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Published: February 7th 2009
A lot has transpired since i last wrote here! And for the most part it has been incredibly beautifull. The little things persist here in india, like the unsettled toilet goings and always having to be carefull with your hygeine, but now it becomes more amusing and easier to deal with.... I would say i am aclimatising.
Since i last wrote We enjoyed our time in Hampi, im not sure how much i wrote about hampi but it is a beautifull valley surrounded by ruins and huge rocks to climb. If anyone knows brimmon rocks in yorkshire imagine that times a 100, dark red rock against the heat of the day! Really beautifull. In hampi i got rid of sams tired old tent id been carting around and my load got lighter mainly because i loose so much. Ive heeled myslef of an infected foot and am now feeling a lot better.
Another crazy bus and train ride across india transpired where I turned into a zombie for a night with some kind of 24 hour virus, that was really amusing being on such a train, the strange noises , not being able to move and having sam rikka kay and seb laughing at me walking like the waking dead. I love here all the food, the indian food is wonderfull, i love the drinks and so many things, the sun sets are like nothing you can imagine, well im sure you can, they are flaming red, and when the moon sets in the morning it is also flaming red.
Right now i have been at the volunteering project in sahdanna forrest for a week now, and it is absouloutley beautifull. The project is trying to replant and old dry evergreen forrest which was wiped out by the collonialists for railway lines and such forth...... They are doing an amazing job. The main job here is to raise the ground water level and we are doing this by digging bunds *holes in the ground... on the slopes to catch rain water and take it back into the ground. Its nice work for there are so many volunteers who are all beautifull and have something to share. The other work includes , growing the vegetables in the garden, clearing away debris from the monsoon season, transplanting certain plants, building teepees for more volunteers among other things. A lot of the work here goes into mainaining the community so that you can maintain the forrest, so kitchen shifts, filling up the bathroom water , bum washes, drinking water etc. Here we have a beautifull water purifier which also sends a frequency through the water which empowers it.....meaning from what i can gather that it is a potent as the most beautifull mountain water.
Its amazing here to see how a sustainable community can work whilst also doing such a beautifull project. I enjoy using compost toilets, doing my jobs for the day, knowing I have a big family of new freinds here and feeling productive and not thinking about money. I am learning so much about sustainable living and it is now a step for me towards my goal of living self sufficiently and green myself when i finally make my own home and share a community with others.
There are some things here that are hard to get used to in some ways though also, rules and ideals , that actually i agree with , but it still takes some time to adjust to.
For example, no competetive games on site, no sugar, caffine, refined foods, alcohol and no smoking! All these things mean a lot purer living however, that said, the majority of the people on the camp are going out for a coffee and icecream in the afternoons. Im sticking with the no alcohol ive been free for nearlly two weeks now of that vice, im working with the smoking but i keep becoming weak and going back to old habits then the next day taking control of myself again, very annoying, very ok though, be at peace i think. All the food is vegan here whcih is perfect too.
We get up at 6.30 am and work til around 12 then the afternoons are free! which is great, and the weekends! horay, tongiht we shall have a party the first since arriving in india for me *not including a reggae party last week! Parties without alcohol are very very interesting, i have never expereinced, at least not since when i was a kid, and they are so much funnn!!!! So tonight its time to stonk under the moon and let go!
What more can i describe to give you a picture of this place? there are always workshops, how to make for example reusable menstrual pads, santinary towels, yoga, reiki, meditation, open stages.... often there is a campfire. We take a minuite of silence before the meal and thats nice just to sit in peace and reflect. There are animals all around the compound, cats and dogs...and children too, who are beautifull! The hosts of this project are wonderfully kind people who wont say no to anyone even though we are bursting with volunteers..... the area is beautifull too lush trees all around, dry red earth, mud pools to swim in the afternoon beautifull butterflies floating through the air, lizards and flies! Mainly i have been riding around on motorbike, but i should get a pushbike soon to train up for this stupidly long ride up the whole of india im planning! I will do it, ive promised myself, but im really really nervous! who cares though!
A little story....the other day kay and our freinds were riding the moped into town, and the breaks failed, truthfully they were always failing we just pretended they werent, and then real slow the hit into someone elses bike, a shopkeeper.....the bike fell to the floor and scratched and slightly dented the fuel tank! No big deal. But to them it was. They padlocked kays moped, and demanded 2000 rupees for a new fuel tank. THe mechanic was called and the mechanic said to repaint and fully fix the tank it would cost 600 so of coure kay refused, however the shopkeepr also refused to unlock to moped. So now they are in a state of stalemate, but it seems the general advice is to pay because perhaps this could cause a sticky situation....its not much money in euro prices, maybe 300 kroner or something, but still..... they are clearler vicitimising westerners.
That is a trouble here, you cant really connect with the indians, or im sure some people can, but a lot of the time, its hard, cos its always about money.
Just to write a little on the area sadhanna forrest is in, its in a site called auroville, which is, in affect an international one day sustainable community, i seriously advise anyone with interest on these things to read into to the project, its seriously beautifull and inspiring. There are of course fucked up things, contradictions, and people who are fucked up and contradictory im sure, but i would say out of everything a beauty shines here like not many places in our world. 77 different nationalities dwell here, in this great green belt and its lush beauty is indescribable!
I miss now many things after 2 months out here on the road but....... i can handle it, my mind sometimes rocks too and throw, but i feel comfortable and confident for now... it is hard, i so much miss to streets and people of copenhagen, my lovely home, i cant describe my love for that city and its people and actions... but it must wait. Also confusing can be the pull of england, which occasionly tugs at my heart. For the rolling hills and frosty mornings, my family and my freinds who i have not seen properly in nearlly two years now due to my constant travelling. This is hard, and it is something i am thinking on a lot to remedy in the coming summer... more words later on that.
till then
and the next time i write
have fun 😉
x
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jo, shau
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wo
inspiring man,, very. seems like so the right thing to do,, they should scrap military conscriptions and send every one to establishments like that and we'd soon see a massive difference within a generation or too. planting/instead of murdering, think of the social repercussions