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Greetings; Happy New Year------

The photo above is of the local dump truck. It looks like what a prospector from the 1850's might have to search for gold, but this burrow carries sand and gravel. The pan in the saddle bag is loaded with sand from the shores of the Ganges, then dumped into the canvas bags and hauled up to town for whatever purpose it may be needed. On the return trip the bags are loaded with broken brick or stone from the destruction of an old wall or building. The two women in the background give me an idea for another blog......Women's fashion. But let me gather more photos for that one........ Yesterday, New Years Day, I thought I might swim in the Ganges, like I started this past year with a Jan. 1st swim across big Chico Creek. But near waters edge, being a westerner and vulnerable without nothing on but a swimsuit the beggars swarm. It was so bad that I just left. The beggar thing really gets to me.

I took this photo above because I feel it represents an element of Indian life that I really enjoy. That is that they are lackadaisically fervent. It shows an ashram to nowhere, maybe someone was going to build one here or maybe not. If there is one word that describes the culture in general it would be diversity. Acceptance of others as they are. There is such a wide range of spiritual practices that I'm dizzy trying to put them into some category. Mostly the Hindu Mythology is like the white paste that you put on a canvas before painting, it's not the real painting but the foundation of it all. I'm studying the 6 systems of Indian philosophy and will share more when I get back home.

The above photo is from the balcony of my second favorite Continental restaurant. What you see is the foot bridge and two of the large temples across river. There are large bells on each floor of the temple and people walk from bottom to top ringing each bell as they pass. On a big tourist day the bells are thunderous and they echo out over the river canyon. When I say tourist, you must remember that the Indian tourist out number the westerners by 100 to 1. They come mostly in groups or at least in families. They come to pray or they are here because some famous Guru is speaking of giving Darshan (blessings).

This is the reverse game that must be played. First you begin to download the photo, then write to describe it.................So this is the main road through Laksman Jhula, I live in the hamlet just down river, called Ram Jhula. Jhula means bridge or foot bridge. You can get here by car but it is 16 km up and over. Both are still considered Rishikesh but are distinctly different than the bustling city of Rishikesh proper. Of the two hamlets Laksman is the more "hip" place, it has more ashrams, more yoga centers and more temples. It also has more people and cars are allowed on the main street, not so in Ram Jhula. It does have the best continental restaurants so I come here a couple times a week.........................More soon cause on Monday I leave for the warmer south..........HARI OM