Crazy Crazy India!

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Delhi
Amarpukashi (uttar pradesh)
Rishikesh (uttarkahand)


First week in India, senses overload! The smells, the sights, the sound and the taste...just incredible! Delhi is the most chaotic place imaginable, but the chaos seems to be organised. roads filled with trucks, rickshaws, pedestrians, cows, horses and goats. People give way to bikes, bikes give way to rickshaws, rickshaws give way to cars, cars give way to trucks, and trucks give way to...cows! yep, if there's a cow on the road your not going anywhere! the holy cow of india has the rule of the road, even in Delhi, with it's 15 million people! so i reckon the way to go is to buy one of the pantomime cow outfits and get around that way, problem solved! :-)

So far, in my first week in this beautiful land i've visited a mosque that can hold 25,000 worshippers, met a jain monk that has over 5,000 injured birds in his temple hospital, sat next to a prisoner ( for 4 hours) being escorted on the train from Delhi, sang frank sinatra songs with school kids in the village, bathed in the river ganges, shared my dinner table with wild monkeys and opened my bedroom door to views of the himalayas, and changed my name to Ajay (they can't say 'Drew' so i've given up bothering)!

There is a lifetime of experience to be had from this amazing country. Some of the people, especially near the project are the poorest imaginable, but they have overflowing compassion and kindness in their hearts. A villager that earns no more than 3 pounds a month is more than happy to buy you a chai (tea) and invite you to share his food, and if you refuse, well, you just DON'T refuse! :-)

India is a constant fusion of old world culture and tradition, mixed in a crazy concoction with mobile phones, western clothes and big dreams. The irony is that we as westerners are starting to crave for something else, something that only the east can offer, and yet over here the complete opposite is happening. They have a desire for western promises, money, fame and material possesions. Maybe a bit of sharing from both the west and the east will help, and we can slowly learn what's good (and what's not so good) from each others traditions!

Tomorrow I will have breakfast by the banks of the ganges in Rishikesh. I'm sure there will be a wandering spiritual sadhu near by to give me advice and share ideas, oh, and to call a rickshaw for me on his brand new mobile! ;-)

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Comments

[Shirley]

Greetings!
Hi Drew it all sounds amazing, you look really well on the photo's and no doubt you are enjoying yourself. A belated happy birthday for yesterday I did leave a message on facebook, but you probably haven't seen it yet. We will follow your travels with interest; take good care, love from all the McKenzie's x x

[Shell]

Got to love the Stig!! Enjoy yourself! Holy Cow! Where's Batman (hmm watching to many old shows there)!