night. I had a Thai curry and rose petal ice cream (which I have been looking for for YEARs and had candied rose petals in it, AMAZING!). Though it was out of my budget, it was really perfect and very healing to pamper myself a bit from Thursday night. We went home and played mafia and had a good night sleep.
Overall I feel like it is really difficult to describe why Udaipur was so amazing. We didn't actually do anything in particular. It was just nice to be in a beautiful place that was relaxed, people weren't pushy to sell us things. There were a lot of tourists there, in the area we were perhaps even more tourists than Indians, but I never felt overwhelmed by tourists. In fact most places we went to, restaurants, stores, sites, we were the only tourists around. It was just so relaxing and wonderful. I didn't even take many pictures because I don't think I could have captured the feeling that i was feeling. To be honest the sites we not that spectacular, but for the time and place, nothing could have been better. We did a bit of shopping, and then boarded our train back to Delhi at 6pm to arrive at 6:30am. The train ride was a nice bonding trip, but at 12:30 we got kicked out of our beds by new boarders, which resulted in them snoring like bears (or louder), and us not getting any sleep. We left for our program center straight from the train station. We were all kind of delirious, me especially since I also got sick (cold sick). That day we happened to also have a long lecture day where we learned about Sufism, went to Nizzamudin and Huymanun's tomb and listed to Qwaali music. We finally got home at 7pm, the first time I had been home since 7 am Friday morning, a long day to say the least.
Yesterday was Holi, a holiday of which I am still a little unclear about the mythological story behind it. Something about defeating a demon in a fire. Anyways, Holi seems to be one of the main holidays here in India, all of the advertisements have been utilizing Holi iconography for weeks, sales have been going on. Our school schedule got significantly rearranged due to SIT planning for Holi to be today and instead the decided date was yesterday instead. So, Holi seems to be April fools day, Halloween, St. Patrick's day, Mardi Gras, and a city wide food fight rolled up into one and simultaneously completely unique. Basically India turns into a country-wide paintball fight with water balloons, colored powder (yellow, orange, red, green, purple, pink, silver, gold), buckets of water, and in some cases, eggs, tar, grease, paint and more. I bought a plain white kurta so I can show everyone what kinds of color I was drenched in. Katherine and I went with Amrit to hang out with his friends (from the barbecue), and were promptly greeted with water guns filled with colored water, and bags of colored powder. As we drove from our house to his in his open jeep, we were easy targets for children from balconies and people crossing the street armed with water balloons and super soakers. Whenever a friend greeted us he or she grabbed a handful of colored powder and smeared it all over our face, always straight for the face. Then of course we reciprocated. Buckets of water (including muddy water) were often dumped on people from behind. When ever we were unexpectedly hit by some kids with water balloon the entire group (of about 12) would congratulate them on the good hit! We drove around for hours in the playful warzone learning tacit rules such as girls are the biggest targets for buckets of water, and not to hit anyone who didn't already have color on them already because that meant they didn't want to play. However if they did, they were fair game. It was quite a crazy and fun experience. I came home to Soha not even recognizing me because I was completely covered in green. The colors surprisingly came out rather well though my scalp and certain patches of skin are still dyed. In the evening after washing up I got to see Meera which just was the perfect touch to a wonderful day.
Right now all of us at the program center are freaking out a little because we have another midterm tomorrow as well as our ISP proposal due tomorrow. Saturday we leave for our workshops, I will be gong to Jaisalmer (in Rajistan again yay!) to study fold music and maybe dance. I am really excited, but it probably means I won't have access to e-mail until I get back next weekend. So until then, much love always.
Friday was the day of things going wrong. At every step something little happened that could have irked me, but somehow none of them got to me. I'll spare you the whole story because I'd rather spend time writing you all the wonderful things that happened. After classes I went to my third cooking class and went straight to the train station where I met up with six other classmates to catch our overnight train to Udaipur, city of lakes. After not sleeping the night before, I slept very well on the train and the 12 hour journey went by very quickly.
We arrived in Udaipur at 8 am, and went to our guesthouse which was down a few alleys from the City Palace with a beautiful view of the lake from our windows. This was by far the most modest place I have stayed in thus far, nothing but a room with a bed, window and fan. The outlet had nothing behind it, the bathroom was shared by everyone, but it was absolutely perfect. There was an amazing rooftop with a spectacular view where we spent much of our time. We found a wonderful cheap place to eat, and from there wandered around for a bit. We found a great guy who made pint sized fresh juices without ice or water, i had a pomegranate and pineapple juice for about $0.70. We then met a Sufi who invited us to his gallery to get our nails painted with miniature painting free of charge. We got some beers and came back to our guest house and chatted on the roof for hours. In the evening we went to the city palace and found the most romantic restaurant ever. It was rather expensive, but for the quality it was really cheap in comparison for what would be equal to it in the US. Further more it was on the lake side where we could see the lake lit up at night. I had a Thai curry and rose petal ice cream (which I have been looking for for YEARs and had candied rose petals in it, AMAZING!). Though it was out of my budget, it was really perfect and very healing to pamper myself a bit from Thursday night. We went home and played mafia and had a good night sleep.
Overall I feel like it is really difficult to describe why Udaipur was so amazing. We didn't actually do anything in particular. It was just nice to be in a beautiful place that was relaxed, people weren't pushy to sell us things. There were a lot of tourists there, in the area we were perhaps even more tourists than Indians, but I never felt overwhelmed by tourists. In fact most places we went to, restaurants, stores, sites, we were the only tourists around. It was just so relaxing and wonderful. I didn't even take many pictures because I don't think I could have captured the feeling that i was feeling. To be honest the sites we not that spectacular, but for the time and place, nothing could have been better. We did a bit of shopping, and then boarded our train back to Delhi at 6pm to arrive at 6:30am. The train ride was a nice bonding trip, but at 12:30 we got kicked out of our beds by new boarders, which resulted in them snoring like bears (or louder), and us not getting any sleep. We left for our program center straight from the train station. We were all kind of delirious, me especially since I also got sick (cold sick). That day we happened to also have a long lecture day where we learned about Sufism, went to Nizzamudin and Huymanun's tomb and listed to Qwaali music. We finally got home at 7pm, the first time I had been home since 7 am Friday morning, a long day to say the least.
Yesterday was Holi, a holiday of which I am still a little unclear about the mythological story behind it. Something about defeating a demon in a fire. Anyways, Holi seems to be one of the main holidays here in India, all of the advertisements have been utilizing Holi iconography for weeks, sales have been going on. Our school schedule got significantly rearranged due to SIT planning for Holi to be today and instead the decided date was yesterday instead. So, Holi seems to be April fools day, Halloween, St. Patrick's day, Mardi Gras, and a city wide food fight rolled up into one and simultaneously completely unique. Basically India turns into a country-wide paintball fight with water balloons, colored powder (yellow, orange, red, green, purple, pink, silver, gold), buckets of water, and in some cases, eggs, tar, grease, paint and more. I bought a plain white kurta so I can show everyone what kinds of color I was drenched in. Katherine and I went with Amrit to hang out with his friends (from the barbecue), and were promptly greeted with water guns filled with colored water, and bags of colored powder. As we drove from our house to his in his open jeep, we were easy targets for children from balconies and people crossing the street armed with water balloons and super soakers. Whenever a friend greeted us he or she grabbed a handful of colored powder and smeared it all over our face, always straight for the face. Then of course we reciprocated. Buckets of water (including muddy water) were often dumped on people from behind. When ever we were unexpectedly hit by some kids with water balloon the entire group (of about 12) would congratulate them on the good hit! We drove around for hours in the playful warzone learning tacit rules such as girls are the biggest targets for buckets of water, and not to hit anyone who didn't already have color on them already because that meant they didn't want to play. However if they did, they were fair game. It was quite a crazy and fun experience. I came home to Soha not even recognizing me because I was completely covered in green. The colors surprisingly came out rather well though my scalp and certain patches of skin are still dyed. In the evening after washing up I got to see Meera which just was the perfect touch to a wonderful day.
Right now all of us at the program center are freaking out a little because we have another midterm tomorrow as well as our ISP proposal due tomorrow. Saturday we leave for our workshops, I will be gong to Jaisalmer (in Rajistan again yay!) to study fold music and maybe dance. I am really excited, but it probably means I won't have access to e-mail until I get back next weekend. So until then, much love always.
updated contact info
I just wanted to update you all that the contact information I previously sent is wrong. The correct mailing address is
Tara Kelton
c/o SIT
F-301, 2nd floor, Lado Sarai
New Delhi--110030, India
I also have a cellphone where I can be reached if you are willing to make the long distance call.
91-965-417-0946
Tara Kelton
c/o SIT
F-301, 2nd floor, Lado Sarai
New Delhi--110030, India
I also have a cellphone where I can be reached if you are willing to make the long distance call.
91-965-417-0946
Monday, March 2, 2009
Temples and Tigers and Weddings oh my!
Friday last week was our home stay mother's birthday. We had a lovely time getting to know the family. Apparently in India you socialize and drink, then you have desert, then you have dinner, then you leave. So we got dressed up, had drinks constantly in our hands (and refilled before we could finish them). Maybe it was because we haven't drank anything since we arrived or maybe it was because they mixed particularly strong drinks, but we got tipsy rather fast. We watched Indian Idol for awhile, which apparently is like a huge deal and they were in the final three. Then Soha sang for a bit, and we were quizzed on translating the songs from Hindi (we didn't do that well). Then we fed Mama bites of chocolate cake and then went to a yummy Italian restaurant where I had homemade raviolis with pesto., however we arrived at 11:00pm, so it was a long long night. I am not getting sick of Indian food per say, it is still tasty, I am just noticing that I am really used to have a wide variety of food at home. The next morning, we woke up (still drunk) at 4 am to catch our 5am train to Gwalior. It was a bit of a rough day.
I got some sleep on the train and felt better. We had to all get off the train in 2 min which was a bit of a mad rush. We saw some nice museum with some beautiful sculptures and some forts that featured blue and yellow duckies in the tiles. We also saw some awesome stone screen carvings. Every place felt really rushed though. Storm-Ji takes us to her favorite pieces at the site/ museum and then gives us 5-10 min to "explore."The next day we went to Orrcha by car. On the way we stopped at a fort in Datia which was structured like a mandala. The forts here are really palaces for the royalty. However the Datia fort was never inhabited it was a purely symbolic structure. By this time I had come down with quite a cold, so I was rather miserable for the Gwalior/ Orcha leg of the journey, so I will skip over this part and just saw we some some cool temples and staying in really nice guest houses.
Leaving for Khajuraho i watched a bit of the Oscars playing live in the morning, which felt sooo nice! Thought the 8 hour car drive we got updates from Strom-Ji's blackberry about how many Oscars Slumdog Millionaire got, we also got updates from the radio interrupting songs. I don't think I have never heard so much about a movie abroad, it is part of daily conversation here. India is soooo proud of the movie, though there is also considerable controversy, mostly around the name "slumdog." Anyways, I saw best supporting actress and best screenplay. After we arrived at Khajuraho, we checked in and saw some temples in the evening.The day we were in Khajuraho was Shivnatri, which is the celebration of Shiva's wedding with Paravati. We had the evening off since most nights we had Hindi class. We went into town, had to almost crawl though this tiny alley way to get to this fair with ferris wheels. We decided to tempt fate and get on one, it was quite fun but a little scary, and getting on the Ferris wheel this guy slyly touched four of our asses. We eventually told him off, but dealing stares and groups of men was much more of an issue here than any other place we had been too so far. It might have been due to the festival and everyone being high. We then went to an restaurant to have Pizza and saw the parade for Shivnatri from the rooftop of the restaurant. In the evening we indulged in TV and watched the Oscars that were being replayed, and when MILK won for best screenplay I was excited to hear the speech again, but as he came up to accept the Oscar they cut out the speech entirely! I was so mad. An insight into Indian censorship around homophobia. The next day we stayed and saw the more popular temples. We also went out exploring on our own to do temple/ site sketches. I found drawing (something I never really do) was a really cool exercise in observing.
The next morning we went to Bandhabgarh to see the Tiger Sanctuary. It was a really really long drive, but a beautiful reserve. After we arrived we went in open jeeps and basically just drove around for about 2 hours. I almost gave up after seeing deers, birds and monkeys over and over again but no tigers. In fact there were a few times I even forgot we were looking for tigers. But then at the very end we was 3 different tigers!!! I unfortunately don't really have any photos, but I have some AMAZING footage. We came back in the morning to look for tigers again and told we could also ride elephants, though this never happened. It was quite breathtaking to see these Bengal Tigers in the wild, and it was hilarious how all these tourists in open jeeps were fighting to get closer and take pictures, and trying to be quiet. Anyways, we were sad to leave to get on to a 17 hour train after a 3 hour car ride back to Delhi.
After arriving 2 hours late in Delhi, Kathrine and I high tailed it back home to take a quick shower and change into our Saris for the wedding. The wedding was of an Australian woman and a Indian man who decided to have a traditional Indian wedding. We never really knew what was going on, but it was cool to watch. There was some ceremony of putting a veil on the groom to shield him from the evil eye. Then there was a ceremony with the groom on a white horse with everyone dancing in front of the horse. This was quite awkward just because it looked like none of the Australians knew what was going on either, so there was very little dancing actually happening and instead a lot of standing around. Then there was a garland ceremony as the bride came, and longer beautiful ceremony where the bride and groom made 7 promises to each other and walked around the fire with a priest, after this they were "man and wife." After we sat down with the brides family, and wow were they in culture shock. They could simply not wrap their heads around why we liked India, how we could deal with getting around in rickshaws, how "disorganized" India was, ect. It was kinda a shock to hear all these things since I don't think we experienced judging here in the same way. It was also just strange because they had only been here for 5 days and staying in very very nice hotels with private drivers etc, we were just kinda looking at them like "you have no idea." We got home at 12:30 am and slept well, sleeping in for the first time since arriving in India.
Yesterday we woke up and were informed we were spending the day with the family. It was the last day of exams for Mama's granddaughter, so we picked her up, had a nice celebration coffee, a wonderful Kashmiry lunch with the family and then went to see our first Bollywood film called Delhi 6. It was a really interesting experience watching a movie without subtitles in a language we didn't understand. We got most of it and our family helped translate the parts we were confused. I actually really enjoyed it, Indian films really love to overtly play with cinematography and editing, which is fun because the narrative is really simple and remains very similar across films. We later went to an Indian barbecue at our "cousin"'s house, his name is Amrit. It was a birthday party of Amrit's friend. There were a bunch of people there, all perhaps in their late 20s. When we arrived though we were the only ones wearing traditional Indian clothes, everyone else was wearing skinny jeans and fitted tops, we felt pretty ridiculous. We explained that we were educated to ONLY wear these clothes here, they laughed out loud at us and spent a while explaining how ridiculous that was. feel like I have so much more to say about this weekend. It was just such a whirlwind to go to these smaller villages where we were constantly stared at no matter how conservatively we were dressed (which became a issue in dividing up the boys to accompany us places), then to go to this opulent wedding where these foreigners were completely overwhelmed with India and had nothing to say but complaints, to hanging out with locals and seeing the new clash with the old.
Ok enough for now, Hindi midterms coming up and going to Udaipur (city of lakes) this weekend. Love you all!
I got some sleep on the train and felt better. We had to all get off the train in 2 min which was a bit of a mad rush. We saw some nice museum with some beautiful sculptures and some forts that featured blue and yellow duckies in the tiles. We also saw some awesome stone screen carvings. Every place felt really rushed though. Storm-Ji takes us to her favorite pieces at the site/ museum and then gives us 5-10 min to "explore."The next day we went to Orrcha by car. On the way we stopped at a fort in Datia which was structured like a mandala. The forts here are really palaces for the royalty. However the Datia fort was never inhabited it was a purely symbolic structure. By this time I had come down with quite a cold, so I was rather miserable for the Gwalior/ Orcha leg of the journey, so I will skip over this part and just saw we some some cool temples and staying in really nice guest houses.
Leaving for Khajuraho i watched a bit of the Oscars playing live in the morning, which felt sooo nice! Thought the 8 hour car drive we got updates from Strom-Ji's blackberry about how many Oscars Slumdog Millionaire got, we also got updates from the radio interrupting songs. I don't think I have never heard so much about a movie abroad, it is part of daily conversation here. India is soooo proud of the movie, though there is also considerable controversy, mostly around the name "slumdog." Anyways, I saw best supporting actress and best screenplay. After we arrived at Khajuraho, we checked in and saw some temples in the evening.The day we were in Khajuraho was Shivnatri, which is the celebration of Shiva's wedding with Paravati. We had the evening off since most nights we had Hindi class. We went into town, had to almost crawl though this tiny alley way to get to this fair with ferris wheels. We decided to tempt fate and get on one, it was quite fun but a little scary, and getting on the Ferris wheel this guy slyly touched four of our asses. We eventually told him off, but dealing stares and groups of men was much more of an issue here than any other place we had been too so far. It might have been due to the festival and everyone being high. We then went to an restaurant to have Pizza and saw the parade for Shivnatri from the rooftop of the restaurant. In the evening we indulged in TV and watched the Oscars that were being replayed, and when MILK won for best screenplay I was excited to hear the speech again, but as he came up to accept the Oscar they cut out the speech entirely! I was so mad. An insight into Indian censorship around homophobia. The next day we stayed and saw the more popular temples. We also went out exploring on our own to do temple/ site sketches. I found drawing (something I never really do) was a really cool exercise in observing.
The next morning we went to Bandhabgarh to see the Tiger Sanctuary. It was a really really long drive, but a beautiful reserve. After we arrived we went in open jeeps and basically just drove around for about 2 hours. I almost gave up after seeing deers, birds and monkeys over and over again but no tigers. In fact there were a few times I even forgot we were looking for tigers. But then at the very end we was 3 different tigers!!! I unfortunately don't really have any photos, but I have some AMAZING footage. We came back in the morning to look for tigers again and told we could also ride elephants, though this never happened. It was quite breathtaking to see these Bengal Tigers in the wild, and it was hilarious how all these tourists in open jeeps were fighting to get closer and take pictures, and trying to be quiet. Anyways, we were sad to leave to get on to a 17 hour train after a 3 hour car ride back to Delhi.
After arriving 2 hours late in Delhi, Kathrine and I high tailed it back home to take a quick shower and change into our Saris for the wedding. The wedding was of an Australian woman and a Indian man who decided to have a traditional Indian wedding. We never really knew what was going on, but it was cool to watch. There was some ceremony of putting a veil on the groom to shield him from the evil eye. Then there was a ceremony with the groom on a white horse with everyone dancing in front of the horse. This was quite awkward just because it looked like none of the Australians knew what was going on either, so there was very little dancing actually happening and instead a lot of standing around. Then there was a garland ceremony as the bride came, and longer beautiful ceremony where the bride and groom made 7 promises to each other and walked around the fire with a priest, after this they were "man and wife." After we sat down with the brides family, and wow were they in culture shock. They could simply not wrap their heads around why we liked India, how we could deal with getting around in rickshaws, how "disorganized" India was, ect. It was kinda a shock to hear all these things since I don't think we experienced judging here in the same way. It was also just strange because they had only been here for 5 days and staying in very very nice hotels with private drivers etc, we were just kinda looking at them like "you have no idea." We got home at 12:30 am and slept well, sleeping in for the first time since arriving in India.
Yesterday we woke up and were informed we were spending the day with the family. It was the last day of exams for Mama's granddaughter, so we picked her up, had a nice celebration coffee, a wonderful Kashmiry lunch with the family and then went to see our first Bollywood film called Delhi 6. It was a really interesting experience watching a movie without subtitles in a language we didn't understand. We got most of it and our family helped translate the parts we were confused. I actually really enjoyed it, Indian films really love to overtly play with cinematography and editing, which is fun because the narrative is really simple and remains very similar across films. We later went to an Indian barbecue at our "cousin"'s house, his name is Amrit. It was a birthday party of Amrit's friend. There were a bunch of people there, all perhaps in their late 20s. When we arrived though we were the only ones wearing traditional Indian clothes, everyone else was wearing skinny jeans and fitted tops, we felt pretty ridiculous. We explained that we were educated to ONLY wear these clothes here, they laughed out loud at us and spent a while explaining how ridiculous that was. feel like I have so much more to say about this weekend. It was just such a whirlwind to go to these smaller villages where we were constantly stared at no matter how conservatively we were dressed (which became a issue in dividing up the boys to accompany us places), then to go to this opulent wedding where these foreigners were completely overwhelmed with India and had nothing to say but complaints, to hanging out with locals and seeing the new clash with the old.
Ok enough for now, Hindi midterms coming up and going to Udaipur (city of lakes) this weekend. Love you all!
Thursday, February 19, 2009
DIE Essay
This was our first essay, fittingly called D.I.E (Describe Interpret Evaluate). That was pretty much all the instruction we got, so I did mine on my experience of tourist at the Taj Mahal.
Introduction
The Taj Mahal (also known as the Taj) is more than just a monument—it is an icon. There are many detailed publications regarding the Taj with much more information than I could adequately cover in the length of this essay. I am not an architecture scholar, and I observed the Taj without any prior historical information. I only spent approximately four hours at the Taj without a notebook—due to security—therefore this essay will provide the basic history and examine my initial observations of the Taj Mahal and its tourists. Tourists go to the Taj Mahal because it is perceived as an essential element in visiting India and a social marker of recognized “things to do before one dies.”
Brief History of the Taj Mahal
While specific dates are disputed, the following account is the basic agreed narrative of the Taj Mahal. Emperor Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal in memory of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died during the birth of their fourteenth child. Construction of the symmetrical complex began soon after her death and was completed with the help of 20,000 workers approximately twenty years later. The Taj Mahal is made primarily of white marble with inlayed semi-precious stones and sits on the Yamuna River in Agra, India. Shan Jahan planned on constructing an identical monument made of black marble across the Yamuna. However, soon after the Taj Mahal’s completion, Jahan’s son Aurangzeb usurped and imprisoned him until Jahan’s death in 1666. Jahan’s cenotaph is the only element that offsets the Taj Mahal’s symmetry, situated next to his wife’s cenotaph, which is centered under the main dome . In 1983, the Taj Mahal was named a World Heritage site.
Entering the Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal is open from “sunrise to sunset” and two tickets are required to enter. The Agra Development Association (ADA) ticket purchased at the Taj costs Rs. 500, and provides discounts to other sights in Agra. The ticket to the Taj Mahal itself is Rs. 250, so foreigners must pay Rs. 750 altogether. However, local Indians only need to pay Rs. 20. Long-term visitors with FRRO cards will have no luck trying to get the local price here. With the entrance fee comes a free bottle of water and shoe covers, though no signs point this out and the ticket sellers do not inform visitors.
I heard that sunrise was the best time to see the Taj Mahal because there would be fewer people. I woke up at 5:30 am, checked out of my guesthouse, and arrived at the Taj’s west gate at 6:10 am to catch the 6:30 am sunrise. I was greeted by a large crowd of people—half in line at the gate and the other half in line to purchase tickets—and joined them to wait for the ticket booth to open until well after the sun had firmly established its place in the morning sky. Signs stated that no tobacco, matches, alcohol or food were allowed inside. After obtaining my tickets, I moved to another line at the red gate where men and women were separated to be searched by security. Though the men’s line was twice as long, it moved twice as fast because there were multiple male security check points whereas the women’s line only had one. Once my ticket was checked there were new signs informing visitors that in addition to the previously stated prohibited items, no books or electronic goods were allowed. As I inched closer to the Taj Mahal—hoping they might overlook my journals, iPod and various wires—I saw people turned away from the check point for chargers, books, backpacks and even a pen; it was not looking good for me. Of course I was turned away. Blue signs that said “lockers” pointed to a building with yet another line of people—on the door were handwritten signs saying “Lockers: Rs. 20. Storage: Rs. 10.” After reluctantly paying for my “free storage,” I pushed back through the crowd assuring the glaring eyes I had already been through the line. Over an hour and half after I arrived, I completed my rites of passage to view the Taj Mahal up close.
Past the red gates, the most crowded areas at the Taj Mahal were the gardens along the reflection pool in front of the tomb and inside the actual tomb. The population at the front of the Taj Mahal consisted primarily of amateur photographers and various posers. Some people stood and smiled sweetly, some made peace signs, and some tried to hold the white dome in their palm. Other people formed dams in the flow of human traffic as they posed for group photos. The sides and the back facing the Yamuna were slightly less crowded, but still consistently speckled with people.
The Taj as an Icon of India for Tourists
The relatively high admission price in comparison to other India sites discourages repeated entries and demonstrates the higher value tourists place on seeing the Taj. Higher security reflects the value to India of securing the monument as well as the high volume of people that visit everyday. Tourists view the Taj as an emblem of the country. To visit the Taj is to visit India. Tourists and people “back home” perceive visiting India as incomplete without visiting the Taj. Even at other beautiful sites such as the Agra Fort, the most crowded areas were those in which the Taj could be seen in the distance.
The Taj Mahal is understood as icon. Though I have never been formally taught anything about the Taj Mahal, I could view the detailed Taj in my mind as if I had visited it multiple times. Guidebooks market India with the Taj Mahal’s image and make statements like “who visits India without visiting the Taj?” implying that anyone who does not see the Taj while in India is an anomaly. Other quotes include “You might expect to be disappointed when coming face to face with an icon that is almost an archetype, but nothing can really prepare you for the beauty of the Taj Mahal.” enforcing its assumed majesty and debasing anyone who questions the proliferated adjectives of “ephemeral,” “beautiful,” or “magical.” The Taj Mahal’s image is firmly established in the minds of tourists due to its repeated use in advertisements, photographs, and films. The familiarity of the Taj Mahal through images makes the it an inviting place to visit for tourists dealing with culture shock in a place as unique as India.
Perhaps this assumed familiarity with the Taj Mahal is why the rites of passage to enter the complex came as a surprise. While the Taj’s image is frequently marketed, the entrance process is not. Though the ordeal of entering was not much different from any other task in India, it felt like an exhausting battle because the Taj Mahal felt like something I had a right to as a tourist. By the time I entered I was exhausted, frustrated and sweaty.
Is the Objective Taj Possible?
I believe the importance placed on the Taj Mahal by tourists is due to its global iconography—few things in this world share the Taj Mahal’s popularity with tourists. It is not difficult to understand why the Taj Mahal is seen as an emblem of architectural beauty. Given the massive amounts of precious material used, it is a standard with which anyone can understand it is valuable without understanding its complex artistry.
However, it is impossible to view solely the Taj Mahal due to all the constant tourists. The floating dots in the distance and people snapping photographs are part of the monument, for it is hopeless to expect to view the Taj Mahal without the crowds. Furthermore, due to it iconographic status, it is very difficult to see the Taj Mahal with fresh eyes and to observe its qualities without attaching the established flattering adjectives automatically. When one goes to see the Taj, one has in fact already seen it countless times.
The expectations brought by tourists to the Taj Mahal diminished my experience. Either by feeling entitled to the comfortable familiarity of the Taj Mahal or expecting to be blown away by its beauty, the experience of visiting the Taj Mahal does not always add up to the guidebooks. As a result of the Taj’s hype and popular image, there is immense bandwagon pressure to agree with the perception of the Taj as “amazing.” Though I enjoyed the visual aesthetics of the Taj immensely, a part of me felt disappointed because the experience was built up so much that nothing could fulfill my expectations. I also felt guilty to admit my discontent because of the collective social agreement of its splendor. I suspect that if I was not exposed to the prescribed expectations of the Taj I would have in fact felt all the “majesty” touted without the complex guilt.
People want to visit the Taj Mahal because it is a valuable social marker to a tourist. It is a relatable experience to the tourist’s community back home and an established symbol of visiting the “beauty” of India. The image is so common that the Taj is most likely already seen without ever visiting India. Even so, tourists gladly pay the expensive admission, wait in long lines and struggle with other tourists attempting to snap the same picture in order to physically be in the Taj’s presence.
Conclusion
The Taj Mahal’s basic history reinforces the tourist’s understanding of it as being a magical element in a royal fairy tale. While its value can be easily understood in terms of material used, its value is greatly heightened by repeated use of its imagery, its emblematic status, its marketing and its status among social groups. So was the Taj worth going to? Definitely, but mostly because I wanted to say I went to see the Taj Mahal.
Introduction
The Taj Mahal (also known as the Taj) is more than just a monument—it is an icon. There are many detailed publications regarding the Taj with much more information than I could adequately cover in the length of this essay. I am not an architecture scholar, and I observed the Taj without any prior historical information. I only spent approximately four hours at the Taj without a notebook—due to security—therefore this essay will provide the basic history and examine my initial observations of the Taj Mahal and its tourists. Tourists go to the Taj Mahal because it is perceived as an essential element in visiting India and a social marker of recognized “things to do before one dies.”
Brief History of the Taj Mahal
While specific dates are disputed, the following account is the basic agreed narrative of the Taj Mahal. Emperor Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal in memory of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died during the birth of their fourteenth child. Construction of the symmetrical complex began soon after her death and was completed with the help of 20,000 workers approximately twenty years later. The Taj Mahal is made primarily of white marble with inlayed semi-precious stones and sits on the Yamuna River in Agra, India. Shan Jahan planned on constructing an identical monument made of black marble across the Yamuna. However, soon after the Taj Mahal’s completion, Jahan’s son Aurangzeb usurped and imprisoned him until Jahan’s death in 1666. Jahan’s cenotaph is the only element that offsets the Taj Mahal’s symmetry, situated next to his wife’s cenotaph, which is centered under the main dome . In 1983, the Taj Mahal was named a World Heritage site.
Entering the Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal is open from “sunrise to sunset” and two tickets are required to enter. The Agra Development Association (ADA) ticket purchased at the Taj costs Rs. 500, and provides discounts to other sights in Agra. The ticket to the Taj Mahal itself is Rs. 250, so foreigners must pay Rs. 750 altogether. However, local Indians only need to pay Rs. 20. Long-term visitors with FRRO cards will have no luck trying to get the local price here. With the entrance fee comes a free bottle of water and shoe covers, though no signs point this out and the ticket sellers do not inform visitors.
I heard that sunrise was the best time to see the Taj Mahal because there would be fewer people. I woke up at 5:30 am, checked out of my guesthouse, and arrived at the Taj’s west gate at 6:10 am to catch the 6:30 am sunrise. I was greeted by a large crowd of people—half in line at the gate and the other half in line to purchase tickets—and joined them to wait for the ticket booth to open until well after the sun had firmly established its place in the morning sky. Signs stated that no tobacco, matches, alcohol or food were allowed inside. After obtaining my tickets, I moved to another line at the red gate where men and women were separated to be searched by security. Though the men’s line was twice as long, it moved twice as fast because there were multiple male security check points whereas the women’s line only had one. Once my ticket was checked there were new signs informing visitors that in addition to the previously stated prohibited items, no books or electronic goods were allowed. As I inched closer to the Taj Mahal—hoping they might overlook my journals, iPod and various wires—I saw people turned away from the check point for chargers, books, backpacks and even a pen; it was not looking good for me. Of course I was turned away. Blue signs that said “lockers” pointed to a building with yet another line of people—on the door were handwritten signs saying “Lockers: Rs. 20. Storage: Rs. 10.” After reluctantly paying for my “free storage,” I pushed back through the crowd assuring the glaring eyes I had already been through the line. Over an hour and half after I arrived, I completed my rites of passage to view the Taj Mahal up close.
Past the red gates, the most crowded areas at the Taj Mahal were the gardens along the reflection pool in front of the tomb and inside the actual tomb. The population at the front of the Taj Mahal consisted primarily of amateur photographers and various posers. Some people stood and smiled sweetly, some made peace signs, and some tried to hold the white dome in their palm. Other people formed dams in the flow of human traffic as they posed for group photos. The sides and the back facing the Yamuna were slightly less crowded, but still consistently speckled with people.
The Taj as an Icon of India for Tourists
The relatively high admission price in comparison to other India sites discourages repeated entries and demonstrates the higher value tourists place on seeing the Taj. Higher security reflects the value to India of securing the monument as well as the high volume of people that visit everyday. Tourists view the Taj as an emblem of the country. To visit the Taj is to visit India. Tourists and people “back home” perceive visiting India as incomplete without visiting the Taj. Even at other beautiful sites such as the Agra Fort, the most crowded areas were those in which the Taj could be seen in the distance.
The Taj Mahal is understood as icon. Though I have never been formally taught anything about the Taj Mahal, I could view the detailed Taj in my mind as if I had visited it multiple times. Guidebooks market India with the Taj Mahal’s image and make statements like “who visits India without visiting the Taj?” implying that anyone who does not see the Taj while in India is an anomaly. Other quotes include “You might expect to be disappointed when coming face to face with an icon that is almost an archetype, but nothing can really prepare you for the beauty of the Taj Mahal.” enforcing its assumed majesty and debasing anyone who questions the proliferated adjectives of “ephemeral,” “beautiful,” or “magical.” The Taj Mahal’s image is firmly established in the minds of tourists due to its repeated use in advertisements, photographs, and films. The familiarity of the Taj Mahal through images makes the it an inviting place to visit for tourists dealing with culture shock in a place as unique as India.
Perhaps this assumed familiarity with the Taj Mahal is why the rites of passage to enter the complex came as a surprise. While the Taj’s image is frequently marketed, the entrance process is not. Though the ordeal of entering was not much different from any other task in India, it felt like an exhausting battle because the Taj Mahal felt like something I had a right to as a tourist. By the time I entered I was exhausted, frustrated and sweaty.
Is the Objective Taj Possible?
I believe the importance placed on the Taj Mahal by tourists is due to its global iconography—few things in this world share the Taj Mahal’s popularity with tourists. It is not difficult to understand why the Taj Mahal is seen as an emblem of architectural beauty. Given the massive amounts of precious material used, it is a standard with which anyone can understand it is valuable without understanding its complex artistry.
However, it is impossible to view solely the Taj Mahal due to all the constant tourists. The floating dots in the distance and people snapping photographs are part of the monument, for it is hopeless to expect to view the Taj Mahal without the crowds. Furthermore, due to it iconographic status, it is very difficult to see the Taj Mahal with fresh eyes and to observe its qualities without attaching the established flattering adjectives automatically. When one goes to see the Taj, one has in fact already seen it countless times.
The expectations brought by tourists to the Taj Mahal diminished my experience. Either by feeling entitled to the comfortable familiarity of the Taj Mahal or expecting to be blown away by its beauty, the experience of visiting the Taj Mahal does not always add up to the guidebooks. As a result of the Taj’s hype and popular image, there is immense bandwagon pressure to agree with the perception of the Taj as “amazing.” Though I enjoyed the visual aesthetics of the Taj immensely, a part of me felt disappointed because the experience was built up so much that nothing could fulfill my expectations. I also felt guilty to admit my discontent because of the collective social agreement of its splendor. I suspect that if I was not exposed to the prescribed expectations of the Taj I would have in fact felt all the “majesty” touted without the complex guilt.
People want to visit the Taj Mahal because it is a valuable social marker to a tourist. It is a relatable experience to the tourist’s community back home and an established symbol of visiting the “beauty” of India. The image is so common that the Taj is most likely already seen without ever visiting India. Even so, tourists gladly pay the expensive admission, wait in long lines and struggle with other tourists attempting to snap the same picture in order to physically be in the Taj’s presence.
Conclusion
The Taj Mahal’s basic history reinforces the tourist’s understanding of it as being a magical element in a royal fairy tale. While its value can be easily understood in terms of material used, its value is greatly heightened by repeated use of its imagery, its emblematic status, its marketing and its status among social groups. So was the Taj worth going to? Definitely, but mostly because I wanted to say I went to see the Taj Mahal.
The Taj, Mathura, trains and more traveling
Another exciting and eventful week. So last Friday was my first cooking class where I learned homestyle North Indian cooking. We learned about eight recipes of which I can't wait to cook for you! Today we will learn South Indian cooking which is also really yummy and I have never cooked before. Last Friday evening was Rachel's birthday, so we went to an American Diner to have drinks and dinner.
Saturday morning we woke up early to catch a train to Agra. We had a very nice sleeper car on the way there with open windows. While it was a nice car and we were on our way to see the emblem of beauty, we passed two hours of slums. When we arrived in Agra we checked into our very nice hotel, got some lunch and decided to make our way to Mathura, the birthplace of Krishna. We made our way to the bus station, but of course there were no signs letting us know which bus was going to Mathura. We asked at least five times which bus went to Mathura, but each time we went to the bus we were directed to, the bus driver informed us that they weren't going to Mathura. Right as we were about give up I decided to ask one more bus driver who said "yes, Mathura." We piled in the bus and anxiously asked if this in fact was the bus to Mathura. Six boys were telling us that the bus was going to Fatepur Sikri instead. After a bit of arguing, the boys got up to ask the driver and started to walk off the bus. They were on the wrong bus! We felt so proud of ourselves in figuring out how to get where we wanted despite the language barriers. This is struck me as really comforting actually. In India I have been continually reminded that the difficulties one confronts in India is not reserved for tourists alone, Indians have just as many difficulties negotiating as we do. The Indian staff at SIT constantly complain about Rickshaw drivers, and rickshaw stories seem to have replaced the drunken stories the group shares in the morning. After about an hour we passed a sign that said "Mathura" pointing away from where the bus was going. People in the group were convinced we were heading back to Delhi, but fortunately we arrived at a bus station. We were going to go to Vrindavan, but on the way we realized it was too far away and decided to stay in Mathura and go to Vishram Ghats. We made our way to a lovely temple where Krishna is said to have rested after slaying a demon. The temple is on the Yamuna river, and there are steps leading down to the river where people send candles in offerings down the river. We then took a lovely boat ride up and down the river. At the end of the boat ride we saw a ceremony from the river where some priest held a bowl of fire in the middle of a group of people chanting and clapping. The energy swelled as we all sat in awe and silence, and as soon as it was over it dropped and everyone dispersed. It was such a magical moment. On the way back, all seven of us piled into a rickshaw (which normally seats three uncomfortably), and five minutes later the rickshaw got a flat tire. We all promptly rushed out and fled the scene. Making it to the train station we bought tickets, asked many times which was our right train and car. Fifty minutes into our 60 minute train ride a conductor came to collect our tickets and informed us that we were in the wrong car. He asked us to pay 100 rupees extra each, I protested and told him we would just move to the other lower class car, and then three large men with large rifles came hovering over us. We all took out our wallets and paid the difference, made it home by 12:30 and fell asleep promptly in anticipation for our sunrise meeting with the Taj Mahal.
In the morning we woke up at 5:30 to see the Taj at sunrise, what we had heard was the best time. In short, there was a long frusterating process to get into the Taj that I will spare you, but it involved being shocked to find out that along with food, matches, tobacco alchol being prohibited, so were books and any sort of electronics (besides a camera). Since we had checked out of our hotel, this was a problem. I wrote an essay on the ordeal which I will post on my blog if interested. The Taj was indeed beautifully stunning, though it was really strange to face this icon I am so familiar with. I found myself feeling overwhelmed with anxiety and homesickness there, I am still not sure why. I have been explaining it to myself that I do not know the group well yet, and while I am enjoying them, at an icon such as the Taj I really wanted to SHARE it with you, the people I love. Anyways, after we had a yummy and really cheap lunch which we returned to for dinner, thanks to lonely planet, and squeezed NINE people in a tiny trike/rickshaw, we have gotten pretty good at doing the clown car thing to save money. We went to agra fort which was also beautiful, though the most crowded areas were the places where you could see the Taj in the distance. The train ride back was the last test. We were in a general seating car with reserved seats. However when we arrived, our (three of us who were sharing a bench/seat) seat was occupied by a woman with three children under the age of 3. The aisles were incredibly crowded, there was no room for us to stand with our bags, so we told her that these were our seats. She got up and wanderded a bit, and eventually the children were being crushed under the large masses of people. We each offered to hold a child in our lap until the whole thing got settled, so we sat in a crowded train with people hanging over us, with three babies on our laps for over an hour until who I assume was her husband found her another seat. During this time we also got "blessed" by a passing Eunch who was rather upset we didn't pay her. Exhausted once again, we got home and fell asleep, only to get up for yoga at 6 am the next day at school.
School has been surprisingly difficult, I am still working on not letting it get to me, and I am getting there. I started Bharatnatyam classes on Monday with a man named Shantanu. He is a really good teacher and I am glad I am keeping up with my practice. Yesterday we went shopping for Saris with our homestay mother, it was a lot of fun. Mama made sure that we weren't overcharged and bargined for us which took so much of the stress out of it. We were simply shown color after color to our liking and then stood back and paid. For a full new outfit including Sari, new shoes, matching tika, bangles (3 dozen!), earings, pettiecoat, hand-made tailors blouse, and bindi, I paid about $33. I chose a really nice sheer black Sari with a deep red border/ embrodered gold detail, Wes colors! I am excited to wear the full thing and I will take lots of pictures I promise. Katherine got a really nice green one. Tomorrow we start another long adventure, we go to Gwalior, Orrcha, Khajuraho, and the Tiger Sanctuary! Then we take an overnight train back to Delhi, and in the morning we need to get all hennaed up and get ready for the wedding in the evening.
I am sorry this is the bare bones of description. Internet is very spotty here and the time seems to disappear quickly with all the work. It will likely not be until I get back from next week's excursion until my next e-mail, but to hold you over till then is this long post, my essay and more pictures added to at
http://picasaweb.google.co.in/midnightdiamond/MySemesterInTheLandOfDjinns#
Much love to you all, homesickness is setting in. I love you and miss you all.
Saturday morning we woke up early to catch a train to Agra. We had a very nice sleeper car on the way there with open windows. While it was a nice car and we were on our way to see the emblem of beauty, we passed two hours of slums. When we arrived in Agra we checked into our very nice hotel, got some lunch and decided to make our way to Mathura, the birthplace of Krishna. We made our way to the bus station, but of course there were no signs letting us know which bus was going to Mathura. We asked at least five times which bus went to Mathura, but each time we went to the bus we were directed to, the bus driver informed us that they weren't going to Mathura. Right as we were about give up I decided to ask one more bus driver who said "yes, Mathura." We piled in the bus and anxiously asked if this in fact was the bus to Mathura. Six boys were telling us that the bus was going to Fatepur Sikri instead. After a bit of arguing, the boys got up to ask the driver and started to walk off the bus. They were on the wrong bus! We felt so proud of ourselves in figuring out how to get where we wanted despite the language barriers. This is struck me as really comforting actually. In India I have been continually reminded that the difficulties one confronts in India is not reserved for tourists alone, Indians have just as many difficulties negotiating as we do. The Indian staff at SIT constantly complain about Rickshaw drivers, and rickshaw stories seem to have replaced the drunken stories the group shares in the morning. After about an hour we passed a sign that said "Mathura" pointing away from where the bus was going. People in the group were convinced we were heading back to Delhi, but fortunately we arrived at a bus station. We were going to go to Vrindavan, but on the way we realized it was too far away and decided to stay in Mathura and go to Vishram Ghats. We made our way to a lovely temple where Krishna is said to have rested after slaying a demon. The temple is on the Yamuna river, and there are steps leading down to the river where people send candles in offerings down the river. We then took a lovely boat ride up and down the river. At the end of the boat ride we saw a ceremony from the river where some priest held a bowl of fire in the middle of a group of people chanting and clapping. The energy swelled as we all sat in awe and silence, and as soon as it was over it dropped and everyone dispersed. It was such a magical moment. On the way back, all seven of us piled into a rickshaw (which normally seats three uncomfortably), and five minutes later the rickshaw got a flat tire. We all promptly rushed out and fled the scene. Making it to the train station we bought tickets, asked many times which was our right train and car. Fifty minutes into our 60 minute train ride a conductor came to collect our tickets and informed us that we were in the wrong car. He asked us to pay 100 rupees extra each, I protested and told him we would just move to the other lower class car, and then three large men with large rifles came hovering over us. We all took out our wallets and paid the difference, made it home by 12:30 and fell asleep promptly in anticipation for our sunrise meeting with the Taj Mahal.
In the morning we woke up at 5:30 to see the Taj at sunrise, what we had heard was the best time. In short, there was a long frusterating process to get into the Taj that I will spare you, but it involved being shocked to find out that along with food, matches, tobacco alchol being prohibited, so were books and any sort of electronics (besides a camera). Since we had checked out of our hotel, this was a problem. I wrote an essay on the ordeal which I will post on my blog if interested. The Taj was indeed beautifully stunning, though it was really strange to face this icon I am so familiar with. I found myself feeling overwhelmed with anxiety and homesickness there, I am still not sure why. I have been explaining it to myself that I do not know the group well yet, and while I am enjoying them, at an icon such as the Taj I really wanted to SHARE it with you, the people I love. Anyways, after we had a yummy and really cheap lunch which we returned to for dinner, thanks to lonely planet, and squeezed NINE people in a tiny trike/rickshaw, we have gotten pretty good at doing the clown car thing to save money. We went to agra fort which was also beautiful, though the most crowded areas were the places where you could see the Taj in the distance. The train ride back was the last test. We were in a general seating car with reserved seats. However when we arrived, our (three of us who were sharing a bench/seat) seat was occupied by a woman with three children under the age of 3. The aisles were incredibly crowded, there was no room for us to stand with our bags, so we told her that these were our seats. She got up and wanderded a bit, and eventually the children were being crushed under the large masses of people. We each offered to hold a child in our lap until the whole thing got settled, so we sat in a crowded train with people hanging over us, with three babies on our laps for over an hour until who I assume was her husband found her another seat. During this time we also got "blessed" by a passing Eunch who was rather upset we didn't pay her. Exhausted once again, we got home and fell asleep, only to get up for yoga at 6 am the next day at school.
School has been surprisingly difficult, I am still working on not letting it get to me, and I am getting there. I started Bharatnatyam classes on Monday with a man named Shantanu. He is a really good teacher and I am glad I am keeping up with my practice. Yesterday we went shopping for Saris with our homestay mother, it was a lot of fun. Mama made sure that we weren't overcharged and bargined for us which took so much of the stress out of it. We were simply shown color after color to our liking and then stood back and paid. For a full new outfit including Sari, new shoes, matching tika, bangles (3 dozen!), earings, pettiecoat, hand-made tailors blouse, and bindi, I paid about $33. I chose a really nice sheer black Sari with a deep red border/ embrodered gold detail, Wes colors! I am excited to wear the full thing and I will take lots of pictures I promise. Katherine got a really nice green one. Tomorrow we start another long adventure, we go to Gwalior, Orrcha, Khajuraho, and the Tiger Sanctuary! Then we take an overnight train back to Delhi, and in the morning we need to get all hennaed up and get ready for the wedding in the evening.
I am sorry this is the bare bones of description. Internet is very spotty here and the time seems to disappear quickly with all the work. It will likely not be until I get back from next week's excursion until my next e-mail, but to hold you over till then is this long post, my essay and more pictures added to at
http://picasaweb.google.co.in/midnightdiamond/MySemesterInTheLandOfDjinns#
Much love to you all, homesickness is setting in. I love you and miss you all.
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