Rabies, maybes, and monkey babies. Or everything rhymes in India.

We all know there are lots of animals on my campus, but lately they've gotten way more intense. I've nearly run into five different species of animals on my cycle within the last 24 hours.

These are close encounters with death, friends.

Or one of them was. Imagine a hoard of monkeys filling the entire road. When I began trying to stop and dodge the monkeys, I was upon them, swaggering my way through the crowd. Then, one monkey with a bright red butt and thirsty eyes barred its fangs and jumped straight at me.

Luckily, my earlier experience with dog attacks on cycles taught me a thing or two. So I screamed and zoomed away. Seriously, that's what you're supposed to do.

That was the most exciting one, although I did swerve through a herd of cows; good thing they move slowly. Other bicycle sightings include a sidewinder, birds, and cats. I haven't even seen cats on campus, but sure enough I swerved one with my cycle.

So, don't trust the monkeys.

Today's Meal: Riiiiiice.

Today's Deal: Getting to yoga is more and more dangerous.

Today's Reel: They'll getcha.

Some Remover of Obstacles

Recently India has become more intense in every way. Yoga has us attempting headstands; weekend trips are a given; some of my professors actually expect real school work; festivals take up every conceivable moment; and unfortunately large parts of Andhra Pradesh (and Karnataka) have flooded.

So, I've been some places. I've been to Warangal, Hampi, Ajinta, Ellora, and Arangabad.

Warangal is neat for a small town. It has a temple called the 1000 pillar temple which was carved from a single rock. The architecture is beautiful and the people there (who all thought we were Italian) blessed us for the Ganesha pooja. We also saw a fort a ways away which had an underground tunnel leading to the temple. Here's a picture of the 1000 pillar temple:


Hampi was abnormally beautiful. It seemed like everything there was carved from giant rock boulders that expanded across the entire landscape. We crossed the river by boat and spent time across from Hampi, bouldering mainly. It seems the rule of southern India is that the higher you climb a mountain, the more priests living in caves. Just an observation. One priest invited us in and explained our chakras in Hindi. Here he is:

Also, Hampi is very beautiful, like the people in this photo:

At night we were put up in some resort with a fake Rajistani village. This means four things: thali, fire dancing, mehindi, and camel rides. This also means that we had crazy-had-to-be-Japanese-because-they're-so-complex showers. It's rare to say I've been sprayed from six places at once.

Finally, Ajinta, Ellora, and Arangabad proved to be some of the most impressive, oldest places I've been. They're old caves which were hollowed out and used by Buddhists, Jains, and Hindus. Some of the caves were as old as 200 BC. They were forgotten until a British man stumbled upon them one day. Now they're part of the world heritage project. Here is a picture of my favorite:


Anyway...

Today's Meal: Thali. Lots of Thali.

Today's Deal: I have fabulous travel companions.

Today's Reel: Buffalo in front of Hampi's most famous temple.

Auroville Belongs to Nobody in Particular

For those of you who love communes, I went to Auroville last week. It's an intentional community with a huge gold plated room for a crystal in the center. The buildings are then laid out to imitate the layout of the universe. It was run by this lady called "The Mother." I now have two bumper-stickers of her eyes on my sitar case. They follow you.

Here is a picture of their center:


The community was interesting. I liked that it was a universal community whose land was cultivated from a dry desert into a kind of tropical forest. They had a nice organic store there, and the architecture differed greatly from the surrounding palm leaf houses.

They'll even let you stay, if you have 10,000 Euro in your bank account.

I would just live around outside it, I think. Auroville is right outside of Pondicherry, the french quarter of India. People there only speak French and Tamil. My English and limited Hindi were borderline useless.

But, we had a great time at the beach and shopping and eating at bakeries and french restaurants. These guys think we're crazy for burying people in sand:


Other fun in Pondicherry includes general vacation fun. Also an elephant blessed me outside a temple. This entailed me putting a rupee in the elephant's trunk and the elephant bopping me on the head with its trunk. Blessed. Bam.

To illustrate:


In short:

Today's Meal: French/Italian/Indian cuisine with some port for dessert

Today's Deal: Who knew they speak so much French in India?

Today's Reel: Lucia enjoying elephants at the temple

Beauty Dies Where Litter Lies

August 15th is India's Independence Day. Things were really fun here. Apparently, most Indians celebrate by eating lots of food with their friends and family (pretty much July 4 sans fireworks). However, I got to enjoy some celebrations on campus, thanks to Khaiser, my peer tutor.

The vice chancellor of the university took Independence Day as an opportunity to give a political speech inspiring action and political knowledge. It was really interesting to hear the future-oriented tactics he used. In the U.S. it seems small scale Independence Day speeches focus on the history of the day and perhaps tie in a future-focused comment.


But, after the speech there were dances. There were dances by the children from the University School; there were dances from the kids from the university's slum. Actually, I took this as an occasion to be surprised once more at the readiness with which people use the term slum. Just an observation.

The dances and songs were followed by a performance by the environmental activist group. They were trying to get people to stop littering. (Nearly everyone in India litters. On more than one occasion, when I've asked for a bin, I've been instructed to toss it out the window.) So naturally, we donned picket signs and marched to shop com (the affectionate slang for shopping complex) and began to pick up trash.

At this point I was thinking that the students in Hyderabad really knew how to utilize national holidays to get things done. But where was the party?

The party, it turns out, was by a fire, on a giant boulder, past a winding path in the jungle, outside of peacock lake. Let's just say that English students are lots of fun in every culture, and that I can't hang out with Indian students without hearing some "my heart will go on", "summer of '69", and this time "twinkle twinkle little star." And, if ever there was a time to hear overly zealous interpretations of Monty Python skits, Independence Day would be the time.

Today's Meal: Fusion 9 pasta with intense chocolate birthday cake

Today's Deal: Boulder parties and peacock night hikes

Today's Reel: Khaiser, Kate, Cecilia, Sarah, and myself respectively with our signs and brooms

Grab Eleven Sickles and Hold Out Your Wandhand

I have now been to Bengaluru (aka Bangalore) and Mysore. In Bengalore, we went around and explored numerous Cafe Coffee Days as well as the interior life of Amelia's family. Incidentally, Amelia's family is awesome.

We went to a bar in Bengaluru called NASA. It was, you guessed it, space themed. It also played muzak versions of 1980s poprock. The hallways were like chambers in a space station. There was a space ambiance consisting of quotes from astronauts in black holes among the star lined walls.

We also went to the Hare Krishna temple, which is sweet. No pictures allowed.

From Bengaluru, we went to Mysore, which is famous for its silk production, among other things. The coolest thing we did here (apart from eating at an all too swanky restaurant) was go on a tiny tour of local goods. By this, I mean we got in a rickshaw with a teenage boy and followed him into houses. In the fist house, women were making incense. This is made with gunpowder and beeswax among other things. Here is a picture of a woman making incense.

And Another.
After that, we went to a house where men were making sandalwood/ginger cigarettes. They were wrapped in a leaf instead of paper. We're still debating whether it was a sandalwood or a tobacco leaf. Regardless, here is a picture of a cigarette roller.

We also saw people carving wood, inlaying wood, and metal working. We finally wound up at an oil shop. I bought some lotus oil to help with my yoga practice. We'll see if I become more focused. It's also supposed to cure headaches. It also smells good.

And of course, then the oil shopkeeper showed us his favorite silk shop. I was actually surprised at how reasonably priced all the saris were.

We also went to a market.

Vegetables on the ground.


And here is a cow at the market.

Also, I have now ridden on a knight bus, twice. Bunk beds and all.

Anyway.

Today's Meal- Swanky, delicious, Indian. At the Tiger Trail restaurant in Mysore.

Today's Deal- Walking around the palace

Today's Reel- The palace at Mysore at night

The Secret of the Side Knob

All of my classes have now started. What a brutal wake up call. Now, instead of leisurely sliding to breakfast in my pajamas, I'm awake at 5 am. This is just in time to hear the call to prayer from a nearby mosque. It's also just in time to make it to the first place of the day: yoga.

On the bike ride there, I've come to realize that there are a lot of early risers. This is not limited to people, although I see a lot of people walking or jogging for exercise. There are lots of morning glory animals. Primarily, the seventy five packs of dogs on campus run around or are napping in the road. Today I saw the biggest peacock I've ever seen (estimated 3 foot tail), and Jess and Chris (my yoga friends) saw a wild boar. There were also monkeys.

This is quite different from the rickshaw/taxi riding, relaxing, hookahing, hazy Hyderabad I've seen thus far. I like it though. And after late nights when 5 am seems too early, at least the praying people have to get up just a little earlier than I do.

Today's Meal- Yoga makes me want breakfast. I'm eating the toast and instant coffee.

Today's Deal- 6 am yoga--as my instructor said, grit your teeth. Om Shanti Shanti Shanti

Today's Reel- I took this at Shilparamam

Aman Shanti

We went on a field trip to the Henry Martin Institute. HMI is a center for interfaith relations. It's an excellent example of an organization with an original negative goal (converting Muslims to Christianity) morphing over time into an organization with an admirable goal (creating interfaith understanding in a multifaceted community).

They had a school, a health clinic, and a vocational school.


On an unrelated note, there are a few cautionary nibs I'd like to throw out.

Don't get hit by a bus.


Don't loose your ears in a dog fight.


And don't go see a majestic 17 meter statue of Buddha, which was painstakingly carved from one piece of granite by 40 sculptors and then brought to and dropped in the center of a lake only to be recovered five years later if you are really really tired.


Today's Meal- chai three times a day

Today's Deal- Aman Shanti school and cats in trees

Today's Reel- a solicited photo of a girl from the Aman Shanti school

Thank Joyce for Araby

School has started. I'm learning an alphabet and going to classes and riding an orange bicycle and frequenting the yoga center.

But that's not interesting. What is interesting is festivals.

Festivals here are scheduled according to the lunar calendar. (A lunar calendar which disappointed me by forcing the biggest solar eclipse of the century to appear during a monsoon). We went to Bonalu at a Hindu temple that was 1000 years old. It's the celebration of Mahakali, which includes making food and animal sacrifices.

This was interesting because technically, Hinduism does not condone killing animals or eating meat. Kavitha explained to me that it was a traditional practice, which really had little to do with religious premises and everything to do with tradition.

Regardless, it was interesting. We went in one room at the temple which was made entirely of mirrors with lights in the mirrors. In the center of the room was a silver swing which was said to be a goddess's bed. We also learned about leaving bangles and coconuts to make a wish.

Today's Meal- Dosa Day. (please, no comments about having a double dosa)

Today's Deal- The solar eclipse of a century was hidden behind clouds.

Today's Reel- Animal sacrifice

You can make much electricity from this

In the past few days, I've been all over the city, registered with the police, seen a one woman play about being transsexual in India, and viewed Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.

We had a touristy day and went to all the main sites in Hyderabad. A quick history of the area shows that Hyderabad traditionally had a Hindu population with Muslim rulers until power changes happened with the Mongols and the British.

First we went to the tombs of the kings. They are called the Qutb Shahi tombs and each ruler had a huge monument built to house his body. Here's an example.
It was really windy for awhile. We tried to walk against the wind but got stuck for a minute.
After the Qutb Shahi tombs, we went to the Chowmahalla Palace. It was sweet. There were lush decorations everywhere, and it was set on huge grounds. There was even a collection of antique cars. We had lunch inside the palace dining room. The people there were really nonchalant. When it came time for tea, we were sitting outside, so they just brought it out.

We also went to see the city's biggest, oldest mosque as well as the Charminar. The Charminar was a monument built by the rulers when they moved from Golgotha fort to the more spacious old city in Hyderabad. Here is a picture of Charminar.
We also went to Golconda Fort, where the sultan lived until moving to the old city. It reminded me of London Tower a little bit. We watched a historic light show there. It was sweet. There were lots of people with cameras there since it was a historic sight. It became blatantly obvious that white people are a spectacle because the Indian tourists took pictures of us. It was pretty funny. Some of the groups asked to take a picture with us, and I felt a little bit as though Golconda was Disney World and I was in a Gene costume.

Here is a view from the top of Golconda.
Anyway, Harry Potter was awesome, sightseeing was sweet, and one woman plays are always a favorite.

So...

Today's Meal- lunch at a legitimate palace

Today's Deal- Sightseeing and Harry Potter

Today's Reel- My roommate Sara and I getting ready to go out in our Salwars.

Transportation Nation

Transportation is probably important, so yesterday we decided to figure it out. There are three types of transport for local ventures: autorickshaw, tuk tuk (a smaller autorickshaw), and bus. We practiced by taking the bus, although some in our group practiced by taking the other two transports.
I got to sit next to some characters on the bus. One man asked me my name and then told me his was Bond. James Bond. Then I got to sit next to two little girls who smiled and giggled with me. We tried to talk, but I ended up just entertaining them with my camera.

After figuring out the transportation system, we went to see a Hindi movie called Morning Walk. It was a romantic dramady with lots of song and dance. The movie theater we went to was niiice. There were cushy velvet seats and no rubble on the floor, despite everyone leaving their trash at the end of the show. I've rarely seen such a nice cinema in America. I don't think I've ever seen so much security though: five checks on the way in.

We also went to a swanky restaurant, heavy on the swank. I met a Catalan woman on the plane who told me that at first glance, India isn't nice because the government hasn't finished completing efficient, clean roads and buildings everywhere. However, she said, India is nicer than much of the rest of the world when you look at privately owned and cared for facilities.

I think she was on to something.

Today's Meal- swanky food at a swanky restaurant

Today's Deal-figuring out navigation and transportation

Today's Reel- Sumitra (one of our peer tutors) and myself on a bus--compliments of Lucia Maldonado-Medina

Jet Lagged and Sultry

Sultry means humid here, in case the title wasn't clear.

Today we went on a bus journey through Hyderabad and listened to an Indian-Western fusion band play. The tabla player could move the beats faster than I have ever seen.

I took a few pictures in the city.

Also, groups of white people get stared at a lot. Feeling like a minority is a strange sensation. One bus of high school students were waving at us.

Today's Meal- Riiiiice (and ice cream)

Today's Deal- I got to see the city for the first time.

Today's Reel- Gandhi in the sky

So I'm in India

I've just arrived in Hyderabad twelve hours ago, and it already looks like this is going to be fun. The plane rides showed me many things including the movie "He's just not into you" which actually kind of prolonged the flight. I kept meeting people who hung out and helped me in all the airports. It seemed like everyone and their mother were heading to India (or Frankfurt) from Louisville. And so, two days (in date, not time) after I left, I arrived.

This morning some other CIEE students and I went to explore the campus. I saw a curly horned cow with a heron sitting on top of it. That struck me as awesome. The buildings look very nice, and on the way back, we passed a school of children. They asked us to play throw ball with them. It was really fun. I had never played. Two teams stand on either side of a volleyball net and hurl the ball to the other side. If it hits the ground, the other team scores. My team won, but definitely not because of my own athleticism. Then the kids asked us to sing them a song and teach them a dance. We sang some Jackson 5 and some Smash Mouth and then they sang some songs in Hindi as well as some church songs. Everybody could disco. The kids all had awesome names that I had trouble pronouncing. They said we could come back and play with them another day.

All in all, a good first twelve hours.

Today's Meal--breakfast (oatmeal/banana better than camp food) and airline food (also better than camp food)

Today's Deal--sweet throw down sport session with school kids

Today's Reel--sorry I didn't take a picture yet.