holy cow

march 28, 2008

it seems everyone assumes the presence of cows in india. yes, they are here and very docile and usually just avoid traffic and eat garbage. they even watched the sunset beside the sun worshippers at goa in a very peaceful, south indian way. the cows o far have not taken too much of my attention, but turning a corner and coming face to face (or face to knee) with a camel in the middle of a huge capital city makes me take notice. my favorite part of jaipur is that camels and elephants are a normal part of urban traffic, either transporting goods or people. they are everywhere.

walking through pushkar with my kiwi friends sarah and ben, i was prompted to reconsider the mind i pay to the sacred cow. this cow had an extra, yet flimsy, limb growing out from it's back between its front two shoulders and behind its neck. it was skinny and short, and kind of flapped around as it attempted to hold the weight of the soft and inadequately-formed soft hoof. a birth defect (and a bit nauseating) to some, a reason for further worship to many in india. as the festivals celebrating the anniversary of rajastan continued throughout pushkar, this holy cow's natural beauty was further adorned with capes and flower necklaces in the following days along with an accompanying holy man mumbling down the narrow streets.

ashram living

i have arrived in rishikesh after covering much ground in the desert state of rajastan, then a brief stint in goa. upon arriving in goa, it became apparent that the season is the south is near over and the action is in the himalayas. so i devised my plan as i stayed in a room situated on a cliff over the ocean, stopped over in delhi to refresh with my adopted indian family, spent a day at the taj, and headed north to a rainy, grey, and graciously cool rishikesh. i am staying in a very clean and chill ashram and will be headed to evening prayer on the ganges in a couple hours. i have committed to 3 days, so we'll how i feel upon my departure. i hope to head even futher north and trek amidst hindu pilgrimages throughout holy places and hilltop villages.

having been here over 2 weeks, i think i may have a greater sense of the speed to which this country moves and the possible method to the sheer madness. this understanding subsequently increased the enjoyability of this experience and i have fallen into a nice rhythm. a little confidence goes a long way and i am avoiding harrassment better as well as perfecting the art of simultaneously jumping on moving buses while throwing my large backpack at the appropriate person in the front of the bus so that i can fight for space among the bus-goers.

as an interesting twist to this trip, i have met but one american tourist and have crossed paths with people from all over the world. noteworthy characters include travelers from botswana, denmark, germany, new zealand, england, and australia. on the way to goa, i also met a man from ghana, now living in london, who went to university of chicago's graduate school of business (the building next to mine). despite all these meetings, i am usually the only western face on any transport that i am on. i always expect other tourists on my routes, but this has not been the case.

i can't believe how much i have already seen despite booked trains and changes of plans. as i am spending double what i thought (bad research before trip and single traveling), i am going to have to split my trip in half. i booked an open-ended ticket to accommodate this possibility, so i am not heart broken about it. there is so much to see here and the country is so vast and diverse. i feel grateful for what i will be able to fit into 2 months and the fact that i am here. plus, this type of travel always motivates me and i may just find myself somewhere steady after these 2 crazy years.

i am posting several stories from the time i arrived. sorry if they are out of order and confusing.