Part 2 India!

A few days in India- arrival into Delhi, traveling around the city, I feel I have already seen so much, and yet, so much to come. Old Delhi was wonderful, a rickshaw ride around the area to taste street food, so spicy and flavorful in a cup made of pressed leaves. Jewelry and fabric, families of women seemingly shopping together ( sitting together on mats in the small stores) to buy their saris and punjabi suits. Mostly, we see many more men than women out on the streets. When we ask people where the women are, they say "what do you mean?" and don't seem to understand the question, or they say "they are at home, they don't like the street where it is dirty and dangerous," or "why would they come outside?". We have also been told that there is a much larger male population than female population here. The guidebooks say not to be too friendly, for there will be more attention from men then, and we have not been too friendly, but sometimes it is nice to act like ourselves and wave a friendly hello or the like. The friendliness returned has never been too much, but rather a pleasure to see the fun on the people's faces, a welcome!  Touring around Delhi, we visited the Red Fort and saw a sound and light show in Hindi telling the story of the fort. We couldn't understand it, but the effect of hearing the language, the sounds and the scene lit up as the sun dipped into the horizon was soothing and magical. Outside of the fort, many people wanted to take photos with us, to which I readily agreed. I was and had been taking photos of the Indian people, it seems fair that they want to take photos of me. 

At the hotel our first few nights in India, we decided to be lured into an enticing proposition of a 15 day journey around Rajistan and the north western Indian countryside. Lots of pluses to this plan, hopefully it works out. I don't want to count my chickens, but it seems pretty good so far. We left the hotel yesterday morning for a 5 hr drive to mandawa. A beautiful room with wall paintings, ceiling fans, patios and orange curtains greeted us. The call to prayer inspirational as we drank in the sights, smells and sunset in this beautiful city. Such a small city, the Indian children are so beautiful and as they laugh and run around chasing one another and playing cricket, the joy of it spreads, making me laugh out loud. The city has so many beautiful terraces, small market, seems much more clean and manageable then the city and I wonder out loud to Anne, why would anyone live in the city if they could live here? 

Arrival into Bikaner made me wish to be back in Mandawa. The city here seemed less enchanting, less romantic. The feeling may have just been the hotel room seeming more sterile and the things to see seemed less personal. Highlights we're visiting a camel breeding center and seeing junegarh fort, built 1588-1593. It was huge and exotic, showing lots of detail and many many rooms. The men in the pictures wore turbans and had their beards parted in the middle and brushed toward their ears. The photos and talk of harems at the fort as well as the architecture with cut outs all over the windows seemed like it would be middle eastern but it was good to learn that this is what existed in Indian culture for quite some time in these areas. We also visited some Havelis in a nearby town. I got to wondering who the people were who lived in the Havelis, as they were very broken down and it seemed as if the people were squatting there, but would charge for you to come in and look around... I had to ask our driver and tour guide many times to get the question through as it seemed like he didn't know what I meant by "ownership-to own" but I think that in the end the answer is that someone owns these Havelis, but does not live there anymore, the workers live there, and have in effect taken over the area, but, they live pretty much in a few rooms on the ground floors only and while they charge for admission and act like it is owned by them, they don't repair anything, or can't. It was uncomfortable either way to enter a place that they called home, so we passed on visiting occupied Havelis once we realized people were living there. These old homes, so beautiful, doomed to continue into ruin and sand. The evening in Bikaner was enchanting out of doors. Anne and I stood on the balcony for some time feeling the warm breeze and talking about love.
The two of us feel at a major crossroads in our lives and as I have been traveling around, it seems many of my friends find themselves at a similar point. Nice to share the intersection with such fine folk.

We have been driving 5 hrs a day to get to our destinations. Glad to be able to see so many places, but tired of the car already.  The Indian food definitely does not sit well in my stomach, there are tons of spices in it and it seems to all taste pretty similar to my western palette, so I have reverted to some naan bread and hope that my stomach adjusts a bit at some point in the trip. As we drive, we pass mostly desert area, holy cows, huts, makeshift homes, goats and lots of trash. As we pass cars, it is customary to honk to make sure they know you are passing and there are many times when cars coming the other way just barely get back into their own lane as you approach. This doesn't worry me a ton as I have experienced this in other countries, such as China, but an observation to share with you on how even the driving is much different than in the U.S. It is hot and sunny, but we are told it is much cooler this time of year than usual and there have also been some rains which are not characteristic, but fortunate for us as it helps keep the temperature cooler. 

During our stay in the desert, there was rain, droplets fell as we rode on camels for hours and sat on sand dunes awaiting the sunset. "A Lucky Sign! A Lucky Sign!" We are told. 
"great" I think. I can use all the luck I can get to pull off this change in my life and become more. More of myself, more accepting, more creative, more healthy, embrace, release, encourage beauty around me, in those around me, feel and give more love, gain wisdom, kindness, the light in me honoring the light in you. I hope. I hope. I hope and I observe in these moments the great change happening. Trading comfort for knowledge and perspective. I want to live THIS WAY. 

As we drive, there are so many sights to see, the cows crossing the road continually, along with the goats and sheep and dogs. We dont know who eats the meat from the cows as of now, because mostly people eat all vegetarian here for faith based reasons, but also because it is less expensive to eat all veg. But still, there are many many cows that we pass on our way. Another great joy to have is to see the excitement and spring of fun and joy on the children's and lots of adult's faces as we pass. It is so fun to drink in their happiness and wave and have fun with the idea that we must be just as interesting to them as they are to us. 

We toured a huge fort in Jaisalmer. Winding alleys with shops lining them, selling camel skin goods, trinkets, bindis, clothing, jewelry, wall hangings, sheets, food, wood carvings, etc. the cows wind their way along these streets as well, passing us, we make way for them, the holy cows. We ask lots of questions to shop keepers. Many follow us, if not to buy something from their shop, to ask us where we are from, or to comment on our beauty, as they say..

That's it for today, observations and thoughts on my experiences to come!
X o,
Jenny