(Sorry about formatting issues... my pictures and blogger don't seem to mix well)
Pushkar
Pushkar has been one of the best weekend trips that Ben and I have made. It is home to a minimal 13,000 people but is a backpacker tourist hub in India while also acting as an essential Hindu pilgrimage site. It was great- Full of cheap hotels, EXCELLENT roof top restaurants, Hindu Ghats (where you bathe in holy waters) including the Gandhi Ghat where Gandhi's ashes were put, the one and only American that we have met, and some of the longest hikes up to Hindu temples to witness B E A utiful sunsets (my last post). It was also home to the best shopping we've had. The picture is a typical store on the road. I found myself spending more money than previously planned which means changing money over, again! 60 dollars got me about 3000 rupees which can last you a very, very long time in Pushkar. We played cricket with some local kids and were conned into buying them a new cricket ball to then be given an abrupt "Goobye" after the purchase. Punks.
Cricket
Cricket! The sport the world, especially India, loves and the sport America is too good for! We have had the luxury of learning this crazy sport with it's five day matches, 400 point games, and hour long at bats. Our camp manager seen here, is a lover of cricket (just like, literally, every other Indian I've met). He has shown us the ropes and I can say that I am fully
equipped for the task of showing the States the beauty of the game... Despite it being one of the longest ordeals that you will ever go through. You can see me here struggling to hit the ball, so it doesn't hit the wicket. In this case, the chair. But, As you can see, I miss completely and the chair is broken just a little bit more. Here, the fielding team runs around with their
pointer finger in the air signaling an out has been made.Tuk Tuks or Autorickshaws
Before the words "developing country" became a politically correct term to describe India, at this time still an "underdeveloped country" India had with it these things called rickshaws. Rickshaws are basically a man-driven cart designed to carry people around a city. Thankfully, the "rickshaw" has been outdated and along with other sweeping changes, India made the big change to the cyclerickshaw! Ooooo, ahhhhh. Like the name implies, this is a tricycle powered by a man with seats on the back to take you where ever in the city. This wasn't the end for the up and coming India, though, the autorickshaw was just around the corner. Now, in modern day India, we have the splendor and pollution of the autorickshaw! Ooooo, ahhhhh. This thing is wonderful despite the trail of black smoke that follows. For a price, always higher than everyone else, tourists can now be greeted leaving a hotel by a very proud autorickshaw driver. These men are very, very proud (sometimes it is really over-the-top) of their three wheeled contraption and will take you to your heart's content, for a price, again. After haggling with 4-5 sometimes 10-12 autorickshaws you are allowed the comfort of being cramped up next to your friends and luggage. Then, the sound, *tuk...tuk...tuk, tuk, tuk, tuk* until the engine is roaring full power and you're off. The "tuks" disappear and you're left with an engine that maxes around 20 mph, and gawking Indians ecastic to see the tourists in the "tuk tuk"....
Tuk Tuks- the wave of modernization
Kanjar Children.
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Beautiful little children.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing to me how bright-eyed they all remain given the circumstances their living in. Like with the over-zealous "tuk tuk" driver for example, his whole being is invested in that small contraption and his entrepreneurship...it's endearing to me. Although I am grateful for the opportunities we have here in America, sometimes I can't help but wish I had something small and specific to focus on instead of broad, wide-open possibilities...which is sometimes overwhelming.
A lot of people view "underdeveloped countries" for what they lack, which is mostly economic stability, and therefore see them as a hindrance in this world. But it's these countries that possess things on a human existence level that luxury-focused countries do not. We get to make an independent decision of what role we’re going to play in society, which is incredible, but at the same time leaves me with an empty feeling-- I just can’t quite see where I will fit in and how I will contribute. Then I’m in a sort of existential crisis- “what’s the point then?” I don’t need to dance to survive or to help the community survive...but it’s America and I CAN...besides, we’re in a place where art can be pursued and created, and shouldn’t that be taken advantage of? Yes. And so the circular inner-dialogue continues...But in places like India, where they unfortunately don’t have that option, they do each have a clear and significant role in their communities based on day-to-day, fundamental survival. They all have to contribute to keep the community alive. I think that’s kind of beautiful. Sometimes I envy them...it seems like they're closer to life than I am.
I’m thankful that both ends of the spectrum exist, and I'm thankful for my life here in America, I just hope someday the globalization effort is able to find a balance and help countries like India create more sound infrastructures without homogenizing the culture and losing those intricacies that make different cultures unique.
I admire you and Ben for actually traveling there and immersing yourselves in the culture...I don't know if I would have the balls to do that.
sorry for the mini-essay...
I’ll be thinking of you two as I sip my chai latte at starbucks!
-Carly