Random Notes From the Gangetic Plain

• Yesterday I watched a man chase a cow down an alley. The man was cruising (and cursing) at top speed. The cow held a sturdy box the size of a large microwave high in his mouth and trotted faster than I assumed possible for such a big beast. The cow had apparently absconded with the box which belonged to the man and, as I've seen on many occasions here, was trying to eat it.
• Last night I stood on the roof of our hotel and watched flock after flock of green parrots fly into the grove of large trees in the center of Khajuraho, the town we've been visiting. The 'migration' starts about the time the evening sun hits the horizon and continues unabated for a good 30-40 minutes. The parrots, emerald green with the long tail feathers you might know from your pet store, flew in groups of twenty-five to well over a hundred. I'd never seen anything like it before. The flocks came in from the countryside and they just didn't stop. Parrots are loud birds and as the main roosting flock grew, all of Khajuraho was immersed in a cacaphony of squawking. There were easily over a hundred thousand birds. You can see the evidence on the walks beneath the trees today. Eww...
• In a couple hours we get on a bus to Varanasi, holiest of Hindu cities. It'll be at least fifteen hours across the Gangetic Plain of north central India. Ouch. The last time I was in India, I was so fascinated by that city I made the effort to go a second time at the end of my trip. Probably no single place has made a stronger impression on me. I'm eager (and a bit apprehensive) to return.

Size Matters

Link to newer photos. New ones start on page two of this album.

So we went down to Agra last week to see the sites. I did the same thing twelve years ago and suffered no diminished excitement at a second visit. Tami and I have seen a lot of amazing things on this trip but I knew the Taj Mahal was superlative and was as excited to see her response as I was to see the monuments. In fact, as we sat on the roof of our guest house watching the sun set on the Taj's wasp-waisted white dome and minarets, I realized there was maybe only one human-made structure on the face of the planet that resonates as deeply as the Taj...and we saw that one back in April in Paris. Now were going to see the other.

You can take all the Empire State buildings, Macchu Picchus, Acropoli, St. Peter's Basilici and Big Ben's and even pyramids of Giza you want. I think I even mentioned in an earler post that Barcelona was building another Taj Mahal. Antoni Gaudi and Barcelona are good...but they aren't quite that good. Seeing the Taj Mahal is one of those rare experiences that lives up to all (and I mean all) the hype you may have ever heard. That says a lot because no building in world has been surrounded by more myth and hype than the one in the above photo.

In fact, the Taj evokes such powerful emotional responses that I'd be hard pressed to think of any single work, building or otherwise, that surpasses it in its ability to inspire. The dome and the minarets dominate Taj Ganj, the village that surrounds it. Many of the guest houses and restaurants have rooftop seating taking advantage of their unique treasure.















Most people who have not visited the Taj don't realize that it's the centerpiece of a large, extremely complementarily beautiful complex. I remember stopping in wonder at the main entry gate my first visit. I had no idea I would get to see other structures of such awe inspiring size and graceful beauty. As you move toward and look through the opening in that gate, your sight toward the Taj itself is compressed down to a pin hole scope where you see, a few hundred yards distant, the Taj itself. The thing that struck me first was the people walking on its surrounding terrace. Those people were small...which made me realize that the Taj was big....really big.

And you know what...in art, you get extra points for size. The best art, in my mind, inspires you to want to be a better person. Whether or not you agree with the style or intent, if it's done superlatively, you have to give that to the creator(s). You can walk into the Louvre and see the Mona Lisa and it can inspire. But you check out Mona Lisa for fifteen minutes or a half hour and you move on. You walk into the Taj complex and (first, you cry...) you can spend days. From a distance the symetry, proportion, color and repetition of forms entrances you. Up close, you can see the flawless stone work, specifically carving and inlay, that covers the entire exteri (Incidentally, there is a fairly popular but...barely drinkable beer here called "Taj Mahal". I remember thinking that anything taking the "Taj" name should hold itself to the same, unsurpassed standards of quality. Everyone in India would be an alcoholic, though, so I'll have to let "Taj" beer slide on this one.)

The Taj Mahal is 351 years old as of last week. In 1655, the Pilgrims were still trying to get a foothold on the eastern seabord of the US. The Taj, built solely of stone, still looks as fresh and incomparable as ever. The Mughals and their craftspeople built a lot of nice things in India but they never got it so "right" as they did with the Taj. Apart from some fun loving Parisian riding the cresting wave of industrial modernization, I don't think anyone else has either.

The Big Miss

Homesickness....

Up until the past week or so, missing home has manifest itself as the occasional pang of longing. In a reflective moment I'll remember how nice it was to enjoy a proper beer or a passable wine, the fun surprise of standing at a party and have PleasureSean walk in and hand you a CD of new music or the liberating feeling of having your own kitchen where you can make whatever food that happens to sound good rather than take yet another gamble on the skills of a local cook. Things like those do make me miss home but you can take the longing in stride. Something comes up at this time of year, though, that for me...at least for the prior decade...has defined late summer: the final run-up to Burning Man.

Just like any major, annual happening, you always know it's out there in orbit. About two weeks ago, though, I could feel it in my bones. From ~12,000 miles away, it pulls like a migratory call. I could smell the Playa dust as my friends pulled their gear out of storage. I remember the added stress (and satisfaction) at work as you try to get everything organized for the time away. We see the e-mails flying around for everyone who's going and, for the first time, I'm really sad to not be in (at least one part of) my old life. Those who've had the very lucky fortune to partake of the giving and sharing that takes place at Burning Man have tapped into and helped to grow something that is valuable beyond quantification. The community that we share in Black Rock City doesn't come often in life. If you're lucky, you might find a similar depth of connection in your family or close group of friends. The openness and acceptance you find at Burning Man, though, have a different quality because people make a choice to make the long trek out there and endure the same potentially harsh conditions that you do.....because they know the effort is all worth it.

From a great distance, I'm happy to say, Burning Man looks even better. For the most part, Tami and I have been an isolated, little two-person caravan. We meet other travelers but they come from many different places and all walks of life. That's good for variety but you can meet a ton of them before coming across someone you think could make a deeper connection with. Out here, making those connections is even more difficult because everyone is on the move. Most meetings are brief and the potential of any friendship left speculative.

If you've been to Burning Man, you know that something happens in the weeding-out process where the liklihood of meeting a person of complementary mind and soul is much higher than your normal, day-to-day life. So what does that tell you????? If you don't make those kinds of connections or get to be a part of that kind of community most of the year at home.........and, from our perspective out here in backpacker land, community is even harder to cultivate.......you sure as heck should cherish the opportunity to partake of it when you can.

I've always said I didn't think I'd be able to be anywhere within striking distance of Burning Man and not attend. Now, from such a long way away, I miss it more than I might have guessed. The good news is, Tami and I aren't conceding anything. We decided to celebrate concurrently with our own "burn" in Varanasi. If you know anything about Varanasi (it's all about fire, spirituality and letting go), you'll understand what a perfect place it is to be if we can't be at Black Rock City. We posted an invitation on the Lonely Planet and Burning Man discussion sites. Whether we have anyone join us or not, know that we'll be right there with any of you on the Playa in real time sharing our all.

Random Notes on Cross-Pollinization

• We're in Dharamsala/McLeod Ganj right now. The area defined by these two towns is renowned as the home of the Tibetan govt. in exile. Back in 1959, after years of increasing repression of Tibetans and pressure on their leaders, the Dalai Lama had to flee for his life. The government of India offered Dharamsala as a place of asylum. (Tibet History) It's refreshing to stay among the less hectic Tibetans. They've created a small, mountain oasis of Buddhist restraint amid Indian boisterousness. One shortcoming about the setting, though: Dharamsala sits at about 6000 ft. on a ridge at the southern edge of the Himalayas. During July and August, the Indian monsoon bumps up against the mountains and the clouds pour rain down incessantly. I read in the paper that this area received 1450mm (~58 inches) in July alone. That's almost double San Francisco's annual rainfall. Very damp....and I have the nasty cold to prove it. I noticed today that much of our gear is starting to mold. It's time to move on....
• Both the native and traveler populations have adapted well to the inclement weather here in Dharamsala. There are lots of activities to do indoors out of the rain. They have meditation and yoga classes, lots of restaurants, internet cafes and movie houses, among others. For the first time since we left San Francisco, we've jumped into movie watching since it's A) cheap [about $.70 a movie] and B) dry inside the theaters. By theater, I mean a small, ramshackle room that will seat about 20 or 30 people with the movie shown on a wide screen TV. We've focused more on Tibetan documentaries since we're going there in a few months and these films are a good source of information. However, since the subject matter of these films, reflecting actual Tibetan events, is unfailingly sad, we see the odd Hollywood flick, as well. The moguls in Los Angeles would be disappointed to know that we can watch the same films you do within days of their US release. I'd heard about the practice for some time, but Dharamsala is the first place I've seen the end result. Someone out there in "first-release land" (the US) uses a video camera inside a theater to illicitly record the movie as it's shown. They then load the pirated film onto a computer and put it on the Internet for other people to download and burn into a DVD. Somehow it feels appropriate that the first film we saw that was an obvious copy was the new"Pirates of the Caribbean". We could tell it was pirated because the dialogue was out of synch and the sound and image quality, generally, were terrible. The clear give away were the sub-titles (English, in this case, for those in the audience who didn't understand 'pirate talk'). A non-English speaker sitting at a PC must have quickly slapped up whatever dialogue seemed to "sound right" as a "translation" and the results were often funnier than the film. Example: Something like, "I don't know where he is." became the sub-title, "It's wireless." Silly.
• Sometimes the quality of the copy is fine...but that doesn't make comprehending the film any easier. Last night we watched the new film with Ed Norton, "Down in the Valley". If any of you out there have seen it, can you please explain it to me? Specifically, the ending......? TIA.
• In the realm of entertainment, one more note: The former WWF, now "World Wrestling Entertainment", it H-U-G-E here in India. I've seen guys all over the country wearing 'Stone Cold Steve Austin', 'The Rock' or even outdated 'Hulk Hogan' t-shirts. You wouldn't believe how many boys and young men have asked me who my favorite wrestler is. TV's, even in remote villages, show "Smack-Down's" or "Summer Slams" every other night. How many programs does this WWE organization crank out? Ouch...
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Also, on the subject of American exports, consumer snack foods and soft drinks have become dominated by the big-two from the US: Pepsi-Co. and Coke. This is a marked change since I was here twelve years ago. There used to be a bewildering variety of Indian products in every little store. Some are still there but they share much of their former shelf space with the above two plus Wrigleys (gums), Cadbury and M&M Mars (candy bars) and others. Coke had actually abandoned the Indian soft drink market back in the 1970's (they refused to comply with an Indian requirement to "Indianize" their shareholdings to at least 40% Indian). They came back in the late 1990's to a more liberalized India where Pepsi already had a fairly dominant presence against domestic brands such as "Thumb's Up" and "Mirinda". Well, Coke's 100% US owned subsidiary bought all of Pepsi's competition and, now, it's just the two globals fighting it out with their respective portfolios. I have to say it's weird to see Indians drinking "Mountain Dew", a product named after a barely remembered euphemism for the do-it-yourself efforts of Appalachian bootleggers. The snack shelf is where Pepsi-Co. (their subsidiary, Frito Lay, actually) shine. As in the US, they don't just dominate the shelves, they went out and bought new ones to ensure proper display of their wares. Even in India, a small shop owner can find a place for a wire shelf display dedicated to one brand. It'll be interesting to see what, if any, Indian brands survive the onslaught.