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Published: December 11th 2006
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Of all the cultural differences that I have struggled to understand, the Bollywood phenomena is far and away the most perplexing. Each film is apparently a musical consisting of a vieled woman dancing and singing while her beloved chases after her with ridiculous physical gestures of love towards the sky and his heart. Over and over. A massive film industry, Bollywood produces more films and has a wider audience than Hollywood.
Well, from here I'll start with my impressions of an Indian reality that is more ubelievable than most movies I've seen. I have travelled in "third-world countries". The supposed misfortune of these people, in my experience, does not fully depict the lives of the inhabitants who live poorly, but with a happiness and dignity. In India we have seen a scale of poverty that has impacted me. I believe I walked past a man dying on the street, covered in flies, with no one around to help let alone care. The magnitude of the problem lies in their incredible population size. There are over a billion people here and they take their breeding seriously. Each year the increase in population equals the total ammount of people in Australia. It
is predicted that in 50 years India will have more people than China and become the world's most populace country. With their repulsive leering at Lauren it is not hard to see why. The bigger question is "How do you govern so many people?" Recent, substantial increases in wealth through technological services has bettered the lives of many, but this money has not reached the masses. Many are critical of the government's strategy for balanced wealth distribution, but I simply can't imagine any system that would provide for SO many people. The issue of population management must be addressed on a global scale and India is an example why.
Central New Dehli is planned similar to the area around Paris's Arch de Triumph. From the center roundabout, Caunaught place, wide avenues radiate outwards. We stayed, like most backpackers, down one of these roads and across the street from the train station. Here is located the bazaar and it is bizarre. The image that came to my mind was that I was experiencing that old Mel Gibson film " Mad Max". The one where everyone is poor and the atmosphere is dirty and dangerous. Cows intermingled freely with beggars, vendors,
schoolchildren, rickshaws and cars. This chaos is heightened by ceaseless honking and, to my ears, a popular music specifically designed to cause the largest amount of agitation. The "rickshaw" is a three-wheeled bicycle or automobile that works as a taxi through the crowded streets. Typically I saw military officials or upper class women in colorful clothing being driven. The pictures I took never fully captured the essence of the city. They were too clean, too silent, lacking something. It was as if the act of photographing, or framing your shot, sterilized the image and it lost it's impact. Or I am a shitty photographer.
We left New Dehli by train and arrived in Haridwar, which is a holy city for the Hindus. We had heard horror stories about the Indian train system but found it comfortable enough. There are a certain ammount of seats reserved for tourist travel so you don't get stuck waiting days or weeks for a coveted seat. Also, your reservation is actually posted on the door of the train so you know exactly what car to get on. I may be easily impressed but I thought that was pretty sweet. As we went north we
found the atmosphere to be slower and cleaner. In Haridwar there are sacred Ghats where people bath to cleanse themselves spiritually. I was going to partake in the ritual myself, but my laziness and dislike of cold water trumped the temporary religious fervor. The area is considered special because it is located where the Ganghes river leaves the Himalayas and is much, much cleaner than downriver. The nearby town of Rishikesh, where the Beatles went to an ashram, was mellow. Eating excellent street-backed cookies, watching monkeys and chilling at the river occupied our time. At night we witnessed a cool Hindu ceremony that involved singing and candles. What struck me was that, as exotic as India and Hinduism is for me, this ceremony seemed really "normal". At heart, these people were just going to church.
Continuing our religious-themed travel, we took an overnight train and bus to Mcleod Ganj. This is where the Dali Lama is living in exile and it is an incredible place: snow-capped mountain peaks, family of monkeys around, monks casually everywhere, waterfalls, just special. The political movement of "Free Tibet" is very strong here and we learned alot about the history and current situation. The
persecution of their religion and the attempted destruction of the Tibetan culture is very real. As recently as 10 years ago the number 2 monk, the 11th Penchen Lama, was kidnapped and has not been heard from since. Tibetans attempting to cross over the Himalayas as refugees were shot and murdered last September. The locals are attempting to use the 2008 olympics as a stage for voicing their demands of independence. As we have learned more about this situation it has become a little more complicated, too. Although the cause is just in my opinion, the manner in which the Tibetan society has been portrayed as a democratic, peaceful, near-utopian mountain society doesn't depict reality. Before the Chinese invasion in 1949 Tibet was a fuedal society and power was removed from the people. That doesn't detract from the importance of the movement. The Tibetans are attempting to achieve independence in a peaceful manner and I hope the UN and the USA take the opportunity to support this process and establish a precedent for non-violent global action. An interesting footnote is that the CIA provided the primary support for the small Tibetan army dedicated to fighting the Chinese. It was nice
to hear about my country helping in a just cause, even if it was for selfish reasons in a cold-war context.
The Sikhs are another major religious denomination in India. They are recognizable by their unique turbans that are tied in way that protrudes significantly above the forehead. They have been harassed in the USA since Sept. 11th due to their turban, but are not Muslim. So, if you are asshole-inclined and want to be mean, please at least know who it is you are bothering. Initially a much larger country, Indian Muslims insisted on the creation of Pakistan and present-day Bangladesh after independence was achieved. At the same time, the Sikh population attempted to create their own state, albiet unsuccesfully. These attempts and the later violent crushing of Sikh independence movements led to the assassination of president Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards. Today, their primary city is Amritsar, which is known for the spectacular Golden Temple. Another highlight of the area is the closing of the border. Every day, but especially on the weekends, thousands of people head to the India/Pakistan border to witness the ritual. There is chanting, soldiers marching, people dancing and an overall monday
Lauren and friends
Middle class Indians would want pictures taken with us. At times, the groups were as large as 50 and there would be near fights over who got to stand next to Lauren. Seriously. night football atmosphere. A truly bizarre scene, it is a must-see if you ever head this way.
Agra is the home of the Taj Majal. Fuck Agra.
You may have noticed, my patience and sanity are running thin. The absurd levels of scamming and begging and absolute filth are beginning to take its toll. In Varanasi, people bathe in the Ganghes because it is a holy river. There seems to be no qualms about it also being one of the filthiest bodies of water on the planet. The sacred cows don't appear to be too sacred to be allowed to subsist on garbage from the streets, with many dying by strangulation due to the plastic bags. India has impacted me like few countries has. I can honestly say that in many ways I hate this country. However, I feel myself captivated by India. There is an intangible here that grabs a hold of you. Geography, poverty and religion don't adequately explain India: those factors are shared by many of it's neighbors. Even speaking of "factors" seems wrong when describing this country. I found it be more literary than mathematic, an explotion of the subconcious, living and breathing in
the modern world.
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Stephanie York
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How long will you be there?
Will fly into Amritsar December 27th- will you still be around? Where to next? Stephanie "living-in-a-stan" York