Quest 4: Upgrading My Hindi Skills

This has already been the best trip I’ve made to India for sure, except for maybe when I came here for 6 months before for school in 5^th grade. That was 10 years ago! But even that remains to be seen.

When we got home from Mathura and Vrindavan, my aunt (my dad’s older sister) and I were the only ones not sleeping because everyone else was so tired they could hardly walk! I wanted to buy a book in Hindi so I could improve my speed in reading it, so my aunt and I went to the bookstore and bought me two children’s reading books. I felt a little awkward buying them because I’m 19 years old, and these books are for 2^nd or 3^rd graders, but it was worth it because now I can practice my Hindi reading skills! This will be an ongoing quest throughout my stay here in India. And in fact, it is a lifelong quest!

 

Now I am sitting here updating this blog, but so far today has been SO much fun… it was truly an adventure. I will let you in on a little aspect of the whole trip so far in India that I have not mentioned yet, but I know that anyone who has been to India before is probably wondering why I haven’t…

The beggars in India are one thing that I cannot bear to see, no matter how old I am, when I come, where I am, or who the beggar is. It makes me want to cry every time I see a person so debilitated that they need to beg to survive. Even if the beggar is healthy, my heart just reaches out to these people, yearning to give them something, but I know in my brain that if I give anyone anything then there will be 50 others jumping at me asking for something too. This is the dilemma I face whenever a beggar confronts me. Because here the beggars are not the type where they just stand on the side of the road asking for money, they will actively come up to you and pursue you until you give them something or other. But you have to actively dodge them time and again if you do not want to be overwhelmed by beggars or pick-pocketed while you’re donating. I am deeply affected by this scene whenever I come across it. I don’t know what to do! I want to help everyone, but I know that I don’t have the means to do it.

 

*Sigh…*

 

Anyways, it’s New Year’s Eve, so happy New Year to everyone who reads this!! And thanks for reading it, please please PLEASE feel free to comment!

Adventure 2: Mathura and Vrindavan

Today we went to Mathura and Vrindavan, an approximately three-hour drive from my uncle’s house in Noida. It was me, my mom, my cousin and his parents, and another aunt of ours in one van. We left at 6:45 AM and arrived at 9:15 AM at Mathura, the place of Lord Krishna’s birth. When we got there, we left everything in the car with the driver, Raj (I know, how ironic), and walked to the temple. We had to go through some intense security (even more intense than airports) to get in because of recent bomb threats to any places of worship all over the country. There were two lines – a woman’s line and a men’s line. The woman’s line wasn’t even a line; there was nobody there. So my mom and two aunts made it inside within a minute of us arriving there. Our line, however, was about half a football field long. It took forever because security was so tight! Once we got through security, we took our shoes off and left them at a little check-in place before entering the actual temple. Finally we got in, and it was BEAUTIFUL. The intricacies of the decorations in and around the temple were fascinating, and unbelievably detailed. I could not believe this was the work of human hands! I went around the temple, reading everything (thank God I can read Hindi, albeit slightly slowly – but I’m practicing), and simply soaking in the atmosphere. I was so in love with the place that when it was time to leave each little section of the temple I found it hard to move. We saw the actual cell where Krishna was born, the place where his parents were imprisoned, and a bunch of other interesting historic sites. We left the temple in awe of its grandeur. It is not a tourist spot, though it easily could be, but it is more for the locals because there is almost nothing written in English.

[As an aside, I’ve only been in India for 2 days. Actually, not even 48 hours yet… and my God, what an adventure it has already been so far!]

After we exited the temple in Mathura, we went to Vrindavan. This is the place where Krishna grew up. Here though, nobody says “Krishna!” They all say “Radha!” or “Radhe!” It is so interesting! As you go around the city, if you get in the way of a rickshaw, the person pedaling will not ring his bell. He will call out, “Radhe! Radhe!” until you get out of his way. It is so… fun! We went to the Banke (pronounced BAH-kay, with a nasal accent on the first syllable) Bihari temple, where there were more people together than I have ever seen in one place at one time. Here’s how I mean – we dropped off our shoes at the check-in place in front of the temple, and positioned ourselves at the entrance. Let me tell you, with the amount of people in the hall looking to get darshan, which means a glimpse of the idol of the Lord within the temple, it seemed impossible that we could even get inside. I mean, I could hardly stay standing let alone walk properly there were so many people. I don’t have any pictures because they did not allow any cameras or cell phones or anything electronic inside. Anyways, we positioned ourselves at the entrance and within a minute (without doing any actual moving or pushing ourselves) we made it all the way inside the temple, right up next to the idol!! People were climbing on top of each other to see the idol (I could not see it from where I was standing) and I honestly felt like I was going to be lost forever. At one point, my feet were literally off the ground, and I could not move. I flailed my legs and I was unable to reach the ground, but eventually I got down with a little squirming here and there. On top of all this, I had some money in my pockets (money that wasn’t mine! I had pockets so my mom and my aunt had given me their money to hold) and I had to make sure that no pickpockets took any of it. But with a stroke of faith in the people today I let go of my inhibitions about holding the money tight and went with the flow of the crowd. I let myself go and found myself right in the middle of the temple, albeit crushed between people, but directly in front of the Lord. I got my darshan right on! And as soon as I did, everything seemed to freeze. The Lord seemed to be staring me right in the face and I could not move, I did not want to move. My mom and my cousin were calling out for me from the side of the little area I was in, and I knew that they were, but I could not look away from the idol. All went quiet and I could not hold back my smile. I knew what was happening as it happened and I relished each moment of it to the fullest. Once the world fell back into place I was pushed right back out to where I came from and found myself right in front of my family, with my shoes! Like I said earlier, despite the seeming chaos of the organization here, there is some method by which it all occurs. I had a ridiculous amount of fun. Adventures left and right already, within 48 hours of arrival! THIS is what I am here for. I love it! One of my favorite parts about this whole thing is that there is no rule in any temple anywhere that says that you cannot participate in the rituals and rites, or enter the temple, or anything like that, if you are not Hindu. In the temples here and everywhere, the priests in fact encourage everyone to take prasad, or the food that has been blessed by the presence of the lord! Such is the culture here.

Next we went to the ISKON temple, which is a different sort of temple. It is more geared towards foreigners so it is a different sort of atmosphere altogether, seemingly more for show than for prayer (though I don’t think that’s entirely true). It is as if we entered a different world, where there was only a fraction of the people, the place was entirely clean, and everyone had money of their own. I liked it but I was a little sad that such different planes of wealth could coexist right next to each other. Anyways, the experience was nonetheless enjoyable. After that, it was time to go home, so we ate at the restaurant located at the back of the ISKON temple, and then went to find our driver. Once we found him (it took almost an hour!) we drove straight home, no stops.

A Little Bit About The Culture

I am presently using this blog to update you about the “what” of everything that is going on. This is to show you a little bit about the culture that I have dived into. But when my actual travels begin, I will be updating you more on the “why” and “how” aspect than the “what” aspect of each event. The “what” will have to be there, of course, so you know what’s going on, but there will be a deeper section of my adventures being told (eventually) as well.

Earlier today my cousin, my aunt, and I went to go see the new metro line that has been and is currently being put up all around Delhi. We drove to the nearest station from my uncle’s house, called Indraprastha station. The drive there was the first over-twenty-minute drive I took in India since junior year of high school. Since I started driving in between that time, I took a little more interest in the system used by drivers in this country.

First of all, it’s right-hand drive (the driver sits on the right side of the car instead of the left). There are lines on the road but nobody heeds them. On a road with three lanes, there will be about 6 or 7 vehicles next to each other. People cut each other off left and right, back and forth, from every possible direction. Some roads seem too thin for two cars to pass each other, but they are two-way. Running red lights is commonplace. In fact, it’s almost wrong to stop at a red light if there is no cross traffic. There is every possible type of vehicle on every road. This includes trucks, vans, SUVs, cars, autos (three-wheel auto rickshaws), motorcycles, scooters, rickshaws, bullock-carts, bicycles, pedestrians, and animals (such as camels, cows, and dogs). And despite all of the seemingly chaotic organization mentioned above, there is a method to this system. You will never see anyone getting into an accident, nor will you ever see two cars in such a situation where they cannot cross each other. Or rather, you will see a situation where two cars cannot cross each other, but they will anyway. The drivers here are visual/spatial geniuses. They know exactly, and I mean EXACTLY, how much space they need to get through traffic or a particular obstruction… which explains the saying, “If you can drive in Delhi, you can drive anywhere in the world!”

Anyways, we got to the metro and rode it all the way to Rajiv Chowk, where we switched lines from yellow to blue. Then we rode it to Vishvavidyalaya… and then came all the way back to Indraprastha. The way this metro is being built (for it is still in construction) is by night completely. During the night, you will see hardcore construction going on, trucks and cranes and other construction vehicles everywhere, but the beautiful thing is that they are keeping this construction completely clean. When the construction vehicles have to leave the construction site, their tires are sprayed down with water so that they don’t trail dirt behind them when they leave. And in the morning, you will not see any construction vehicles. Nobody knows where they go or where they come from, but they are there every night, and are gone every morning. It is so impressive! As each section of the metro is completed, it becomes available for public use. This major construction is being done in preparation for the Commonwealth Games in 2010 being held in Delhi. They expect massive attendance from all over the world, so there is intense construction going on, but it is a wonderful makeover for the city. The metro itself is much like the BART in San Francisco. It is a little bit more advanced though; it even tells you how long until the next train, down to the second! I was impressed.

Adventure 1: 543 Gateshead Drive, Naperville, Illinois, USA to D-103, Sector 40, Noida, India (Continued)

We arrived at around 11:45 PM yesterday, ate dinner, and chatted for a while. Such is life in India. You chat, have chai (tea), and then go about your business. I don’t drink chai, but I make do with water. D-103, Sector 40, Noida is my uncle’s house (my dad’s oldest brother). It is a mansion-type residence, 4 stories and an in-home theater. And when I say theater, I don’t mean just a surround-sound system, I mean a full-out hall with a massive projector and seats and everything! This house is ridiculous. Our rooming assignment was on the second floor, next to my cousin’s family (who were already here when we arrived). Mom and I unpacked nicely and got around to sleeping by 2:45 AM or so. We woke up at 7:00 AM to see sunrise, but the sun is not visible from where we’re staying! There are so many tall buildings that to see sunrise is impossible. I wanted to start my sun gazing routine today but we made it outside only to find that the sun was not there. Even from the roof it’s not visible here! For those who don’t know, going on the roof of a house is common-place in India. Houses have flat roofs for that purpose only! I guess I will only start sun gazing when I get out of here. I went with Kunwar Bhaiya (the servant at my uncle’s house) to the Mother Dairy market to get milk and eggs. It was so cold! But not quite as cold as Chicago… There is no snow here, but it gets down to 4 or 5ºC. Yesterday was the coldest day in Noida in 5 years, and the next few days are supposed to be even colder. I guess we brought Chicago with us! More later…

Adventure 1: 543 Gateshead Drive, Naperville, Illinois, USA to D-103, Sector 40, Noida, India

Interestingly, I am in the airplane right now. Of course, I am writing this in Word, because there is no internet at such an altitude… [The timestamp on this particular entry is correct though, I changed it to match what it was in the plane.]

 

The current time in Chicago is 3:10 AM.

The current time where I am, which is somewhere over Finland, is 10:10 AM.

The current time in New Delhi is 2:40 PM.

The estimated arrival time is 9:33 PM in Delhi, which is about 3592 miles away still.

The airplane is at an altitude of 37000 feet, with a ground speed of approximately 610 mph.

It’s -77ºF outside.

 

We’re more than halfway there! The trip to the airport was amazingly quick; there was no traffic outside… And in the airport itself, there was no line. But the airplane managed to be full anyways. I wonder how that works? We’ve been in the plane for around 8 hours now. But still around 7 hours left to go. For a while I fell asleep in the beginning, but then I started to read my book, Banaras: City of Light, for a while – it is so interesting! But since the print is really small, I got through maybe 30 pages (it is almost like a textbook when it comes to the time it takes to read one page) and then set it down. It’s light outside; but the airhostesses won’t let anyone fully open their windows for more than a second or two because everyone is sleeping. I will update more about Adventure 1 when I get to my destination! So far, so good.

Quest 3: Packing (Continued)

The quest to get everything of mine from sprawled out in my room to bags continued today – successfully! I finished putting all my stuff, including everything from school supplies to toiletries, into my bags FINALLY! It took way more effort than I thought it would, but now that it’s done all that remains is to put away my laptop. The thing is that this packing was for 6 months, and since that was the case, it was hard to even think of everything I needed let alone pack it all up. But I got it! My luggage includes two big bags and one carry-on. The carry-on includes another little laptop bag inside it. Now I am actually becoming nervous, the time is fast approaching!

Countdown until takeoff: 4 hours and 20 minutes.

Quest 3: Packing

Intensely, I have been packing my clothes and other items that I will be taking to India. There is so much involved in packing when you're going somewhere for six months, let me tell you! Especially when you are headed to a country where you can't eat anything that is not hot (freshly made) or still packaged, and where you can't drink anything but bottled water -- from an authentic source no less -- (and soda or beer, but the bottles are so gross that you wouldn't want to drink out of them anyway)! So I have been keeping snack foods and other sustenance items that I might use while I'm in the motherland in case I have nothing else to eat. How scary! As for clothing, I will be there during both cold and hot times of the year, and since I'm not coming back home in between, I am bringing clothes for both. I am traveling to Kashmir right in the beginning of my trip, where there is already 10 feet of snow! I am anxious to go there, for I hear it's even colder than here, but is potentially the most beautiful place on earth. Of course, I will take pictures! Anyways, we will see what happens... For now, Quest 3 is underway, but incomplete.

Earlier today, I had to get copies of my visa and passport, and take some passport sized photos. There are so many rules and regulations for traveling to another country! It's crazy, but necessary I guess. I'm having a good time for sure!

The next action I will take is not a quest, but an adventure. It will be my first adventure related to this trip. Simply put, it is the actual flight to India. It is some 14-17 hours on a plane, directly from Chicago to Delhi. I will write about it when I get there...

Countdown until takeoff: 2 days.

Quest 2: Finding Stuff

It was a freezing day today, no doubt below 20 degrees Fahrenheit, but mom and I decided to make a trip to the mall to find some stuff for the trip. This included stuff for me, stuff for her, and gifts for people we were going to see over in the motherland. On our way to the mall, we realized that since it's the last weekend before Christmas, there would be TONS of traffic. And sure enough, there was a good 7 or 8 minute wait to even get into the parking lot, let alone park and get inside! There were almost 40 mph gusts of wind today, so as we were walking into (and also out of) the mall we were blown away by the 20 degree wind (that felt like zero degrees)! When we were done shopping, though we weren't done, it was a moment of relief because we accomplished a good chunk of our quest. I still need maybe one more pair of jeans which I'll check Old Navy or Wal-Mart out for tomorrow. That will complete Quest 2!

Which leaves Quest 3 for now...

A couple of days ago, I received in the mail a book that I have to read as part of my coursework in India. This book is called Banaras: City of Light by Diana Eck. It is for my "Cultural Geography of Banaras" class. I've started reading it and so far it is absolutely marvelous... She writes so well and accurately! The book is about the cultural geography of Banaras, which means the locations of the cultural hotspots (like temples and such). She provides a great history lesson too, and so far I'm loving the book. If anyone is interested in learning about the holy city I'm going to, read this book. Two thumbs up! I highly recommend it. Reading this book is Quest 4, for as I read this book I'm supposed to come up with a final project to do based on what I like about the city, which will complete the course. What this means is, when I actually explore the city based on what I learn from the book, (in other words, I will be exploring the city guided by the hotspots Diana Eck outlines in the book), I am supposed to come up with a topic for a paper to write at the end of my stay in Banaras. I think my theme will be Shakti temples (temples for the Goddess, or the eternal Mother). The Mother is my chosen deity, or the one that my mind most readily strays towards. So having that as the theme of my trip (and temples for Durga - the name of the deity - are very salient in Banaras) would make exploration a really worthwhile quest!

Any other suggestions or questions? Feel free to comment!! In fact, I encourage it. It will really help/guide me on my quests.

Countdown until takeoff: 5 days.

I'm Home... Already?

I'm at home already, unpacked, settled in, and it feels like I have nothing to do but I actually do have a lot to do. I need to REpack everything to bring to India, I need to shop for everything I'll need, I need to get vaccinated (which happened today... I'll explain in a second) and I need to tie up loose ends! I'll be gone for 6 months.

So this morning I went to the doctor's to see if my immunization record was complete. And it was not, if I was going to travel to India for an extended period of time! So I got a Flu vaccine and a Typhoid vaccine. One on each arm. After I came home, my arms were so sore I could hardly lift anything! But only 24 hours of soreness, they say. Plus I got a prescription for Malaria protection. I will have to take one pill every week while I'm in India but at least I won't get Malaria...

Everything else starts tomorrow. I will start tying up loose ends (meeting people), shopping (Quest 2), and packing (Quest 3)! I guess I'll write about those later.

Countdown until takeoff: 8 days.

Quest 1: The Great Escape

My finals are finally over, and the packing phase has begun. I leave on Wednesday, but before that I have to pack EVERYTHING because I am not coming back next semester! I need to check out and get my stuff together for when my dad comes so that we can load up and leave quickly. I'm excited! But the questing has only just begun...

Test and Genesis

So I'm starting this blog for those of you who are interested in keeping up with what I'm going to be doing in India. So far I have been told by enough people to start a blog that I'm finally doing it! Of course, I will not update until I'm actually in India or about to go there, so don't expect anything until around Christmas. But after that I will as often as I can update you all about what is going on! I hope you enjoy this as much as I will! This entry is just a test for this website, I guess. I'm going to try to add a couple of pictures, see if it works and whatnot.

For those of you who don't know much about India and its geography, I'm including a link to a map so you can get to know it... That way, when I post about some new place I went or something like that, you can quickly refer back to the map to check it out!

Map of the States of India (click the map to enlarge it)

Map of the Major Cities (including all of the ones I'm going to)

DETAILED Map of States and Cities (click the map to enlarge it)

OK!! It works!! Great. Well then, I guess that's it for now!

Varun