Places I've been before, experiences that are new

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Namaste 😊



It was not without reservations that I decided to go back to Jaipur and bring Mom along – those who read the blog from my last time there will know that it was not exactly my favourite city, and for reasons that I cannot quite put my finger on, other than that the hassle there seems to eclipse the hassle in other cities (yes, even in Pahar Ganj) and there is just a weirder vibe there that didn't sit well with me. It was, I think, the only city that I didn't feel connected to last time. But with the Jaipur Literature Festival on, and some pretty big-name and terrific authors there, I was ready to give the city a second chance and I learned why I was meant to go back, in the end...

Another 18-hour train journey, from Mumbai to Jaipur, that actually started off much more promisingly than other journeys, mainly due to the fact that our car was full of teenagers on a school trip, giggling and running from car to car, berth to berth, switching seats and saying “Hello” to us, rather than middle-aged men staring at us unashamedly. The giggling got especially hysterical when a roll of toilet paper that Mom MADE me carry fell out of my purse and rolled down the centre aisle of the car – hahaha! But later that night, when I was awoken in the positively and legitimately bone-chilling cold at 3 a.m. (we were very ill-prepared for the temperature drop when we moved up into Rajasthan) by the giggles and chatter, and found that every single teenage boy on that trip was crammed into the girls' berths across from us, I was not thinking it was so great – I kept in mind, though, that Indian teens very rarely get unsupervised time together, and especially an overnight trip like this, so I kept my patience in check when I asked them to please be quieter or move somewhere else, and they were very nice and apologetic. I was, actually, happy to see loads of flirting and interacting going on and it was super sweet, and we enjoyed a sunrise chai with the girls, trying to warm ourselves up by wrapping our hands around the steaming paper cups.

Arriving in Jaipur, we managed to find a cheap guesthouse that was admittedly prison-cell-like, but it was a great price, and had hot water for 3 hours every morning (which is a huge bonus!), and I as usual unloaded every single bit of everything in my backpack, which for some reason I can't help but do every time I arrive somewhere and makes Mom so nuts that now when we go somewhere she designates a certain surface as “Shannon's” and one as “Mom's” in order to minimize the disorder. The day after we arrived we went to the first day of the Lit Fest and met up with Nick, an employee from Salaam Baalak Trust in Delhi, as well as two of the City Walk guides, and it was so awesome to see them all again outside of Delhi. The boys were taking part in a youth workshop at the Festival called Democracy Dialogues, talking about all the different issues relating to the pursuit of true democracy in India that I'll bet was really interesting (I couldn't go due to my not being a youth anymore, unfortunately). Mom and I went to a talk by Chetan Bhagat, a super SUPER popular young author here, whose popularity is pretty much equal to that of the author of the Twilight series of books (I may be reaching here, but he's pretty wicked). He talked about what inspires his stories, which are incredibly relevant to young adults inIndia, like corruption and working in the IT/call centre industry, and how he mixes these storylines up with a love story in order to make them readable. It was really interesting anyways, but even more so since I have read a couple of the books he was talking about.

Unfortunately, Mom got sick that night and stayed that way for the next few days, which was even more devastating since the following morning OPRAH was being featured at the Lit Fest and Mom was really, really, really, really looking forward to seeing her in person. I actually did not particularly care for her, but to appease Mom I went to the session, arriving only 2 hours early because I figured it'sIndia, who the hell knows or cares about Oprah here? Well, apparently lots of upper class women do, or at least the 2 very nice women I was sitting on the ground at the front of the stage with do, because they were going mental waiting for her to come on, and when she did... I have to say, I was actually really impressed! I found her really likeable and really approachable, and being questioned about her impressions on India, she echoed so many of the things that I observed and continue to observe and absolutely LOVE about life here – the way that yes, traffic is chaotic, but there is an underlying flow to it that everyone here just gets into; that people here LIVE their spirituality and religion, every moment of every day and in everything that they do; that Indians respect and take care of their families in a way that is truly unique and exemplary; and that there is a sense of being a part of something bigger and more important than the individual here, that is difficult, I think, for someone coming from a Western background to accept at first but which I find very, very comforting after having spent so much time here.

The whole experience was pretty surreal – I sat in front of and met the freaking KING of Jodhpur, I bumped into William Dalrymple, one of my favourite authors, and sat about 3 people away from Deepak Chopra who gave a talk after Oprah did. Salman Rushdie was supposed to be there, but word on the street (or word on the rutted, potholed, red-dirt roads) is that some underworld Mumbai Muslim gangs were threatening to murder him if he came to India, so sadly he did not make it, but all the other authors were really angry about what had happened and many read passages out loud from The Satanic Verses, the book that caused him such grief and which is banned in India, in protest (these authors are now looking at trouble from the police because I guess when a book is banned in a country, it is illegal to read out loud from it as well).

Mom continued to be really, really sick – like the sickest I have seen her, ever, and so I was pretty much on my own in Jaipur which was fantastic, really, since I love that city so much (only kidding, hahaha!). I did, however, meet a really interesting woman named Kim out at dinner one night and we became friends for 3 days, and I brought her to the Lit Fest with me one day and we just had those intimate, really great talks that people tend to have when they're travelling because you never know if you'll ever see the person again, and travelling creates this shared intimacy between people that I really love and thrive with. Kim lives in Jaipur with her boyfriend, who is a taxi driver here, and we were able to talk a lot about what it means to be a woman in India, and a Western woman in particular, and what it is like for her, dating an Indian guy and how his family deals with it and everything that goes along with that – I learned a lot, and I also got that it's really hard for her being here on her own, not having any girlfriends around, and that was when it hit me: maybe, this time, being in Jaipur and getting stuck there for an extra couple days because Mom was sick was not the end of the world for me – maybe, (gasp!), just maybe, this part of the trip was not about me at all – it was about meeting Kim and being able to be a girlfriend for her and sharing the time that we had together. It was really nice for me too, but I think it meant more to her to have someone there, finally, to talk to. So I was happy in the end that we wound up staying in Jaipur, although we did miss out on our camel safari in Jaisalmer that I was really looking forward to – maybe next time!

We came toAgra on the bus and it was a pretty decent ride, by Indian standards – the bus driver only stopped once, at a shop in the middle of an industrial wasteland, to buy himself two jars of mango pickles. I am not kidding, I can't make this stuff up. We had a good laugh about that before the bus carried on to Agra, and arrived without incident to a guesthouse where possibly the most lovely man on the planet is the proprietor, and thinks it is just FANTASTIC that I am here with Mom and keeps talking to us in French (he also thinks me speaking Hindi is just terrific too, and although I am absolutely awful at it, I don't stop trying!) because we're from Canada: “Comment ca va, Maman? Bonsoir, les filles!”. Pretty amazing.

We visited the Taj yesterday morning, and I was slightly worried that I would have a sense of “been there, done that” when we walked in, but nope! It was just as moving, just as breathtaking, just as spectacular as I remembered. My eyes filled up with tears, yet again, I was really emotional, yet again, and I was overwhelmed with the beauty and truly spectacular feeling that is the Taj Mahal, yet again. It felt weird, too, being with someone else there and sharing those feelings but it was really good! We got in again at sunrise, before too many people came, and I am again so happy that we did because it really lent an air of magic to it – at that hour, before the sun is entirely up, the Taj looks like an idea, like a dream, just painted or imagined in the distance. It really is a stunning piece of architecture, and the spirit in which it was built is amazing, like this man loved his wife THAT MUCH that he created this space for her (and to all those naysayers who insist that it wasn't built out of love or the cynics who point out that Shah Jahan had a ton of wives: shhhh! Just appreciate the beauty!) and I feel like I am getting very gushy about it, so I will stop now, I promise!

The rest of the day we just wandered around Agra, and I was reminded again of how much I love this city, for, again, no reason that I can pinpoint but it doesn't matter – what matters is that I find so much joy in being here and in sharing it with Mom. We went into a shop to buy a postcard from a 12 year-old boy and wound up walking out with two marble tea light holders (one of those incredibly smooth salespeople that I apparently cannot resist), and I visited the restaurant where three lovely little boys worked last time I was here that I ate at pretty much every meal of every day – two of them are still there, the littlest one having gone to Mumbai with his father. I've been thinking about them since I was here last time, worrying about them, and am glad to see that they seem to be well, but am still not super happy about the fact that instead of being in school they're working in a restaurant. I always find that a hard thing to see here, but I know that it is reality that some families need their children to work and that is going to be the case until the government really starts cracking down and makes school affordable for everyone (not to mention fixes all the other social problems) – who knows how long that will take or if it will every happen, but I always will keep hoping and praying that it does. In the meantime, at least these boys are well fed and seem happy and can speak excellent English and the oldest one remembered me from 2 years ago which I found really touching.

We're off now, onto the next destination, but are sending lots and lots of love home and to anyone else who is reading this 😊 I appreciate all the messages and positive words of encouragement about this blog, please know that it is because you are all reading it that I keep writing and it warms my heart to know that I can share little bits and pieces and small insights into this beautiful country, my adopted second home, with anyone who is reading these words! Really, it means so much.



XOXO

Shannon

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Photos

Jaipur Pigeons
Me: "Oh my Goshhhhh look they're so pretty!"
Mom: "Shannon, if they shit on me, I swear to God I will kill you."

Hawa Mahal
The palace the Maharaja of Jaipur built so his wives and mistresses could see the city without having to leave purdah (it might have saved him a couple dollars if he just let them out of the palace...)

Dr. Chopra
At the Lit Fest!

Annnnd Oprah
Just doing her thing.

Next Level Absurdity
A goat, dressed up, waiting for the marble shop outside the Taj Mahal to open. It is almost too funny.

Freaking Cold.
And see how happy I am about it?