i didn't actually know that being here at bodhi zendo could be so much fun. to be honest, i was a bit worried when i got here that all of the people would just be..well, let's say it: weird and uber-religious and quite simply lost within themselves. turns out i was proven wrong. not only SOME of the residents are friendly and fun to be with, ALL of them are. the more i talk to them, the more it dawns on me that we share a major same interest: travel. which is exactly what we ended up doing together. we traveled.
remember how i told you about the 'german group'? well, it consists of me, a twenty-something year old, a forty-something year old, and three seventy-something year olds. elderly people are very wise and have an excellent sense of humour (realization number 4..or 5?) - i had a fantastic time with them.
we went to palani together.
we decided to convince sasim (the lovely man who picked me up from the airport) to take us there. palani is a town about 60kms away from perumalmalai - it's extremely famous (apparently) because it is home to one of the biggest temples in tamil nadu. therefore a wonderul place for me and petr to take pictures again.
so there we go, driving to palani. we left the zendo at 7am and had planned to arrive there by about 9 or 9:30 at the latest. of course, we're in india and nothing ever goes as planned in india (i've learned that already haha). the road to palani, which would have led us through the wonderful palani ghats, was closed. some bridge had broken down, so there was no way through. the alternative was the four hour drive down the range of hills, around the range of hills, and up the range of hills on the other side. mit der kirche um's kreuz, sozusagen. and that's exactly what we did. the temperature when you reach the bottom of the hills rises by about 10 degrees celsius, so suddenly it felt as if we were driving through the desert, especially because there was no A/C.
there is something i recently learned about indian roads, other than the fact that they are extremely dangerous. there are mostly two lanes. one lane is for people who are walking, cows standing around, little food stalls..and the other is for everything else, meaning cars going in both directions and those coming in from side roads. chaotic and dangerous are the two words that are most fitting. (what's funny though is that although you get the feeling all of the drivers are mad, they still all stop and pull over when they're taking a phone call. just to be safe.)
obviously we were driving for quite a while and it occured to me that although i felt like a really bad tourist, taking a jeep to go across the country and getting out in front of the main sight, you do see quite a lot when you drive. as we all know india is huge, there are so many different cultures and languages and religions combined - it seems that all people share is a certain nationality on paper and nothing else. driving around for four hours leads you through countless villages and therefore through countless different facettes of india. as we were driving, we came by bustling towns celebrating the launch of a new movie, poor villages set around a large 'water hole' where you could see the entire population bathing, gigantic market stalls selling chinese plastic toys and dvds for passing tourists (and their children) at ridiculous prices, people collecting rubbish and burning it by the street.. at every corner, every curve you make, a new face of india emerges. you cannot generalize this country. shyam told me that if you go 50kms away from kerala, where he is from, you cannot understand the people anymore because they speak a different language and have their own script. you cannot fathom the meaning of the word 'contrast' in relation to india.
one of the most striking things about driving to palani was the pilgrims we saw occupying the left lane of the road (everyone/everything else was bound to the right side, so we were basically geisterfahrer most of the time but that doesn't really matter here i guess). these pilgrims, ranging from age 10 to probably 80+, were walking to palani for hours and hours on end - we saw them for a full 2,5 hours while driving and we weren't exactly going slowly.. i was talking to joachim on the back seat for a couple of hours and he said that out of all the things he's seen in india so far in the over 30 years he has traveled, said pilgrims are the most fascinating. they walk a distance of 20, 30, maybe even 40kms per day just to reach palani, climb the mountain and pray (sadly i did take pictures while driving, i really regret that now. maybe petr will lend me his memory card). i have never seen such dedication. even donkeys walked up those steps.
remember how i told you about the 'german group'? well, it consists of me, a twenty-something year old, a forty-something year old, and three seventy-something year olds. elderly people are very wise and have an excellent sense of humour (realization number 4..or 5?) - i had a fantastic time with them.
we went to palani together.
we decided to convince sasim (the lovely man who picked me up from the airport) to take us there. palani is a town about 60kms away from perumalmalai - it's extremely famous (apparently) because it is home to one of the biggest temples in tamil nadu. therefore a wonderul place for me and petr to take pictures again.
so there we go, driving to palani. we left the zendo at 7am and had planned to arrive there by about 9 or 9:30 at the latest. of course, we're in india and nothing ever goes as planned in india (i've learned that already haha). the road to palani, which would have led us through the wonderful palani ghats, was closed. some bridge had broken down, so there was no way through. the alternative was the four hour drive down the range of hills, around the range of hills, and up the range of hills on the other side. mit der kirche um's kreuz, sozusagen. and that's exactly what we did. the temperature when you reach the bottom of the hills rises by about 10 degrees celsius, so suddenly it felt as if we were driving through the desert, especially because there was no A/C.
there is something i recently learned about indian roads, other than the fact that they are extremely dangerous. there are mostly two lanes. one lane is for people who are walking, cows standing around, little food stalls..and the other is for everything else, meaning cars going in both directions and those coming in from side roads. chaotic and dangerous are the two words that are most fitting. (what's funny though is that although you get the feeling all of the drivers are mad, they still all stop and pull over when they're taking a phone call. just to be safe.)
obviously we were driving for quite a while and it occured to me that although i felt like a really bad tourist, taking a jeep to go across the country and getting out in front of the main sight, you do see quite a lot when you drive. as we all know india is huge, there are so many different cultures and languages and religions combined - it seems that all people share is a certain nationality on paper and nothing else. driving around for four hours leads you through countless villages and therefore through countless different facettes of india. as we were driving, we came by bustling towns celebrating the launch of a new movie, poor villages set around a large 'water hole' where you could see the entire population bathing, gigantic market stalls selling chinese plastic toys and dvds for passing tourists (and their children) at ridiculous prices, people collecting rubbish and burning it by the street.. at every corner, every curve you make, a new face of india emerges. you cannot generalize this country. shyam told me that if you go 50kms away from kerala, where he is from, you cannot understand the people anymore because they speak a different language and have their own script. you cannot fathom the meaning of the word 'contrast' in relation to india.
one of the most striking things about driving to palani was the pilgrims we saw occupying the left lane of the road (everyone/everything else was bound to the right side, so we were basically geisterfahrer most of the time but that doesn't really matter here i guess). these pilgrims, ranging from age 10 to probably 80+, were walking to palani for hours and hours on end - we saw them for a full 2,5 hours while driving and we weren't exactly going slowly.. i was talking to joachim on the back seat for a couple of hours and he said that out of all the things he's seen in india so far in the over 30 years he has traveled, said pilgrims are the most fascinating. they walk a distance of 20, 30, maybe even 40kms per day just to reach palani, climb the mountain and pray (sadly i did take pictures while driving, i really regret that now. maybe petr will lend me his memory card). i have never seen such dedication. even donkeys walked up those steps.
and quite frankly, i was expecting more of this faaaaamous temple. but as it turns out it's just a tribute to a god on a hill (this may sound harsh, but it was not exceptionally beautiful nor exceptionally big or anything else). out of all the indian temples i have seen so far, i can almost say that this one impressed me least. however, what DID impress me was the passion in the people there. as we were walking up the seemingly endless steps, people passed us who were RUNNING up the entire hill, also some carrying huge boxes of tributes on their heads, many of them having already walked for hours and hours just to get there...
religion is huge here, but it is not imposed on you as a tourist. i am someone who is very critical towards religious symbols, beliefs, customs etc but here i never have the feeling that i am worth less just because i do not believe in any god. it has happened before in numerous places actually that people have looked at me weirdly for being without confession (my mother even told me that my grandfather refused to properly accept me as a human being, metaphorically speaking, for the first couple of years of my life because i am not baptized) but in india, the country we all associate with religion and belief and gods, it is different. religion is omnipresent but never forced onto you and you can come as who/whatever you are. it's a pretty unique feeling i can't quite put my finger on just yet. it's almost like i was expecting a certain narrow-mindedness and pride that makes everything else worth less. but here, the people are open. they love to let you be a part of what they believe, they include you, but on the other side they also love to hear about your country, your beliefs, your opinion. they invite you inside their religious life, maybe give you a traditional gift or two, allow you to look around, but would never lock you inside. do you now what i mean? it's fascinating.
what's also quite fabulous is the way the pilgrims present themselves in front of their god. a very large number of people (including women and children) had their heads shaven completely bald and painted with colors. looking at people felt like watching some mysterious, mesmerizing mythical creature. there is so much variety among the people, so many colors, so many different ways of dressing..
we ended up not actually going right to the temple. locals pay 10rs admission fee, non-hindus pay 100-2000rs (it didn't become clear what exactly the fee depended on in the end). also, the temple itself turned out to be a huge construction site - it was being renovated i think - so it wasn't that special after all. still, again the view and the many opportunites just to watch people made the entire journey worth it.
also engaging in long, philosophical and political conversations with the people in the jeep brought me to this weird state of being constantly very accurately aware of everything going on and feeling ready to absorb anything that comes along. i long for new experiences and impressions and it finally feels like this new chapter of my life has started. i'm really enjoying what this place is doing to me.
speaking of places: as we reached the bottom of the hill, there was this huuuge market selling everything from fresh fruit to fake dolce&gabanna sweaters. what they say in all of the tourist guides is true - as soon as there is a foreigner arriving, about 50 children gather around you, tugging on your clothes and on your bag, asking for a couple of rupees. it's hard to resist, but giving a child a rupee will only attract more and soon you literally cannot escape anymore. still, we managed to buy some nice things - fruit, mala necklaces, scarves.. i myself didn't buy anything (saving it all for upcoming trips) apart from some typically indian candy: it looks like a huge blob of gello with a couple of nuts hovering inside, but it tastes like gummybears - just more healthy. i don't know the name but it's incredibly cheap, sticky and sweet. so i decided to treat myself ;) i am still feasting on it (my first proper intake of unnecessary calories since my arrival).
later on, we went and had a traditional south indian meal at a traditional restaurant (which is a big deal because normally eating ORIGINAL indian food automatically gives everyone a so called 'dehli belly'..) BUT we managed. also, this restaurant had no cutlery so we were forced to eat with our hands. try eating a very liquid form of rice and sauces with only the fingertips of your right hand.. i really should have taken pictures, but my whole arm was covered with food so that would have been too risky :P but here is a picture a traditional meal - cost: 50 euro cents. luckily everything went well, we all survived the intake of foreign food and made our way back to bodhi zendo.
speaking of places: as we reached the bottom of the hill, there was this huuuge market selling everything from fresh fruit to fake dolce&gabanna sweaters. what they say in all of the tourist guides is true - as soon as there is a foreigner arriving, about 50 children gather around you, tugging on your clothes and on your bag, asking for a couple of rupees. it's hard to resist, but giving a child a rupee will only attract more and soon you literally cannot escape anymore. still, we managed to buy some nice things - fruit, mala necklaces, scarves.. i myself didn't buy anything (saving it all for upcoming trips) apart from some typically indian candy: it looks like a huge blob of gello with a couple of nuts hovering inside, but it tastes like gummybears - just more healthy. i don't know the name but it's incredibly cheap, sticky and sweet. so i decided to treat myself ;) i am still feasting on it (my first proper intake of unnecessary calories since my arrival).
later on, we went and had a traditional south indian meal at a traditional restaurant (which is a big deal because normally eating ORIGINAL indian food automatically gives everyone a so called 'dehli belly'..) BUT we managed. also, this restaurant had no cutlery so we were forced to eat with our hands. try eating a very liquid form of rice and sauces with only the fingertips of your right hand.. i really should have taken pictures, but my whole arm was covered with food so that would have been too risky :P but here is a picture a traditional meal - cost: 50 euro cents. luckily everything went well, we all survived the intake of foreign food and made our way back to bodhi zendo.
realization of the day: having sasim as a driver is lovely because he stops every half an hour and lets us get fresh coconut milk from one of the local stalls on the side of the street :) everyone is so friendly here. and i am STILL wondering how the coconut men manage to still have all of their fingers.
It's amazing, how much has happened in just ONE week.... you lucky girl. Hugs, Mum
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