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Published: October 20th 2006
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Chapatti rolling pins
Village in Kutch, Gujarat 2006………6wks-4th CYCLING TRIP-Gujarat & Southern Rajasthan, INDIA...........
Well I have been home a week now and have generally been enjoying it. My bed is really comfortable and it’s the same bed every night! I can have cereal for breakfast ('Cunflacks- yes!) and the coffee machine is appreciated. The train to work is unbelievably comfortable and empty. The garden is lush and full of flowers and produce ready to ripen. It’s nice to have a shower instead of a bucket and with hot water. The toilet doesn’t stink. The streets are organised, clean and quiet. The air is clean. It’s good to reconnect with friends and family. Cooking and cleaning is a bit of a drag although I enjoyed doing an Indian meal and using my new Chapatti rolling pin I got from a village in Kutch . Work is enjoyable and encouraging with a media article, national NAB Merit Award and appreciation letters from the community coming in while I was away. The support from the program’s community volunteers while I was away was great with no dramas or problems. They are a great bunch plus it is reassuring to know that I can go away and the community continues to
support itself without me.
I enjoyed reading Sarah McDonald’s (of Triple J and Radio National ‘fame’) book on her experiences in India during this trip- ‘Holy Cow! An Indian Adventure. I can recommend it for anyone wanting to try and make sense of some of the complexities of India. It’s a great read and laugh. The cover has Sarah on the front as a stylised Hindu god (Shiva I think) with trident, Om, beads and cobra in great colour. People on the train were often impressed that I was reading about their religion and one man looked briefly at the cover and drew blessing from what he thought was Shiva, unaware that it was really some outrageous westerner in god’s clothing.
She has a great way of summarising what I think or what I’m experiencing with words that I might write myself:
ON COWS
“82% of Indians are Hindus. Hindus revere cows probably because one of the favourite gods, Krishna, is a cowherd, and Shiva- the Lord of Destruction - has a bull called Nandi. I’ve always thought it hilarious that Indian people chose the most boring, domesticated, compliant and stupidest animal on earth to adore, but
already I’m seeing cows in a whole different light. These animals clearly know they rule and they like to mess with our heads. The hump-backed bovines step off median strips just as cars are approaching, they stare down drivers daring them to charge, they turn their nose up at passing elephants and camels and hold huddles at the busiest intersections where they seem to chat away like the bulls of Gary Larson cartoons . It’s clear they are enjoying themselves”
ON MAKING SENSE OF INDIA
"It’s a bizarre scene- full of foreigners attempting to figure out India. I’m beginning to think it’s pointless to try. India is beyond statement, for anything you say, the opposite is true. It’s rich and poor, spiritual and material, cruel and kind, angry but peaceful, ugly and beautiful, and smart but stupid. It’s all the extremes. India defies understanding, and for once, for me, that’s okay. In Australia, in my small pocket of my own isolated country, I felt like I understood my world and myself, but now , I’m actually embracing not knowing and I’m questioning much of what I thought I did know. I kind of like being confused, wrestling
Paper-thin Dosa, Ahmedabad
With 7 different Wonderful Sauces with contradictions, and not having to wrap up issues in a minute before newsbreak. While the journalist in me is still curious about the world, I’m still not really missing the way my old job confirmed my perceptions of life. My confinement here is different- I’m trapped by heat and by a never-ending series of juxtapositions. India is in some ways like a fun hall of mirrors where I can see both sides of each contradiction sharply and there’s no easy escape to understanding. What’s more, India’s extremes are endlessly confronting”
I am now finishing off another Australian ABC correspondent's book on India which I can recommend as well- Christopher Kremmer: "Inhaling the Mahatma"
It's been wonderful to get feedback from people that have really got something out of following my trip. It has made the hours tapping away worthwhile knowing it is not just for my own interest. There is still plenty of the world to see and experience and I look forward to planning my next time away.
Cheers
Pedallingpete
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Pedallingpete
Peter Hastwell
Home Safe
Good to have you home.It is very rewarding to be able to follow your travels and try to understand the difficult parts as well as enjoy the precious moments. The childrens faces are treasures in themselves. In reading "Holy Cow" at the moment, it's one of those subjects that the more you know , the less you know. Thankyou for the blog. James