Udaipur aka Octopussy town

For those of you who are not James Bond fans, the title of this blog may seem a tad lewd. Udaipur, the Paris of the East, famed for its floating palace in the middle of scenic Lake Pichola (when there aren't algae blooms abound), was where the movie Octopussy was shot back in the early 80s. Every restaurant here shows it at 7:30pm sharp. I still haven't seen it.

So what exactly am I doing here? This town is famous for its miniature paintings, specifically in the Mewar style. I remember seeing these in books and enjoying the color, but not so impressed with their execution. But figured I should check out this epicenter of painting anyway. My opinion regarding the execution, however, has changed drastically. The amount of labor and technically skill to use a brush that is only one squirrel hair (local squirrels, not imported) thick for an entire painting is absurd. Intense focus and concentration (and plenty of chai and booming bollywood beats) are necessary. In January, I was fortunate enough to meet Rajesh Soni - a painter from Udaipur - in Goa (Thanks Santosh!). I kept his business card and contacted him in February to see if I could come out here and see his studio and meet his friends who are painters - he agreed. To make a long story shorter - he followed through with his word. I am going to live here for a month studying the miniature painting styles with Mr. Singh. Rajesh introduced me to Mr. Singh and his two sons and immediately I felt a powerful connection to them. Their family has been painting for generations - and they are of the Rajput (warrior) lineage. All very strong characters. And Mr. Singh, who is about 60, has survived two strokes and although his right arm and leg were paralysed - he regained full control of both. It's his good karma, I'm told. I've been sitting with him and his other artists for about 4 hours a day in his studio practicing copying figures. It's way more frustrating than I thought to copy simple designs - but this is a tradition - and there are rules. But it is rewarding and I can feel my observational skills improving.

I'm living in a guesthouse that has a kitchen - so I'll be cooking often. It's in the middle of a Muslim/Hindu area, away from the very touristy part of town. It has an incredible view of the sunset over the mountains and the monsoon palace. I'll take a picture when I find a camera. Last night I was invited to dinner at Mussin's house (I met him once at the painting studio, he's 17, and Muslim ) for a delicious chicken subjee and chapati. He told me to come at 8 - I arrived on time to learn that everyone had eaten already at 7. Whoops. The generosity just keeps going and going. Despite the fact that the town is mostly directed towards tourists - there is still such a genuine vibe from everyone I meet. I think that fact, in addition to the chance to learn a different style of painting, was my main impetus for staying.

Prince versus Shah Rukh Kahn

I don't know if I'll be updating the blog as regularly now that I've settled down a bit in Jaipur for the next few week after the crazy whirlwind tour, ending with some really good quality time with mom and dad. After seeing them off to their Palace on Wheels tour a few days ago, I've begun my work as a research assistant helping to compile guidelines, networks, and organizations that are concerned with responsible tourism, particularly in Rajasthan and Jaipur. I'm working with Prahlad, the man that I met by complete twist of fate in a restaurant in Pushkar, and Mana, a woman from Germany who is a journalist and does a lot of work in peace journalism and conflict resolution. For the most part I'll be spending my days researching organizations and networks that support responsible tourism, and creating a directory of sorts (If anyone is interested in volunteering, adventuring, or doing a homestay abroad, I can send you this list I have so far-- the amount of groups out there are insane!!). We'll also be visiting the schools that Prahlad runs through his alternative development NGO, visiting local organic farms, and taking a trip to Pushkar to interview foreigners who have settled in the area. Still, the bulk of my work involves sitting in front of a computer in Prahlad's flat, and my eyes are definitely not used to hours of looking at a screen! How on earth did I spend hours and hours doing research and writing papers at school? It's amazing how quickly I've lost my computer self. I've also realized my ability to do many sensory things at once (ie: listening to music while reading and eating some food while keeping an eye on my e-mail inbox) has also lessened (which is a good thing for my body/spirit, not so good for coming home). With the gained ability the sit still and be quiet, I've lost a bit of my ability to do crazy multi-tasking, which in the long run is a good thing. We'll see how long it lasts when I get home...

I've come into a nice routine here, that usually involves ending the night at this disco that Rishi loves, that is frequented by middle class Indians and tourists alike. We went there early for dinner last night, and got to talking to the DJ who is a really nice guy based out of Delhi... He loves 70s and 80s American music, house, hip hop, and rock, but of course he also plays lots of Bollywood and Hindi music. Since it was Saturday, the place was pretty crowded with young Indians, and the dance floor was pretty crazy especially when I requested "Om Shanti Om" (everyone cheered when the DJ put it on!)... Feeling pretty good about my taste, I asked the DJ to play Prince's "Kiss", which is one of my all time favorite songs to dance to. He obliged a few moments later, and the dance floor literally died. Everyone was seated at their tables, sipping their drinks, while this incredibly funky song played in the background! I couldn't believe it, but I had to dance, so I dragged a protesting Rishi out on the floor (he usually has to drag ME out there) and started dancing away. Rishi was completely lost; he shook a little bit, and said "I don't know how to dance to this music!"... It was amazing to me, this crazy dance machine friend of mine, just couldn't figure out how to dance to Prince. When the second Prince song came on, I let Rishi go, and he thankfully hurried off the dance floor... What's the big difference? Well, for the most part Bollywood music is about 10 times faster than American dance music. The beats are just so much faster, and much more of the movements are in the wrists and the upper body. So when more Prince came on, and later 50 Cent, and then even The Talking Heads, the dance floor remained empty. The music that my friends and I would put on for all night crazy groovin' dance parties at Vassar, didn't quite make it in Jaipur. I know it's not the same all over India, and I'm sure somewhere in some heavenly club (perhaps in Delhi?) there are people getting down to the slower beats of back home. I can only hope. I have learned to love Indian music, but I still miss my good old American tunes. Ah well, only in India could I hear Bryan Adam's "Everything I do I do it for you" with a techno beat under it (and it's not even ironic).

The Life and Times of a Rajasthanian American Slacker who is supposed to be writing a blog

I have a confession: I'm a slacker. In the "sitting-down-to-write-an-entry" sense of course. I mean, I do lots. (I think). To make a long ramble short, or a short ramble miniscule - here's the tiny list.

Three weeks total in Pondicherry at Sadhana Forest - Amazing

Biked (push-bike) two hours to where Sara and co. (Parents) were staying to have an incredibly scumptious meal (where they make mashed potatoes look like barbacued fish - or thats at least what I thought it was not having seen fish in a month or so because of the vegan diet (Sorry Gerry)). Then biked two hours back in the dark - chased by dogs - and sang really really loud on empty backroads of Auroville (amazing).

Did a pilgramage around Tiravanamallai - the holiest mountain in the south - with a couple kids from Sadhana Forest - and tens of thousands of Indian Pilgrams. We walked barefoot 16 kilometers starting at 11pm and ending at 5am.

Next morning - 7am - left for Chennai - met Sara and Family at the aiport - I left for Jaipur - they went to Dehli. Shared a great veggie biriyani. And found a cookie place.

Jaipur! Stayed with a family - food was way too spicy. Met Sara's friend Rishi - all the sites were closed so I played cards with him and his friends on a rooftop in old Jaipur among dozens kites flying above - locked in constant battles of string cuttings - and bets.

Saw the Amber Fort, crazy Dance Performance, met an Art Dealer.

Next day sat and read, enjoyed oatmeal with bananas.

Train to Udaipur overnight. This city is beautiful. I met up with a painter I met in Goa and he has started showing me around the town. I've already arranged with a couple of painters in town to teach them figure drawing if they teach me Indian minature painting. Possibly live here for a month.

That's the short and brief swimming trunks in the life and times of Jacob Rivkin regarding the past week or so. Till next time. Cheers.

(ps. I used to be annoyed at people who said "Cheers" - mainly because of a pretentious musician from JFJO (Sara will agree with me here), but I'm finding it not so bad after all)

the weston parade has arrived...

Quick note: Photos from Jaisalmer and other previous trips included in earlier entry...
(Jake, thanks for catching this amazing sign at the airport! And no, Chennai is not like New Jersey...) yes... they're here... Lynn and Gerry have been in India for the past 8 days, and it has been quite a trip. My travels have taken yet another strange and exciting turn, this time to the rain and luxury. Seriously, it has not stopped raining since they arrived, which has given us all lessons in flexibility and trying to see the silver lining... At least we have lots of time to sit and relate to each other! No, but really, I was ready for some serious family time, and I still can't really believe that my parents flew halfway around the world to see me here. It's not easy to travel in India, and I give them both a lot of credit for what they've been doing so far (though they might not know it, since I give them a bit of guff and have yelled at them a few times...) but once again, I realize that travelling takes many many forms, and I need to remember that I have had 4 months to adjust to this country... It's easy to forget what it was like in the first few days, feeling absolutely overwhelmed by anything and everything, and just trying to walk in a straight line seemed like a difficult thing to do. So yes, adjusting from the backpacker to the tourist life has been interesting for me (though I'm not complaining about the amazing food and swanky hotels at all!).. I just need to remember that there was a time when I wanted to feed all of the dogs ladoos (sweets) and water like my mother did at the airport and when the sight of beggers and women in sarees on cell phones and motorcycles seemed almost unreal. My parents are definitely taking it all in, and then some...

We spent a few days in Pondicherry at an eco-beach resort, but since it rained the whole time, we spent a lot of time eating, relaxing, and reading, amidst two failed attempts to sightsee in Pondicherry and see Jake in Auroville. Now we're in Hyderabad, a city known as "Cyberabad" as the second IT city next to Bangalore, and it's pouring (again, even though it's not near monsoon season!), but we're having a really good time with Scott Leeder, a friend of my brother's from high school, who has been in India for the past 6 months working in development with rural cotton farmers. Since it's literally rained since we've arrived we've been enjoying time with Scott, eating lots of delicious food and buffets, getting fancy drinks (oh man they have shiraz here, and it's good!) at the lounge in the hotel, and trying to go sightseeing in the pouring rain. All in all, we're still in the thick of it, but here are some photos from today's adventures...!

This is me at the palace in the city with lots of tiny passageways and beautiful views...

Mom, dad, and our driver at the palace trying to figure out where the camera is!

Dad in the rain at the palace... He likes to take photos with people in them ("they're only meaningful if someone is in them!") so Scott gave him a break from being behind the camera...

Me, mom, and Scott at the palace...

jaisalmer- city of gold, sand, and shit

cutest dog on the planet from a guest house in Pushkar!
view from the fort in Jodhpur, the blue city... Back in the day Brahmins (upper class people) were the only ones who could paint their houses blue, but now the rules have changed, and everyone can, so there are lots of blue homes...
Jaisalmer fort, made completely of sandstone! View from the Little Tibet restaurant where I spent the day talking to the owner and staring out at the world...
Sunset view over Jaisalmer (and the Thar desert) from Johan and Santosh's home..

People stare through the smoke as we all watched a restaurant catch on fire and burn for awhile...

Seriously... This is the smelliest city I've seen in India, but for all the cowshit, there is just as much tinsel sparkling and shimmering in the hot hot hot sun. So me being the moth to the flame type, I'm loving Jaisalmer a whole bunch, though I think I'm ready to take a small break from Rajasthan for now. I'll upload photos soon because this city is literally built out of sandstone and each building is intricate and almost lacy in its design. Everything is golden, browned, rusty, and yellow with random bursts of color from lines of bright laundry, flags, and restaurant signs. Most of the tourist attraction surrounds the fort, a giant structure that houses havelis, temples, restaurants, and hotels. In recent years the government has started asking tourists not to stay in the fort because it is slowly being destroyed by the impact of the tourist industry- however, there are many small businesses that are literally choking inside the fort because Lonely Planet has asked tourists to make the 'ethical choice'. It leads me to ask, what is ethical? Preservation of historical monuments, or preservation of life and self-sustaining business? I know very little of government efforts to help out the business owners inside the fort, so I can't say too much on the issue, but I did try to balance my ethics and stay outside the fort but eat in restaurants inside the fort.

My plan in Jaisalmer was to sleep, do guidebook tourist-y things, go on the internet, and have no adventures, because to be perfectly frank, I'm utterly exhausted. However, sleeping and looking at sites makes for boring blog entries and e-mails back home (and is not nearly as satisfying), so of course I didn't stick to my initial plan (if this trip to India has been a lesson in anything, it's been a lesson in flexibility). My first evening I planned to read a book Shruti lent me that I have been neglecting called "Red Earth and Pouring Rain". However, just as I was about to sit down to dinner by myself, an Israeli man asked me if I wanted to join him. Of course I could have easily declined politely, but to be honest, I was really looking to talk to and connect with other travelers. I wrote about this earlier, and it's been something that Jake and I noticed earlier in the trip, but travelers in India are not the most friendly; many have an almost arrogance about them, and an unwillingness to connect to other travelers they pass by. While I wouldn't give up any of my experiences, friendships, or connections made with Indian people, a part of me was really looking to talk to another person who was an outsider to this culture, like me. I absolutely love finding Americans because it's just so easy- and while meeting different people and learning new things is an incredible thing, sometimes I just want to be able to spend time with people who are coming from the same place as me. So to make a short decision long-winded, I joined him and we ended up talking for a few hours about traveling in and out of India, which was really rejuvinating for me. He has been traveling for the past 7 months with his wife (who was sick in bed at the time), and they spent most of their time in Central Asia, in Uzbekistan and Kirkistan (spelling is horribly mangled, I know). He told me that the tourist industry in those countries is virtually non-existent, so travelers seek each other out all the time, give tips, support, and advice. In contrast, he observed that India has such a legitimate tourist scene that sees so many travellers come through, that travellers don't feel the need to seek out others like themselves because it's a) not too difficult (relative to Central Asia where he travelled at least) & b) there are so many people like them on tourist circuit that there's no need to reach out to more similar people. Perhaps if Jake and I had stayed strictly on the tourist track we would be feeling the same way. But from our times in Badami where no one spoke English, to my own experiences being on my own here in Rajasthan, I feel that desire to meet other travellers... It was really good for me to hear this man talk about his own difficulty finding other travellers to connect with, and I'm so glad that I decided to sit with him.

The next evening I visited the home of Johan and Santosh, a musician and jewelry seller that I met at the entrance to the fort. Santosh approached me and asked if I wanted to buy anything, and I kept saying no politely, but we got to talking, and she invited me to listen to her husband play music. Her husband plays a stringed instrument whose name is escaping me right now, but to me, it's the most beautiful instrument in the world. I sat and listened to him play, and then I bought a cd and Santosh wrapped a silver bracelet around my wrist, as a present, amidst my protests that I should pay. They invited me to their home for sunset, dinner, and music the next evening, and while I had sworn to strictly guide-book and no adventures, there was no way I could say no to the invitation. I met them at their place at the fort and we took a rickshaw to the outskirts of the city and then up a hill toward a settlement of makeshift houses and tents that are literally carved into the sandstone. The view is so high up that the people who live here have the most glorious view of the city, the fort, the desert beyond, and the red red setting sun. Johan and Santosh introduced me to their 12 year old daughter Nosur, and we sat and talked while Nosur prepared chapati over the fire. A short while later Johan and I went to watch the sunset, and I was greeted by a few kids who wanted me to take their photos, give them school pens (a popular request here in India), chocolate, or rupees. I gave some rupees, took some photos, and walked around on the rocks with them as the sun set. There were lots of foreigners up there, and as I sat surrounded by my little entourage of Indian kids and men, I couldn't help feel that sadness that I wouldn't go over and talk to any of them. However, just a few minutes later, one guy spotted my Vassar shirt and in his undeniable west coast American accent called out "hey Vassar!" and we chatted for a while about his future move to Murray Hill in Manhattan from LA, and just small talk about traveling. He was amazed that I had been couchsurfing in India, and I assured him that beyond couchsurfing there were always families who wanted to take you in to their homes, like the family that had taken me up to this very spot. With that, I excused myself and went back to Johan and Santosh's house and ate a positively delicious dinner of chapati with tons of ghee, and fresh vegetables cooked into a mouth-watering subjee. I was so touched by their kindness to share with me.... After dinner Johan and Santosh sang and played music in the candlelight, while I clapped along out of rhythm. Johan told me that only artists and musicians live in this area, so through the night you can hear drums, singing voices, and all kinds of instruments- sad music, happy music, religious music, music for the peacock, music for love, it's all there. At around 10, I thought it would be best if I went off to sleep, so Johan walked me down the hill, to the city below and we said goodbye. It was without question, one of the happiest nights I've spent in India.

I could talk about how amazing it was that these people who literally have nothing (I asked them if they had a mosquito net to keep out the bugs that keep them up all night and they said that business is not so good right now), shared so much with me, and share meals and their home with many tourists who come through Jaisalmer. But it's like a broken record to say that Indian people who have so little are so hospitable and kind to those who have so much- it happens everywhere and all the time, and the one thing I can do is be a thankful and honored guest. Learning to be a good guest in India, from the richest of the rich to the poorest of the poor, has been a difficult and important lesson for me during these travels, but it is one that I hope I will carry home with me, alongside the lessons of kindness, generosity, and hospitality that have been so beautifully bestowed upon me.

Rain and Mud

After two consecutive power-outages let's see if I can get through this post. First off, Sara, it sounds like everything you are doing is incredibly amazing - and you're making me feel a bit lazy! Bwah, thats ok. So I've been here for two weeks now - although it feels like both two months and two days at the same time - time passes so quickly. The days this past week have been filled with attempts to rebuild the clay oven at sadhana forest. Myself and Dave, from Britian, have been testing out mud to sand ratios to find the best mix to cover the top. But this was only after

kzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz_

Whoa. There was another power outage! And I'm back (a day later). So to make a long story short about the mudoven - it rained again and we weren't able to put the cover on in time and so now we're set back two or three days. Oh well.

Now a little bit about the conservation work at Sadhana Forest. During the time of the British and the French (Pondicherry was a French Colony) they used this area as a resource for all of their wood needs. However, they did not replant in the process, and instead left behind a bunch of Australian bush trees which aren't indigineous and although nice trees, don't hold the land together so well. So in all the past monsoons the great dirt that was once there has slowly washed away and become a ground of clay and poor soil. Since Sadhana Forest's beginnings four years ago, over 3,700 trees have been planted. Every morning for "First Work" we head out to the forest to build bunds and dig ditches on a hill that overlooks the rest of the forest. This helps in a couple of ways. First, the ditches/holes are actually catchment ponds for water - which helps reduce the amount of water flowing away and taking trees with it. The bunds, packed down dirt which creates little mounds, act as a second barrier and will become stronger over time when grass is able to grow over them. Because of the recent rainfall, we witnessed the catchment ditches in action and actually retaining water! Quite an exciting feat considering how many years of abuse the forest took on. Also, the government every year takes water table surveys for Auroville - and every year they lose 3 meters of water. Last year, Sadhana Forest gained 6 meters of water. Their efforts towards repopulating the forest are quite exciting, and it feels good to be helping work towards that.

On the other hand (of course there is another side!!), it feels as if we are living in a bubble. I get a mini-jolt everytime I leave SF to go have a chai or go on the internet because it doesn't feel like India while we are on the inside. Everyone working there is not native to India, save the watchman/handyman. But they don't have employees and its fairly isolated. So there is this great community - but it's cut off from the rest of the world - which seems off - but at the same time its providing a key to how to restore the environment as well as create a sustainable community. It is quite amazing to see everyone working together, taking initiatives without being asked, and positive vibes throughout. More to come about some workshops I've done soon.

indian.wedding

Yesterday I fell in love with India. Driving in a car to a tiny village outside of Jaipur, trying not to wrinkle my fancy blue wedding saree, music from Om Shanti Om (biggest bollywood movie ever) blasting from the stereo, zooming past whirlwinds of dust filled with explosions of color. That was it- dust, splash of red, dust, splash of blue, dust, splash of purple, it never ended. Laughing, laughing, and laughing as the men drank bad tasting beer and smoked (I cheers'd with my water bottle) and dancing in the car, twisting our wrists, and screaming at the top of our lungs. And then there was the wedding...

I was invited to the wedding by my friend Rishi, a guy I met when I first arrived in Jaipur with my Taj travel buddy Seth. Rishi offered us a ride in his rickshaw, and two hours later we found ourselves at his house, having beers with his family, playing with his cousin's baby, and just hanging out. Rishi introduced himself by saying that he is no ordinary rickshaw driver, and he was certainly right. He's an artist who's going to England this May to exhibit his work, he taught himself English from the tourists (and is pretty much fluent), is sending his younger sisters to school to become a doctor and an engineer, and is just pretty much crazy. Once Seth left, when I wasn't at the conference, I was hanging out with Rishi's family, eating food, talking to his sisters, and getting amazing tours of Jaipur (this photo is of a tomb site for maharajahs, basically an empty tourist site that is just stunning, but not very popular). His family pretty much adopted me, and on the day of the wedding, we had a ridiculously fantastic time getting me ready. While Rishi went to run some last minute errands, his two sisters put tons of make up on me, put me in jewelry, and then his mother and father came in and all 4 of them wrapped me in my saree. I felt like a doll- if it wasn't so funny, it would have been very uncomfortable for me, but everyone was laughing (and poking fun at me in Hindi I'm sure), so all I could do was laugh along.

After taking tons and tons of photos (that's me and Rishi in a very prom-like shot), we were off to the groom's house, and then off to the village. When we arrived at the groom's house, we were greeted by the most dazzling group of woman I've ever seen up close- wearing such sparkling and brightly colored sarees... It was incredible. They all got really excited to see me in a saree, and they pulled me into the porch area to meet the groom, who was sitting on the ground with some friends. After a few minutes of me trying to speak Hindi, and smiling a lot, some drummers started drumming and the groom's Aunt pulled me into the middle of the circle to start dancing with her. Now most of you know that I LOVE dancing, and can usually never resist it, but considering how many people were staring, and the fact that I was wearing a garment that could come undone with just one mis-step, I was a little hesitant. But after a few moments of watching this woman dance, I couldn't help it, and I started flicking my wrists and shaking my hips like mad. Everyone went crazy and others joined in for this ecstatic/bollywood dance party. Only photos and experiencing it, can really explain it...

From the groom's house, we jumped in the car and travelled the 30 km to the village where the bride lives. For those who don't know, Indian weddings are usually a HUGE deal, and this happened to be the day when the most weddings were happening because it was considered very astrologically auspicious (the majority of wedding dates are chosen by an astologer, at least in Hinduism, I'm not sure about Muslim weddings). That said, there was a lot of crazy energy flying about on the ride there. When we arrived to the village, everybody gathered around, and the groom mounted a decorated horse to ride over to the bride's house. Generally (and I know it varies from state to state, region to region), the groom's party parades through the street to the bride's party. There's music (this group had a truck with speakers blasting AND a live marching band), tons of dancing, people throwing confetti and spraying everything from shaving cream to beer. People from the village come out from their houses and line the streets, watch from rooftops, or join in (and if you thought getting down the FDR drive at rush hour was hellish, try getting through one or two of these wedding parties on your way home). So basically, it's like one big parade, and being that I was a blonde white girl in a saree, I was a pretty central attraction. I was sure to be really cautious going to this wedding in the first place, but I don't think Rishi nor I had any idea how intense it would be. Men and boys gathered around and just stared, a few asked me for my autograph, and of course there were the pictures. There was no escaping it, so eventually Rishi put me with the girls, and told them to watch after me. Thank god for those girls... There were about 5 girls, aged 8-15 who took me in, held my hands on both sides, and wouldn't let me out of their sight. They spoke a bit of English and I tried to speak Hindi, but for the most part we just smiled and laughed together amidst all of the chaos. We walked most of the parade in the back, unfortunately right behind the horse... Even with everything going on around us, I spent most of that time thinking of ways to get the girls to veer off to side so that we were not directly behind the horse, in case it got scared and kicked back, but the girls didn't understand what I was saying. Every time I tried to steer us to the right, they gave me a confused look, and put us right back in the center. There goes any authority I might have had considering I was 10 years older than them.

When we were near the bride's house, Rishi's friend grabbed me and told me to dance in the circle. Now I had danced at the groom's house, but this was a whole new ball game. The men and boys dancing were literally doing the craziest mix of ecstatic, almost shamanic looking dance, with bollywood and incredibly vulgar dance moves. Add that to the crowds of people lining the street, the crazy music, the confetti, and the horse, and I just didn't know if I was up for it. But the girls prodded me forward, and Rishi helped me along, and before I knew it, I was dancing with the guys, twirling and twisting, shaking, and doing my thing. It was surreal, but I could only last a few minutes before I ran to the back to re-join the girls. It was a great experience, but I was enjoying the observing perspective from the back- besides, the last thing I wanted was to keep attracting MORE attention (sidenote: Rishi and his friend had my camera the whole time, so unfortunately I wasn't able to get as many shots of the actually event than of me with people...).

About an hour later, we made it to the bride's place where a huge tent was set up. We all sat there and waited while ceremonies and rituals were performed, and then there was food. The actually marriage rituals don't happen until much later, usually after midnight after the celebration and food, and usually there aren't many people present for that. I ate with Rishi and the men, and the food was delicious!! I love wedding food and sweets! Right after the meal, however, it was already time to go, so Rishi took me in to see the bride. She was inside, surrounded by the women, and they all called me in and tried to take photos of me with her, but she was either really shy, really terrified, really angry I was there, or scared in general. She wouldn't look at me, and everyone was yelling at her, and so I bent down, touched her feet, whispered thank you, and got out as fast as I could. There was so much going on, that I couldn't ask anyone what was wrong, and after that, it was definitely better that we were leaving... It's difficult to explain unless you've experienced what it's like to be a white person in a small village, but the attention I was getting was just too much. The groom was really happy though, and we took a lot of photos together, so I think it was okay that I was there for his part. Rishi and I jumped in a car with a bunch of his friends, and headed back to Jaipur for the night, leaving the whirlwind behind before I could even register what had happened.

So that was the wedding, from my very limited perspective. It was insanely fun, scary, intense, and I would love to go to another one where I can learn more about what is going on, and not have so much attention directed at me for being white and blonde. I wouldn't take back the experience for anything though.

Now I'm in Pushkar (photo is the view from my hotel) and it is seriously one of the most magical places I've ever been (way to go Lonely Planet with the whimsical, fairy-like description). This place is so laid back, everyone just says namaste to each other, and the vibe makes me so happy. I'm staying in a renovated haveli, in a room that is great, but I need to take about 8 different maze-like staircases up down and around to get to. I think I may come live here for the month of April... Went out to dinner to relax and be on my own for a bit, and as I was sitting at this non-descript tourist restaurant, eating pasta, and listening to Britney Spears, I wondered why I didn't choose a more backpacker friendly, hippie-d out spot of which there are many around here. However, as I was finishing up, a man asked me what I was reading and I was initially a little distant because I was tired and didn't feel like having the "what country" "first time in India?" conversation, but we started talking, and turns out he runs an organic farm, soon to be eco-village, intercultural exchange center in Pushkar and Jaipur. He told me he's looking for help researching/writing this book/pamphlet on intercultural exchange between India and the west, and being an anthropology major from the west travelling in India, I told him I was very interested. So to make a long story short, I'm going to meet with him and this german journalist in Jaipur in a few days to see if we can work together, and then I'll come back and help interview westerners living in Pushkar, and research appropriate literature and such for the book. It's all very up in the air of course, but what!?

As I was walking home from dinner, smiling and saying namaste to everybody, I stumbled upon a guy that gave me a free digeridoo chakra healing. Don't ask- it was insane (in a good way), and I think I'm going to enjoy my time in Pushkar for sure...

leaving the earth from a chrysanthemum

Jake and I may not technically be travelling together right now, but we're still certainly on a similar plane... While he lives and works in Auroville, a place that was envisioned and founded by the Mother, I have been attending a conference that was convened because of a call from The Mother. Let me explain... I took a ride to Jaipur with Seth, an American I met at the Taj Mahal, and that decision has opened up a string of concidences that have made this past week pretty amazing and insane. Seth is great- graduated college in Colorado, sailed around the Caribbean and Africa for 3 years, and now he's self-employed, running a company that advertises products from Asian factories to the wholesale buyer. He lives in China and Colorado, and travels to trade shows around SE Asia. I managed to catch him when he was on a 5 day extended vacation through India, and it was really wonderful travelling with him for a couple of days. Seth was on the business man budget, and I had been couchsurfing for a long while, so when he suggested a place called Hotel Diggi Palace, a more mid-range spot in Jaipur, I figured why not, it's only for a night (which has now become 4 nights for me). Diggi Palace is GORGEOUS, with lots of British colonial charm (only said partly tongue in cheek). It's quiet, there are tons of birds (and sometimes elephants!!), and it's still in the middle of the city. Anyways, this stay at Diggi Palace is more important for the people it has brought me to, less so for the decor.

I overheard a woman talking in the lobby/courtyard, and since my American (particularly east coast) accent radar is still on high, I couldn't help but approach her and ask where she is from. Turns out she's from Brooklyn, works in fashion, and was in India attending the Global Peace Initiative of Women conference that was taking place over the next 3 days in Jaipur. She and her friend Maxine, a photographer from New York, asked if I wanted to tag along later that day to see if I could get in, and of course I couldn't pass up the opportunity. For those who don't know me or what I studied in school, this conference is pretty much a dream come true for me. You've got a Vassar girl, anthropology/sociology major, with a focus on gender studies, embodiment, and violence (sexual violence/prison reform). I also did a lot of work in creative arts therapies and wholistic health education and integration into the student life... The conference was entitled "Bringing out the feminine for the benefit of the world community". Basically, the conference mission is not to talk about how women can change the world (we already know that all too well), but rather it was talking about out the feminine qualities that exist in BOTH men and women- oneness, compassion, softness, generally a more wholistic approach and perspective on the world. The Global Peace Initiative of Women was brought together from a UN summit of religious leaders. At the summit (in 2000 I believe), it was observed that there were only 5 female religious leaders of hundreds. Kofi Annan requested that the 5 women gather other female religious leaders from around the world so that they could meet and work together. This conference had some really major religious and spiritual leaders, both men and women, and I am still amazed and feeling incredibly blessed that I stumbled upon it. Amma, a really famous female guru who is known as the Hugging Mother (she has gatherings all over the world in which she literally spends all night giving thousands of people hugs), opened up the conference , and I must say, I almost started crying when she entered the room, her energy was so strong. The speakers ranged from the first female rabbi in Israel (whom I approached and started babbling about kind of being Jewish and how my friends have a female Rabbi back home, and I think that's really amazing, and she just smiled a lot), to Tibetan lamas and monks, to Sisters and Reverends, to doctors and lawyers from South Africa, women who spend their lives working with refugees and other people in Burundi and Kenya, a Cambodian woman who watched her mother killed by the Khmer Rouge, and then became a lawyer to fight against them, singers, grammy award winning musicians, other young people from Iraq to Mexico to Tunisia to Thailand, swamys and gurus, foundation heads, business people, it just keeps going. Needless to say I was able to make a ton of connections with really fantastic people, and was consistently overwhelmed listening to everyone speak. Yesterday was conflict day, and I watched two Israeli scholars and leaders and two Palestinian scholars and leaders sit on stage and have a conversation, laughing together and of course trying to work through the tension that was so evident. Listening to people's stories and meeting these people from all around the world, particularly meeting all these spiritual leaders, gave me a grounding (and a lift) that was really needed.

At one point, there was a sufi devotional music performance and it was really percussive and gorgeous. There was this Israeli singer named Miriam, who liked to give me hugs, and she was just dancing in the middle of the gathering tent, completely blissful in her own world, even though everybody was staring. I just couldn't help myself, I walked to the center, and joined her, and the two of us laughed and danced to the music, shutting our eyes because it felt right but also because there were tons of people taking pictures, and I didn't want to feel uncomfortable (haha). In just a few minutes though, more people started joining in, and pretty soon there was a huge global dance party in the middle of the tent, men and women, moving our hips, wrists, necks, feet, hands, sharing dances from all around the world. Amidst all the talking, debating, this was much-needed... In the middle of the song, I wandered to the outskirts of the circle just to watch, and I noticed a butterfly resting on a giant white chysanthemum flower. There have been butterflies fluttering about through the conference, which is a great blessing, so I felt particularly happy to see this butterfly at this moment. However, on closer inspection I noticed that the butterfly wasn't moving, and that it was in fact dead. I felt a pang of sadness, but then I thought, "what a beautiful time and place for that butterfly to leave the earth!"

There were smaller circle discussions throughout the conference, and at one point I felt moved to talk a little bit about my own experiences and work. When I referred to Thich Naht Han, and a poem he wrote called "Please Call Me by My True Names" I caught two Burmese monks nodding in agreement out of the corner of my eye. I can't articulate the accepatance I felt with that nod, but it had made me see the path I want to take in life a little more clearly.

All of that said... This conference has been amazing, but at the same time a bit overwhelming, and it brought up a lot of issues that I haven't really been facing in India. First of all, the conference was by no means perfect. There was absolutely no Latino/Latina representation in any of the panels, and the majority of people from the states were white. Class and sexual identity were virtually from the discussions. Beyond that, I was surrounded by more Americans, and actually more New Yorkers that I've been in the past 4 months, and it was a lot more difficult than I thought. Perhaps I've romanticized New York too much in my head? I realize I'll have a little bit of culture shock when I go home, which is normal, but I didn't think I'd experience.

This post is getting quite long, so I'm going to cut it off here, and save everything else that's been whirling around in my head for the next post. I'm going to a wedding in a village outside of Jaipur today, and I'm sure I'll have plenty of stories and adventures from that! Peace&blessings

beards

oh yeah. and all the guys here have awesome beards. I think i'm about second in rank for beards though - one guy - Aleix from Barcelona - totally has me beat. Useful info!

Auroville Arrival

Beginning.

I arrived in Pondicherry at 4am. from Bangalore and decided to stay awake at the bust station until it was light out. The touts, like sharks, waited for me to give in. I didn't. I arrived at Sadahana Forest at about 7am. The place was empty. Strange. As it turns out, I came to Auroville on the day of "The Mother"'s birthday. The Mother is Auroville's foundational pillar of philosophy. Her writings, teachings, and lectures are all recorded and many of the people here consider them to be scripture. More on that later. I was greeted by about six people cooking breakfast in one of the huts. As a side note - Sadhana Forest is vegan. We are also not allowed to bring in any non-vegan food - so it's a good thing I stocked up on "Skippy "Natural" Crunchy Peanut Butter" because the hydrogonated stuff wouldnt be allowed here. So anyway - I joined them for a delicious breakfast which was comprised of a huge amount of freshly cut papayas, bananas, pomegranates, and pineapple. This was in addition to the main course of a porridge like substance called "Ragi" (which is actually just a local variety of millet) combined with Jaggery (natural sugar), roasted peanuts, coconut, and bananas. As I later discovered - this is the breakfast everymorning - switching off between Ragi and Rice Porridge and Acid fruits and sweet fruits. Absolutely Delicious. I jumped right into cutting fruit and was immediately welcomed by the group. There is something quite special about this place that I noticed from those first minutes. Everyone smiles - a lot - and if you see an unfamiliar face - one is quick to introduce themselves with a welcoming handshake, hug, and or head waggle.

Intro.
The whole community is green. There are about 10 huts in total. All the electricity is run on solar power. We pee and poo in separate receptacles in order to keep the poo dry so it is easy to compost. Water coolers are located around the forest for hand-washing with biodegradable soap - but they are placed right next to trees or small garden plots so no water is lost in the process of washing. I sleep in a hut of about 8 people, the main dorm holds about 20-30. Every person signs up for jobs throughout the week so that everyone is very involved in the community. Upon arrival - you pay 100 rupees per day for food. The goal of the community is to become totally self-sustainable so they can grow their own food and not have to charge volunteers.

The Basics.
So heres the usual schedule during the week (weekends are free).
5:45am wake up - this week has been Tom on guitar singing an original tune about "lovely people come meet the day, it's the best day of your life"
6:30 - first work starts - this involves going out to the forest to dig holes/build bunds, cleaning, or as I have been doing this week since I'm on fire duty - breakfast time
8:30 - breakfast
9:30 - second work - garden work/lunch duty/ toilet clean
11:30 - second work is over - at this point I go jump in the mud pit, cover myself in mud and lie in the sun till lunch
12:30pm - lunch
1:00-5:30 - free time or duty work - including filling water containers around the premise
5:30 - dinner
6:00 - do whatever you want till sleep - time

People.
There are currently about 50 people living at Sadhana Forest. The nationalities include a lot of Americans, a lot of Israelis, French, Canadian, Australian, British, Italian, and German. The two who started this place are Aviram and Yorit, two Israelis. They started it four years ago and they have two children, one born this February. They are quite incredible and Aviram's knowledge of the land and wish to create a strong community is unrivaled.

Extracurriculars.
There is so much to do in the community here - which is probably one of the most attractive reasons for coming. Workshops in everything you could possibly imagine happen all the time. So far, on my second night I went to a concert of just a djembe and guitar player - there were about 50 people there in this beautiful round room with high ceilings and amazing acoustics - and everyone was dancing. In the same spirit of Jazz Night back at Vassar - people danced on their own flowing beautiful dynamism - or - did contact improvisation! I felt right at home there. The concert ended by everyone holding hands and spiraling into the center, kind of imagine hava nagila/barmitzvah where a kid is hoisted on a chair kind of thing - without the chair but plenty of circling. Everyone then got real close and started chanting OM over and over and over again. I could feel the vibrations surging through the room as there were deep voices, high voices, and all of it concentrated on the middle of the circle. This went on for about ten minutes. When it all quieted down - no one said a word. everyone remained silent and the two people in the very middle were crying. it felt like we had all participated in some sort of healing for those people. People hugged. We remained silent exiting the building.

I have since then attended two other contact improv dances - one with about twenty people - one with only eight. Within this experience, I am realizing I still have a lot to learn. But this sort of physical exploration is quite exciting.

I also participated in a very powerful, actually the most powerful meditation I have ever done. Now I know some of you will laugh at this, but I swear it was incredible. The deal was called "Rebirthing". Now the title is a bit misleading. We do not get hosed down with KY jelly and put through a large matress-lined PVC tube and fall into a kiddie pool below. But rather it is just a deep breathing exercise used to clear energy blocks in the body that have been built up over time. We were led through this meditation through two people who have led sessions for over three years. At its basics - you through the mouth - first filling the stomach, then the chest with air and then blowing it out through the same motions. The speed is steadily increased and increased until you have a very rapid, but deep breathing going. It was conducted in the middle of the forest, away from the base camp and others. We did a few activities to get warmed up - such as introducing ourselves as the person next to us, free movement, blindfolded led hand exploration, and a silent meditation. We were then laid down next to each other in two rows with our heads towards the middle and commenced the breathing. I won't go too much into my experience - but people cried, screamed, yelped, laughed hysterically, felt like their body was very tight, and hands folded into themselves and unable to get them undone - to name a few - but many people forgot what happened. We did the actual breathing for an hour and forty minutes - it felt like only 20. They had separated their minds from their bodies and went somewhere else - but were brought back down through the guiding touches of the two who guided us through the experience. I don't know if I am doing a good job of articulating this experience - but I think it's one of those things in life that has to be experienced for oneself to grasp it's genuine meaning.

So this is a very long post. Whoa. I probably left out a lot of details because things built up and built up. If there are gaps. Let me know and I'll fill in on the next post.

Also, for pictures from the Haiku Festival - http://web.mac.com/vjyoti/ananda-haiku/Ananda_at_Bangalore.html
You can see me and my beard in picture titled "audience "

tajmahal

You'd think that since Agra is home to the Taj Mahal, everyone here would be used to tourists, but in this city I've managed to have an audience of 20 people watch me buy tickets, a cycle rickshaw driver ask me if I wanted a ride while I was riding in another rickshaw, and I came across dozens of laughing women and children who literally thronged me as I wandered down tiny little alleys with gorgeous little huts and laundry hanging everywhere. I'm trying to learn more Hindi each day, and have gotten impromptu lessons from people who see me studying the alphabet and trying to read Hindi signs, which is really great.

The Taj... When I first saw it, tears sprang to my eyes, maybe because it was so majestic, maybe because it's the thing I least expected to do, or maybe because 4 people approached me at once asking me to buy key chains, post cards, and take photos. Yes, yes it's as amazing as everybody says, and there's so much to it. I always imagined this marble white masterpiece, but there's thousands of red, gold, and black flowers painted all around, white flowers inscribed on the borders, black script, and squares with charlie brown stripes. There are birds living up in the ceiling... Birds are so funny like that- perhaps they realize they're living in one of the seven wonders of the world. I hope so. Everybody walks around barefoot, so you can feel the warm marble under your toes- hot in the sun, cool in the shade. There's an inscription of O48 on the ground on the west side. I don't know why. There were pillers up for scientific conservation work. There was an electronic red script banner running across one of the entrances. There are hooks on top. The marble is so so smooth to the touch. I didn't know what else to do so I just started doing laps around the temple. I noticed all of these things as I walked around, as the colors changed so dramatically with the setting sun. There was the British couple that didn't move once, and everytime I passed them, they were taking photos of each other. I walked past the couple I ate lunch next to at a place called Zorba the Buddha. I walked past another group of people I had seen earlier that day. I walked past hundreds of flowing sarees and salwaar kameez suit, shimmering in the sun, almost taking my breath away. Those women wearing those clothes, in a rainbow of glittering colors, are the only people who look right walking around the Taj. Hippie backpackers and tourists in hats with cameras look happy, but out of place... I don't know, I could just watch women in sarees and bangles walk around the Taj for hours. Whenever someone asked me to pose for a photo, I just pointed to the structure in front of us, and said "why?" A girl in Ali baba pants, disheveled blonde hair, and plastic white sunglasses just doesn't do anything for the view of the Taj Mahal. I found my way inside and wandered through the maze of the tomb, not sure what to feel about the fact that this entire masterpiece was built for one man's love. It's just pretty astonishing, and I don't usually get caught up in that all. I must say, though, that I did find myself in complete solitude in one of the rooms for a few moments, which in the biggest tourist site in India, is quite a feat. I did a twirl, and thought about being alone in a cave at Ellora and singing Amazing Grace, and then the moment was over as people came piling in. I went back outside to see the sun setting so red over one of the gateways, met an Indian-American travelling with his cousins who just felt so fantastically American that I can't describe how happy it made me at that moment- then met another American who offered me a ride to Jaipur tomorrow, which I'm happily going to take. Walked away from the Taj as the sun sunk into the sky, took a photo with a group of women and children who were so bright and happy, and thought about my mother asking me if I would be alone when I went to Agra. She said she couldn't imagine not being able to look at someone and just say "wow". Mom, what you'll come to understand when you come to India (in less than two weeks!) is that you can never be alone here. It's a blessing and a curse, but India just kind of takes everybody in so that it feels like one big tangled up family. You can go to the Taj, not know a soul, and look at everyone and just say "wow" (and get asked "which country" and if you could pose in about 30 photos if you're a foreigner, so there's no getting away from it anyways).

from christians to cricket to call centres

I waited until the last minute to buy a late night train ticket from Delhi to Agra and I will never make that mistake again. Delhi was fantastic, and I was feeling lazy watching the cricket match (India won!) on Sunday, learning the basics of the game, and I just couldn't bring myself to begin this crazy two week tour from Agra through Rajasthan. I finally made it to the train station late at night, and was promptly overwhelmed. Out of the 500 or so people I passed by at the station, there were maybe 10 women in all. After speaking broken Hindi and loud English, I found my way to the "ladies reservation counter" which was surrounded by men. They pushed me up front, and right as I was about to yell Agra, two women who came up to my waist pushed me out of the way and got their tickets. Two more women were behind me, pushing their way past me, and though it pains me to think about it now, I had to push these older women out of the way so they wouldn't cut in front of me in the midst of the dozens of people fighting to buy a ticket. Heard a number, threw some money at the counter, and crawled out of the crowd with a crumpled ticket in hand. Realized the ticket didn't have a train number or a platform, so I searched around until a young kid (who I thought was 12, but was actually a taxi driver) led me to the platform and told me to wait. I waited and talked to the people around me using the 4 things I know in Hindi, and tried to seem relaxed even though everybody was staring and I had no idea when the train was coming. The porters kept telling me the train was coming soon, and assured me I could get on the ladies car if I stayed put. Finally the train came and I strapped on my backpack and started following a porter. He glanced at my ticket and in horror he started laughing. "Ladies car not possible in general boarding... No reservation?" I wasn't sure what this meant, but I realize that I had booked a ticket in the cars where there are no reserved seats, and it's literally a free for all. People are pouring out of the sides of the cars, sitting on the floor, hanging from the luggage compartments, for hours on end. The train was slowing down, I had no choice... A man in a turban yelled at me to follow him, and he tried to get me into the car, but with my pack, it was difficult. Small women were creeping under my arms and pushing me out of the way, and everyone was shoving like a rugby scrum... A porter from outside the swarm yelled at me to follow him and he shoved me into a car and yelled at people to let me sit. We were squeezed into a tiny berth with feet dangling down from above me, people sitting in the aisles, and everybody looking at me with a look of puzzlement and amusement. I was so disheveled and it was so cramped that all I could do was laugh. I laughed and I began to take out some of my homemade sweets that my last two hosts have given me, so that I could at least share them with the people around me, and make some friends. But about 10 minutes later, two conductors came and yelled at me from the door that I was to follow them. I resisted at first, but they kept yelling, and so I got up and dragged my stuff off the train. They took me to sleeper class, which is the lowest class you can make a reservation, but after the last car, this seemed beyond luxurious. They told me to sit, and they let me buy a new ticket. I was still in a car with all men, and they stared for no end, but it wasn't too bad. In fact, I spent the 4 hour ride chatting with the conductors and two small kids who kept coming up to me and shaking my hand. All the conductors carry guns, so it was a little strange to surrounded by four men carrying large weapons, but they were good-natured and they laughed a lot, so overall it was a good ride.

I arrived in Agra and was met by Kirthi, a couchsurfer who is pretty astonishing in all that he's done in 23 years. Kirthi took me on his bike to a really nice (and cheap!) guest house, and we chatted for a few hours until I passed out from the exhausting day. Today Kirthi picked me up and took me to a meeting between his company and the owners of the property they're renting for an office call centre. Kirthi is starting his own call centre for a us mortgage company and has been giving me an amazing lesson on Indian call centres and outsourcing. For the meeting, he told me that if anyone asks to tell them I'm the American client. So this young hippie girl wearing a long flowing dress, looking utterly confused, I'm sure, sat in the meeting drinking tea, and looking as professional as she could. Kirthi has offered me the opportunity to help train new call centre employees to speak American english. It would be a paid job, and I think I may take it for a couple of weeks in April. What better experience for an anthropology student like myself, to see this outsourcing/call centre culture up close? I never thought I'd be in business meetings and job hunting in the city of the Taj Mahal, but that's the best part of travelling I suppose.

Speaking of settling, I met with an organization in Delhi called Family Vision, who works in the Tihar prison. The group is Christian based, which made me initially resistant, because I'm of the Jew-Bu persuasion, but they do incredible work and they were some of the kindest people I've met so far in my travels. I think I may spend a month or three weeks working with them, learning about Indian prison, helping out with programs, and perhaps visiting the prison itself. I like Delhi, and think it could be a good city for me for a few weeks. I've met some really great folks, and the opportunity to learn about Indian prisons and do some meaningful work seems too good to pass up. This trip has taken some interesting turns in the past couple of weeks, can't wait to see what else happens!