Friday's Place Kerala

Pushka 24/11/2009

November 25, 2009

This is the first time since my last post that I really feel compelled to write. Putting the words down on ‘paper’ or rather seeing them appear on the screen might help me to make some sense of MY India so far. Yes, we have finally arrived after 10 days of Pakistan. From Multan we traveled to Lahor for an overnight stay (cool city Lahor) and then crossed the Pakistan – India border at Wagah on the morning of 19^th November. The crossing went smoothly without any complications or weird questions from the customs officers on either side – we just had to fill out about a zillion forms! And there it was our first Indian state, namely, Punjab. From the border we drove approx. 40km to Amritsar to see the Golden Temple, Sikhism’s holiest shrine. The temple is a beautifully delicate and peaceful golden structure floating in the middle of an expanse of water. Anyone can visit regardless of their faith. Although it is the most welcoming of places I felt that my presence somehow invaded this holy space full of devotees most probably making the pilgrimage of their lives. I can only think that my feelings were due to me being quite overwhelmed by the generosity of the people while Mark thinks I’m just a sinner and as such would feel out of place at a holy sight. Despite my reservations and Mark’s comments it was a humbling experience and I really like the Sikhs. They are a jovial, chirpy lot and they really seem to love and enjoy life.

The same afternoon we went back to the border to witness what I can only describe affectionately as the most ridiculous and funny marching competition between the Indian and Pakistani border guards. All the guards are about 7 feet tall and dressed in very elaborate gear with hats adorned with a fan shaped decoration sticking out from the top. They keep marching up and down with great speed kicking their legs vertically up into the air. I mean, you have to see it to believe it. The Indians make quite a show of it. The stands are packed with people dancing, singing and cheering. 90% of the noise came from the Indian side while the Pakistanis remained more subdued since their side of the stand was only one tenth filled.

After the day in Amritsar the plan was to drive into Rajsthan. We stayed the night in Sirsa and crossed the Punjab/Rajasthan border the next day. The transition from the well cultivated agricultural landscape of Punjab into the deserts of Rajasthan was almost immediate after entering the state. We took a beautiful rural road to Churu (our overnight stop before Jaipur) and for the first time after Pakistan entered areas where there were no Westerners or any other tourists passing through. When we stopped at a village the children behaved as if they have seen a ghost since they haven’t as yet seen a white skinned blond person. However they couldn’t curb their curiosity and they got braver when I produced the camera. They were still cautious but they liked the novelty of having their photos taken. The men of the town gathered around the bike and all wanted to be photographed next to it. We were getting surrounded by quite a large group of locals that were getting closer and closer so we decided that it was time to move on. Nevertheless, this was ‘real’ India now, the India I’d been waiting to experience. Brightly coloured dresses of the local women set against the golden sand lit by the late afternoon sun, flat roofed mud huts morphing into the landscape, farmers working the fields with camels, women walking home with firewood on their heads, shepherds herding goats, humpback cows and buffalo languidly strolling the roads oblivious of the traffic,etc. Some of the scenes were almost biblical and it felt like we went back in time.

Jaipur, our next stop, was three to four hours drive from Churu. A busy, polluted city invaded by modern monstrosities swallowing what is left of the old city. It felt soulless and the City Palace that is supposedly one of the main attractions is quit tacky and fake looking. Unfortunately or rather fortunately there was an election on the day of our visit and most of the other tourist attractions were closed although, I would love to have seen the observatory with the huge sundial. The shopping, Jaipur is so famous for, wasn’t brilliant. The bazaars were full of all same low quality stuff and we got a lot of hassling from shopkeepers and various young men trying to lure us into shops to earn commission. Despite all that, and thanks to the independent traveler’s bible, the Lonely Planet, we found a lovely shop that sells ethically produced goods and they had some wonderful things. It was heaven! I spent hours in there trying lovely silk trousers and tops and choosing the cutest outfits for Matilda. Mark patiently sat on the bench trying to suppress his stomach’s cries for lunch or rather, by the time I finished, dinner. Bless him!

Two nights in the city seemed enough and we set off this morning. We are in Pushkar at the moment. A very different Rajasthan. A smallish town set around a lake that is unfortunately almost empty due to the really bad monsoon. It is the sight of one of the world’s few Hindu Brahma temples thus it is an important pilgrimage sight. It is full of hippies, great shopping, fantastic food, beautiful old buildings not obscured by modern soulless concrete monstrosities and the locals are much more easy going. If you climb to the top of any building you see children flying paper kites from the rooftops. We are staying at a very simple guest house run by a lovely young couple who have a 16 month old baby. Brigitte is English and Nuria’s (Mark’s friends) daughter who is married to Chacha, a local man.

I haven’t seen or experienced much of Pushkar as yet so I’m unable to write much. However, the shops, the food and the dope we were offered on several occasions tell me that it seems to be geared towards a certain type of tourist – a young hippy type! I’m aware that I’m most probably overgeneralizing and I hope I’ll have a better perspective after I have taken more in but the reason I had to mention this is that the change in vibe really unsettled me. I want to get away as soon as possible but at the same time I really like it and I want to stay for a while. But this is Indian, isn’t it! It is full of binary opposites. It’s making me question every single thought, feeling, action or decision. It’s saying “Hey you, wake up! Life is not always the way you think it is or you want it to be! Get a grip, sort yourself out! Come on, wake up!” And all I can do is panic and go deeper and deeper into the abyss of confusion. Now I know why people say that when it comes to India you either love it or hate it or, in other words, it will make you or it will brake you. I secretly hoped this journey would be not just a sightseeing trip but also a journey of self-discovery. I have been waiting for an eureka moment or some great cataclysmic event that would occur as a sign that would prove a shift in my soul. But all this time ‘India’ has been working its magic most subtly without me noticing, its sensuous and at times cruel veils have been slowly wrapped around me and it’s time to start, very gently, peeling back the layers, one by one. I gather I have a whole mountain to climb here and I have only made a few baby steps towards the summit by recognizing, or rather admitting to myself, what’s up. There is still a long, long way form me to go. And oh boy, it’s going to be a tough one . . . I haven’t realized but I have been entirely overwhelmed by the experience so far and it is only by writing this blog that I’m able to verbalize and face what’s going on. I’m as yet not certain of how to proceed and I sure will need some time to digest it all (and supposedly there is more to come). I doesn’t help that I’m away from my beautiful daughter Matilda and that I miss her terribly. Every day, no matter how good or bad it has been, a voice deep inside shouts at me to get on the plane and get back to her as quickly as I can. How naïve or blind I was. Before leaving I almost persuade myself that I’ll be able to ’switch off’ – “Whatever that’s suppose to mean, you silly cow!” – because there will be so much going on. I mean, there is a lot going on in my head as well as my heart. Likewise, lack of sleep, two weeks of being invaded by intestinal bugs and the fact that we have been on the road and have done quite a distance in a fairly short time without having a longer break from being on the bike, doesn’t help either. I admit, I have greatly underestimated India’s power to emotionally disorientate and I will need some time to piece it all together. So I better get some sleep or at least try to have a calm rest minus the nightmares.

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