I’ve got so many impressions and bits of information running through my mind that it’s almost impossible to develop a coherent theme. I guess that’s the way India is. It’s sensory and mental overload of the highest order. We all come here with some preconceived notions about what we will find. Some are seeking self actualization and seek out the Dalai Lama and the local ganja vendor. Some are looking for stuff to buy, and they find it by the truckload. Others want to revel in the grandure of the Maharaja’s world. A few want to see the dark side of poverty and human depravity, and they can find that as well, because it hits you in the face from the moment you deplane.
There was a major piece in the Hindustani times about an enlightened group in Delhi that wanted to clean up their neighborhood. Right. Good on ya’. They bought a king size dimpsey dumpster and plopped it down on a prominent corner. The problem is that the folks, the people who actually lived there, would haul the garbage to the dumpster, but dump it beside, not in, the dumpster. After a time, when it became clear that this was going to be a continuing practice, people were asked reasonably, “why are you dumping garbage on ground and not dumping in big box”. The hoi polloi answered, “ where the cows and pigs be eating, if we are putting trash in big can?”. Well, you got me there. After all the cows and pigs do need to eat.
And then there’s the story about the city cows. You know, the ones that wander around the urban centers eating free hand outs and leftovers on the side of the road. It’s said, based on actual studies, that these cows have become addicted to the emissions of the two cycle diesel engines that power the tuk-tuks which, in turn, clog the roads as well as pollute the air. Ok, now we’ve got dope head cows. Worse yet, we can’t put them in jail for their addiction, because they’re sacred.
One of our beloved guides was attempting to attach meaning to Indian sir names. It was in this context that we discussed the Singh dynasty of Jaipur. He explained, “this is a good example of how a name can describe the character of the person, in Hindi Singh means loin”. Neither S. nor I said anything for a time trying to decifer the connection of the great warrior and founder of Jaipur Sawai Man Sing I and “loin”. Of course, we finally got it. It was lion not loin. So much for communicating in english.
This Ganges river thing has got me going. It goes on and on. I’ve now been told that the current festival, Makar Sankriti commemorates Lord Ramas sending the Ganges down to earth from the heavens, and that Lord Shiva had the Ganges running through his hair, and shook his head so that the Ganges fell down to earth. In either case it’s a really big deal these days. It now turns out that the procession of women we saw in colorful costume on the road to Ranthambore with pots on their head were carrying small portions of water from the sacred river to a nearby tributary, at which they will regenrate the life of the river by dumping their potful back in the river. This stuff is starting to make me think that religions of the west are rational. Oh, by the way, these women start to sway and swoon as they get closer to their depositing point and many fall into a trance which require physical support for them to complete their mission.
I think I’ve got it about castes. The law says that it’s illegal to discriminate on the basis of caste, but it’s ok for a family to excommunicate their daughter if she marries outside her caste. I wonder if anyone has ever been chastised for marrying above their caste. Listen up. The caste system is not an economic classification, but it’s not lost on even me that all the members of the Shudra caste are at the very bottom of the economic pecking order. This includes, by the way, the legions of women who hand mix cow dung with straw to form the dried discs that fuel every Indian fire. We saw today an Indian woman, of indeterminate age, carrying a load of bricks on her head. Yes, I said a load of bricks on her head. She was presumably a Shudra. I guess that she probably takes some comfort from the fact that she’s not an “Achout” or untouchable. They are the ones who are untouchable because they have jobs that being them in to contact with “unhealthy” situations. I guess kneading cow s**t doesn’t qualify.
We went to an art gallery that specializes in traditional Indian miniatures and watched actual artists at work (usually the first step in a well conceived sales process) then took our time looking at a huge array of miniatures, old and new, high quality and low, and it was not hard to notice that a considerable number of these miniatures portrayed scenes of, well, shall we say amorous endeavor including female barechestedness. Lord Krishna and his prodiguous appetites for the fairer sex were featured prominently. Not only was there explicit nudity there was the suggestion of much more. Nothing of particular note to our jaded world today, except that the mornings paper brought a story of two Bollywood stars and their directer who had been charged with obscentiy in the high court. No, not for XXX rated cinematic activity, but for obscene kissing. This along side another article demanding justice in the case of an ad agency who had put up billboards with a young lass wearing only cobras wrapped around her body promoting……you guessed it, washing up soap.
The telly has been chock full of reporting and outrage about the incident of the minor Bollywood celebrity being ill-treated in a UK reality show. They said she had been the victim of taunting and there were even suggestions of racial slurs. There have been protests in the streets and two reported death threats.
The first all-female camel safari in northwest India came a cropper at the Pakistini border. I don’t know if it was the camels who were female or the drivers, but in any case the Pakis were having none of it.
You might think I’m making this up, but I’ve got evidence.
