The last one from the magic of India!

---

We spent our last week up in the Himalayan mountains of McCloud Ganj... It was cold, oh so very cold! It was wear 4 layers in the day cold, hat and gloves cold, fully clothed under sleeping bag and 4 blankets cold at night time cold! So cold in fact that our last day there it snowed.... snow in India! Who would of thought! Unfortunately for us the weather wasn't on our side whilst we were there and it rained the entire 4 days, snowing on the last! The first day we arrived the sun did shine but I was ill and recovering from another bout of stomach sickness after my mass feast at the golden temple, so spent the sunny afternoon wrapped up in bed! The town itself is beautiful - quiet and peaceful in comparison to the rest of India, the atmosphere more relaxed, the people more friendly. We could walk around without being stared at, hassled and bothered because of how we looked. Tibetans generally reign here, and the shops and clothes represent it well with all the colours- from the flags and trinkets to the traditional clothing and rosy red cheeks!

I did managed to walk around the informative tibetan museum in the morning and the temple that sits at the end of the little town. The temple was a quiet place, prayer wheels covered the foor outside walls, creaking as they turned. A few monks and buddhist followers prayed in the surrounding area- kneeling before they slid along the floor, wooden protective blocks on their hands. Inside the temple the walls are a glare of contrasting colours, bright flashing fairy lights, decorated photos of the Dalai Lama and.... biscuits, lots and lots of packets of biscuits! Offerings.... Buddhists go up in my estimation with their sweet tooth! The museum an education into the brutal way China invaded and forced the Tibetans out, footage and photos showing the events, how they unfolded, how people were treated, it left me quesitoning the humanity of the Chinese Government I must say. I'd just finished reading 'Wild Swans' at the time, a book written by Jung Chang, about three generation under the changing communist party Mao.... the book gace me a greater understanding as to how the Tibetans were treated, but a greater misunderstanding in regards to chinas morals! It seems so ironic that one of the most peaceful, caring, considerate and do-good races could be treated with such brutality, forced to fight for their way of life, their homes, their religion..... my mind blown by the realisation that this is still going on today! We left the museum signing the ever growing petition to free Tibet. That evening we went to the make shift town cinema (a projector screen) to watch the movie '7 Years in Tibet'... a hollywood blockbuster showing the true tales of a german man living amongst the tibetans, again the realisation of life for tibetans today felt heavy in our hearts.

We spent our only other (slightly) dry day walking around the town, past the Dalai Lama's residence and down into Dharmsala itself- a small path decorated with prayer flags, the hundreds of flapping sheets still looking impressive even against a grey lit sky. Stones and pebbles lay scattered on the side, chisselled and painted with tibetans prayers and script. A few curious cows blocked the path causing amusement as we tried to pass, one large heavily pregnant cow charged foward grunted angrily all the way until we moved for her as if to say "Look at the size of me, you think i'm going to move for you? Ha, MOVE IT NOW!"... we quickly scrabbled up the bank out of her way! We passed stupas and temples, all painted brightly, prayer wheels turning beautifully flashing their rainbows colours as they go - each prayer wheel is filled with 1000s of mantras "Om Mani Padme Hum" by turning the wheel once it earns the merit equal to the recitation of the mantras filled inside the wheel. These same mantras are printed on the prayer flags which get blown into the wind and around the world! The rain soon came in and so I spent the evening back at the little cinema!

The next few days were a mix of dodging the rain, keeping warm and reading and writing.... both a little disappointed not to see more of this magnificent area.... but we were pleased to get the bus out of there, to have our feet warm once more!

We got an overnight train down to Delhi, wrapped up in blankets once more as the temperatures fell overnight. We woke a sunrise just as we were entering the city... and what an introduction, a complete contrast to McCloud Ganj. My eyes pricked with the images on view- the vast slums that already were bustling with people, children rolling around in the dirt.... from the beauty of the mountains, from the sharing and equality of amritsar to this, Delhi.... where the rich are rich and the poor are povished beyond belief and the two kept very much apart. My new book 'Holy Cow', i about an Australian who lives in India for a year and goes on an emotional rollercoaster of religion and self understanding... a line in the book run so true for this morning;
"It' s a bizarre scene, foreigners attempting to figure out India. I'm beginnig to think its pointless to try. India is beyond statement, for anything you say, the opposite is also true. It' rich and poor, spiritual and material, cruel and kind, angry but peaceful, ugly and beautiful and smart and stupid. It's all the extremes, India defies understanding.... I'm quesitoning much of what I thought I did know."

The heavy fog from the window gave the scene a magicl feel, the sun rising gave warmth and colour to the tatter of the slums, the lack of hygeine, the unhealthy frames of those living there, the rubbish, the poverty... and yet everyone was waking with a smile it seemed, the children played happily, women chatted enthusiastically... the community spirit filled the air. A group of boys dug through rubbish on the tracks all with a smile on their faces, all giggling. India is never what it seems at first glance. There is so much more to everything here and that is something I will always love about this country.

Once in Delhi we spent our last few days getting the last few bits from India, eating our last Masala Dosa's, last Indian sweets, breathing in the unique sensation that India brings, allowing it to surge through our lungs for the final time.... the hundreds of smells that fill the air, the colours that blind the eyes, the phut-phuting motorcycles, the squeaks, honks and oinks of horns from Rickshaws, the shouts of shop sellers, food sellers and general noise of the Indian population. We took it all in, cursing at the chaos, the rudeness and grime, laughing at the delights and smiling at its beauty.

India has come to an end... 4 months of a journey like none other. 4 months of discovering the many cultures, religions, people and languages, 4 months discovering more about myself than I ever have done before. Challenging myself, quesitoning myself and learning to truly be myself in a new world. It's had its downsides, I've cursed this country daily, fell reovolted by things I've seen, smelt and tasted... this last weeke especially I've been ready to leave, to say goodbye to the curries and the cultures.... and yet now, as I write this a big part of me longs to be back. It is certainly a country that gets under your skin.... once there it will eternally stay until you return to do it all over again. India is an intensity like no other, mind bending diversity everywhere you look, multidimensional country, intoxicating and beautiful. It's a sensory overload which takes some time to get use too but once you do theres no turning back, India becomes part of you, it stains the skin and leaves its mark and you leave your mark on India also.... If I think back to all the people I have met, who I've spoken to, drunk chai with.... the gratitude and love they gave back a sure sign that they will remember me as I will remember them.

My lessons learnt will be never ending from India, I am still learning now from what I experienced there even now so far away.... the country shaped me, made me grow into a better me, educated me on so many things- people, money, religion, relationships, food, animals, land and friendships. All priceless and for that I will forever love India and forever be grateful for all it taught me.

We took our final taxi to the airport, the Hindu driver teaching us a little more about the Gods and music, his head wobbling in true Indian fashion, his smile radiating the warmth of all those we've met before... at the airport our sadness was mixed with the excitement of our next adventure, our next experience, our next life lesson.... Goodbye India, and thank you!

South America... Brasil... Rio Carnival.... Here we come! x

---

Comments

[Rishi Manglesh]

: )
I thought I am reading a poem !!