The last few days have been a cacophony of blaring Hindu music, the pounding of drums and sticks in the streets, and the murmurs of prayers all around. It was the end of the Navrati festival and it sure went off with a bang (literally every minute we jumped because of some firecracker going off!). Every two seconds a truck was driving by dedicated to a specific goddess with a rowdy group following behind playing music and dancing raucously. Each group had some kind of theme and at one point we were swarmed by a bunch of people dressed up in gorilla masks and requested to dance like maniacs as well and we definitely obliged them!
Although the music and traffic for nine days can be a little overwhelming, it was really heart warming to see so many people unified by the festival and having fun! There are times where I feel like North America is a little backwards because every celebration we have often involves getting liquored up or some other mind altering thing and on the flip side, our celebrations are strictly contained by authority. Here there are thousands of people, all uninhibited by their own happiness and desire to be festive flowing out onto the streets creating as much public disturbance as possible and they are free to do so! As always, the contrasts are stark.
The night before after we failed to find our yoga class (yeesh!) we went to a cute rooftop where we met some fellow travelers and could watch the festivities from above. Steve and Jack were interesting to talk to especially regarding Indian history and the role the British played. They both have a particular interest being from southern England and gave us some good book ideas to read. They were on their way to Goa afterwards, a train ride that will be over 20 hours and I did not envy them (we are flying instead...)!
Yesterday was a lazy man's day and I am not even sure how we whiled away the day! Initially we were seeking out a cooking class to join but they were all full for the day (we booked for tomorrow- very excited about this!) and we happened to notice an Ayurvedic massage parlor. Although we were only going in to "check the price" we were just fooling ourselves or each other and before you know it we were enjoying massages. I always love looking at all the herbal medicines they sell as well and I especially enjoy knowing that the special powder they apply to my back will absorb deep into my tissues to relieve all sorts of health conditions like cholesterol or stress!
My massage therapist knew little English and it is always a comical experience trying to communicate. One thing I have noticed is that most people will not try to express themselves using body language if there is a language barrier (isn't most communication through body language?!). Instead, they just repeat themselves and stare. To figure out how she wanted me to start out I just kept trying different things like laying down on my back, then my stomach, sitting, sheet on top, sheet on bottom etc until I finally had it right. I think at one point Josh just shouted over the separator and told me what to do! Nevertheless, a very wonderful massage and she really knew what she was doing.
In the evening we headed to our favorite cafe. The best thing about staying in one place for so long is that you can create your own sense of community with your favorite places to go and just knowing how to navigate yourself! We enjoyed a Kingfisher beer and almost 20 games of Uno (don't ask Josh who won, I think he is still traumatized!) and it was pure fun.
We woke up early since we had committed ourselves to going on a day trip to Ranakpur temple which is about 2 hours outside of Udaipur depending on your driver. This may seem far to go for one temple but not only was it amazing but the drive was really great too! This was the first time I had noticed how lush India can be with beautiful rolling hills, greenery all around, and streams and waterfalls! What was even better was our drive through several small villages where we were able to glimpse village life. One thing I found particularly heartening was the hoards of children in school uniforms including older girls (who sometimes leave school at a young age). They looked so sharp in their blue and khaki outfits and all the girls wore their hair in two braids on either side of their face giving them a look of innocence and hopefulness. Unfortunately there were also quite a few children out in the fields with their parents and some begging but in general it was great to see that education is valued. The reality is that if these begging children were allowed to go to school the education they would receive might open doors for them and in turn, provide more wealth for the family. But this sort of foresight requires education which the parents have been denied as well.
The first thing you might notice driving through a village is how busy everyone is! It is like a well orchestrated machine with men in red turbans herding sheep, women carrying large amounts of goods on their heads, people bathing or washing laundry in the streams and shopkeepers waving people in. The women in particular are dressed very traditionally and many have a nose ring so large that it covers their mouth as well. Their saris are often draped over their heads as well to cover from the sun but unfortunately, many Indian women will develop osteoporosis in their lifetime and one of the factors is their aversion to the sun creating an epidemic of Vitamin D deficient women. I think many dynamics are at play here like women often doing most household chores inside the home and not having the same escape as men do through their work but there is also a disturbing trend of overvaluing fair skin.
Reading the newspaper offers a glimpse into the personal ads for a groom or bride in which most descriptions will mention whether the bride or groom has fair or very fair skin and the ads skew this to be a positive trait. Young women around the city wear scarves in such a way that their foreheads and faces are covered and only their eyes can be seen as well as covering head to toe. Advertisements for skin bleaching are seen in magazines and on billboards and there is an attempt to make it affordable for a low income population with the most recent advertisement I saw being 10 rupees for one packet. What is disturbing to me is that these products are becoming more and more regulated in Canada because of their link to skin cancer but are widespread here. That and it is hard to fathom that in 2012, there is still so much value placed on white skin in parts of the world and it is a strange reality to come to terms with when you are apparently "blessed" with it.
It is obvious in the villages that life may be a struggle. The issue of having no toilets was obvious as we saw children defecating on the road. Garbage was strewn throughout and I had the grisly sight of a long dead cow, laying on the side of the road with fecal matter, blood, and flies surrounding it. I wondered about health facilities or access to drinking water but I don't have any answers. People work very hard and their faces are lined with their effort but there are plenty of smiles to go around as well, especially with the children. It was very humbling to bear witness to their daily lives.
We made our way to the Jain temple and we were instantly happy that we
made the effort to go! It was absolutely stunning, one of those buildings where you feel like you could roam around it for days and it was impossible to leave. It was built in the 16th century in the middle of lush greenery and it was built solely out of pure white marble. I can only imagine the effort made by man and elephants alike to create such a marvel! The temple has 1444 columns in it but it's not how many it has that is impressive but rather that no two columns are alike! This was definitely one of the most amazing things I have seen in India and to think I thought that I was "templed out!"
Jainism is an interesting religion to learn about. The concept that most intrigued me is that it is all about self enlightenment and the belief that each of us can be a divine being and if we make the effort to shed our worldly bonds or karmas like possessiveness, we can release our souls. There is no doctrine about a supreme creator or the concepts of heaven and hell rather the focus is on releasing your own soul to become divine (breaking the life-birth cycle) which is your own experience and your own prerogative (not punishment of sins). They believe that every living thing has a soul and they take effort not to damage any souls like killing insects or even eating root vegetables. Humans have the most important souls and anything that damages a soul like dishonesty or cheating someone is also against their religion. Even the concept of being a home owner is difficult for Jains but it is acceptable as long as they do not feel an attachment or possessiveness to the house and would be able to give it up at any time. Obviously the religion is a lot more complicated than these few ramblings but these were the concepts that resonated with me.
Driving with our driver was quite an experience! Early in the morning we met this gruff, chubby, 50 year old man wearing a baseball cap and when he was fiddling with the stereo, I was interested in hearing some Hindu music. Instead, we had the pleasure of listening to none other than Justin Beiber and not one song but his whole CD! Absolutely hilarious and completely unexpected. After about a half hour he pulled over and wanted Josh to drive which I thought was crazy but Josh was all for it! It actually wasn't too bad because we had passed most of the cows and goats that cross the road but I think it was tough to remember to drive on the opposite side of the road. It was not an experience I was interested in having!
Tomorrow we are getting ready to leave Udaipur and take a cooking class! I am very excited to learn about Indian spices and our chef, Shuma assures me that if I learn the three curries she will teach me, I can cook over twenty different curries! Sounds great to me!
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