"Red" dances

the



I title this post "Red" dances on my shoulder....... The story goes........ I'm at an ashram, that serves much like a hotel. It has a range of rooms according to price, I have the 10$ room that includes a balcony and 24hr hot water in the form of a shower. It is a quiet place with great views from the roof of the surrounding landscape. The local Yogi that owns and runs the place also has a charitable organization that runs 10 local schools. He is a happy person, as is evident in his smile.
Each evening people gather around the fire pit and talk. The Yogi always has a story or experience to share with the group. Part of the group is a woman from France, she is in her mid-sixties and reminds me of my late aunte Jeannete. She and I get along great. I think that she and the Yogi are, well, uh......close. During the informal talk of birds, bats and dogs, she and I shared much laughter. After some time has passed I notice that the Yogi is no longer answering my questions or even acknowledging that I an part of the conversation.
Now this is where "Red" comes and sits on my shoulder and we look over to the Yogi and "Red" says "He's a pompous ass". So now Gita the French woman says to Yogi that she thinks he should hire some men to make and paint 'reliefs' on the ashram walls. He scoffs and says that to pay someone 60 or 80 rupees and hour is not worth it. (that's 1.25$ an hour). So I say " Oh Yogi, you should spend the money on the art, think of your ancestors who built these beautiful temples, with all this beautiful relief art". It was an inappropriate thing to say in those circumstances.
Upon further reflection I see that it is me that is the pompous ass. This man does more in one day for the betterment of his fellow citizens than I do in a decade.
Two top photos are the ashram, then local art in the park and finally Gandi at a rock concert.

Sab Koe Acha Hea

khajuraho

So I'm here in Khajuraho, If Rishikesh is the Yoga capital of the world Khajuraho is the erotic temple capital. This is where a thousand years ago, the king and his followers (in India kings could be replaced if they didn't meet the needs of the people), built these temples adorned with sandstone carvings of erotic and sensuous art. They carvings also depict daily life, with the elephants, horses and of course the multiple gods and goddess'. It seems from the historical records that it was a prosperous period that lasted about 250 years....................... I took the train from Hariwar to Jansai, a 16 hour, well.............uh...............let's just say it was a long trip. Lesson number 329, when booking train tickets and they ask if you want air-conditioning, but it's winter, you should still say yes, otherwise you end up in 3rd class. The train stations................When I arrived at 05:00 the station was lit with flashing colored neon and a few bare light bulbs, there were at least 200 people wrapped in shawls and blankets sleeping

on the floor, I was an hour early so I did same. One difference between India and China is that here there are no attendants, no official on the platform, none on the train. We were 2hrs into the trip before someone asked for my ticket. There was a group of two extended families from West Bengal in the seats and benches around me, they spoke some English but the accents were heavy and communication stilted, by the time my station arrived the car had more than 100 people on board. These include but not limited to Sikes, Muslims, Hindu monks, army men w/machine-guns, sadhus, families, boys with no legs shuffling along the floor asking for money, old blind women carrying racks of children's toys for sale (to get out attention she would shoot a plastic Luger as she walked the aisle), untouchables with caked and matted hair wanting to look at my book( which I showed him but it was obvious he couldn't read), and many more. I was the only westerner in the car but at the end many people came up to me and shook my hand and wished me a good journey.......................... At my stop I had no hotel reservation and it was after 10 pm, Lonely Planet listed one not far from the train station, I got an auto-rickshaw to it but they were full. The rickshaw driver, now accompanied by his boss said they would take me to another hotel. One can read about these scams, but still, in the moment, having had no sleep for 30 hours, and they ask you "sir, room o.k.?" you just give in. No hot water, no one in their right mind would use the toilet, at 4:30 someone decided to watch bollywood videos, but the sheets were clean and I slept sound..............................I'm hungry and the Internet man is trying to hustle me out so I'll post more later............

NAMASTE

final impressions

Some final impressions of Rishikesh and the out laying hamlets. I've been here almost one month and the best analogy I can make is............. that if an Indian, who's favorite sport is Cricket, spent their one month vacation in Cooperstown, N.Y.. How can that be? I come here to see the abandon ashram of my only Guru, the Maharishi, and end up staying. Mostly I would consider myself a Taoist that practices Tai Chi, but this is the Yoga capital of the world and there are dozens of Hindu Temples. But the place is magical. I decided to do a meditation retreat, but also became involved in the local culture. The local monk also teaches Reiki, so I took that course. I got Ayurvedic massage for Mr. Baba that was so inspiring if I come back I'll take his one week class. Many of the local merchants and waiters know and greet me with simple and kind conversation. It is a safe place.... There is a line in the Ramayana, that goes 'here,in this world of passing sights and nets of pleasure and of pain'.... So I must experience the net of pain, that comes in the form of the beggars. There are Touts, these are fellows that try and hustle tourists, but after awhile they stand out and you can dismiss their hype easily. But then there are the beggars, they come in two forms, first and most prominent is the Sadhu that begs, not all Sadhus beg, only some. These Sadhus come in two classes as I see it, first are the old and infirm, they have nothing and probably can't get it together to help themselves, they are aggressive with westerners, if you do give them some rupees they want more, very irritating. At one point I decided to give them food, so I bought some apples, but the first two that I handed apples to had no teeth, but they took them anyway and I still ended up giving them 10 rupees. The second type of Sadhu is one that really has denounced all. They want nothing to do with this world, especially work, they seem to be very intelligent, the younger ones are strong, handsome and energetic. The older ones of this class seem to be in deep contemplation constantly, they may sit all day on one bench. Someone always feeds them. The ashram where I stay feeds about 50 Sadhus twice a day.................Just as the Sadhu is an integral part of the culture so are the aged, blind, crippled and maimed. These people are Ronald Reagan's psychological Shadow, times a billion. Left out to the elements, they survive on charity, barley. They see westerners as walking cash cows. Their faces are tragic and I could walk all day just handing out small portions of money and there would still be a thousand more that needed same. When a woman with a tumor the size of a baseball looks up at you with large dark smiling eyes and raises her hands in the form of a bowl..............well it just gets me. I can't just shake it off, it stays with me and there is nothing I can do...................... The first photo in this series is of the daily blessing at one of the temples, much singing and praising the various gods. It's all cool but I don't speak Hindi and I can't carry a tune, so I pass...............The waterfall photo is just upstream from here, it was a nice bike ride and walk to get to it................In conclusion I would say this has been a life changing month, mostly because it will add to my view of the world and my place in it. It is a place for mind and heart to meld......................There are 2 posts today so check out the new one below.........................NAMASTE

womens fashion

The women and their fashions seem inexorably mixed, and represent their status or place in society. There are the more traditional and the more modern. I would say that a small majority of women still dress in the traditional manner. It is a very beautiful look. The flowing linens and silks are to be admired, but the colors, and their combinations are what make this fashion so wonderful. At some point in Indian history it became part of the culture to "hide" the women. Just like the caste system, this is now no longer accepted but you can't help but notice that there are no women in the work force. Except for women like the one in the 2nd photo. Sometimes they are selling jewelry on the street, but that is rare. Mostly they are home. When they do go out, it is with other women or with their husband and children. The traditionally dressed woman always has her hair and makeup in a perfect presentation, no hair is out of place and the dozens of necklaces and bracelets and rings, both on fingers and toes adds to the look of elegance that she presents, with, one can only imagine, very little money........ I had the good fortune that the back window of my room looked out over an apartment complex next door. On the roof of the apartment is where the women spent much of their day. Their look was much more relaxed, their hair was down and flowing, no make-up and the vibe was homey. In the first photo above you can see two women grooming each other, this and constant conversation, while doing laundry or washing dishes is what goes on. I also saw mothers just holding their infants for hours at a time, sometimes singing to them sometimes massaging them. This was done while the clothes on the line dried. Once, when the father came home, for lunch I guess, I heard them both singing to the infant. Very moving.........A final note on the fashion..............Now you have all these great clothes and their colors, and the shoes are to die for, mostly sandals or open toed heels, but then...............here is where my foot fetish overrules all rational observation...........They wear these socks! Not just regular sock but the mustard brown, three sizes to big socks, note second photo.............Oh well, all is well in diversity.

Moving tomorrow, I'll get back as soon as I can.

Peace

upstream

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

sewer lines

Greetings Earthlings: Just finished a six day course on the first two levels of the Reiki Healing Technique, it took seven days 'cause we are on India time. The teaching took place during my "free time", so I haven't done much exploring or blogging about exploring this past week. But all is over now, the jury is still deliberating the validity of Reiki. So far I would say it gives one more energy and a general feeling of happiness.......................

The first photo above is of sewer replacement here in the hood.............::::::: When I was working at my mom's duplex this summer, the street in front of the complex was having the sewer replaced. I watched the action with interest because earlier this year when Chacha and I were in China they were replacing the sewer along the street in front of our hostel. Now here in India just down from the Ashram, guess what, sewer replacement..... Nothing could better represent the three culture's approach to this basic state of communal living. Back in the U.S. it was all machines, large back-hoes dug the trench placing the soil in even larger trucks. The sewer line was installed with a tractor wench and the dirt filled in and tamped with a small steamroller then sealed each night with asphalt so as to not disrupt traffic. During the day there were two flagmen, one posted at each end of the dig. They used walkie-talkies to hold traffic for a safe passage through the one lane. It was all very orderly, relatively clean and employed about 20 men. In China the machinery was ancient, the compressor that was used to power the jack-hammers was rolled in on a cart made from posts and bicycle tires. The trenched soil was heaped next to the trench in an already narrow ally/street. When vehicles came through it was a war of the horns, eventually someone would yield and traffic would "flow". At the end of each day the open trench would be covered with a large piece of metal until the job was finished then brick was used as the final layer. The job employed about 40 men. In both China and India brick or stone is used over and over to cover the sewer lines. Now here in India the opportunity to observe presents itself. There are no machines, the trenches are dug by hand, with pick and shovel. The shovels are shaped like a hoe, with the head coming off the handle at an angle. When the trench gets real deep and to narrow to throw the soil out, it is scrapped with bare hands onto the shovel head, then another man pulls the shovel out of the trench using a rope tied to the handle and throws it on the street. Most of the men are barefoot and wear no helmets (both china and u.s. use hard-hats). The there is no closing at the end of the day. All the pipe, that must weigh at least500 pounds each, is laid by hand, using ropes and pry-bars. The job employed about 15 men..............That's it, the tale of three sewers. There is no judgement here, only an observation as to the relative differences as to wealth. Would the Indians use back-hoes if they had them? I';m not sure, the caste system and the emphasis on living a village life still dominate..................I can see that I'm having trouble getting the photo that I want to download I only get one more try so I hope we get it............................As to the other photos, the two, sorry, of the police station sign says it all. At some time I may post about the overall feeling I have about the culture here, especially concerning crime and violence. I'm still reading a lot and getting absorbed into the hamlet.........Ahhhhhh, there it is, at the top.............................. HARI OM

Answers

Hello All-----\/\/\/\/\/\/------My friend and consummate educator Gordon poses some questions in the comments section of this blog. I thought others may be interested in those things also. Gordon asks about music: There is not a lot of live music except for the drumming that accompanies the chanting and singing at the temples. There was some horn accompaniment at a wedding the other day but it wasn't earth shattering. The most impressive music thus far was just outside my favorite western restaurant, it was a real snake charmer. He played the flute and charmed the Cobra so that it "stood up" and peered from the basket the snake hissed and whipped it's tongue. The snake was cool, very primal, but the music coming from the mans flute was mesmerizing, piercing and other worldly..................There is a lot of Indian New Age Music played from the music stalls and tourist shops around town, it is kind of like being in the parking lot of a Grateful Dead concert that has been going on for 100 years.

The questions of birds was posed: There are many birds and they do seem less skittish than at home, you can get within 10 feet of the local crows no problem. I'm at the edge of the mountain jungle so there are many varieties of birds, my favorite is a medium size bird that lives and feeds near the river where I sit, it is all black with a belly and tail feathers that are Magenta with a hint of orange, on the crown of it's head is a pure white stripe..........

Gordon asks about the danger from Monkeys: I have two monkey stories; When I first arrived at the ashram and began to eat in my room I would have peanut shells and banana peels left over, as there is not garbage can(anywhere), I wrapped my scraps and thought I would take them to the road and give them to the cows. I stepped from my room door holding a plastic bag of scraps, I walked about 10 feet when a large brown monkey drops from the trees and has me in his sights. The difference between monkeys and say dogs is that the monkey uses eye sight not smell to search for food, and they have great eyesight. Also they are smart, this monkey knew that I had to use the stairway to exit so that is where he sat and waited. As I approached he flashed his very large teeth.........I quickly threw the bag his way and continued on my way. The second monkey story is at my favorite Indian restaurant,; the restaurant is located on a hillside overlooking the main street, there is a patio outside with one table, big enough for about six people. Sitting at the table were two women from Denmark, they look to be in their early sixties, short cropped grey hair, very sturdy intent in their discussions. I took a window seat that overlooked the patio and was feasting on the best aloo dun when from the roof WHAMM!! a 30 pound brown monkey land in the middle of the woman's table, they both scream, stand and jump back. The monkey begins to forage when one of the women smacks it an the rump and it flees without her sandwich. We all had a good laugh at that one.The grey monkeys as seen above are not so aggressive. Plus they look cooler.

Favorite foods thus far : Vegetable cheese curry::::Penne with tomato sauce with green olive and mushroom:::Palak paneer and brown rice:::: In all the food is great, it is against the local law for anyone to serve meat, fish or eggs in Rishikesh.

Meditation:::::::::::::Well it is good. I am taking a Reike class, I am taking Reike I and II, from a monk at the ashram, in order to relax we start each session with a Yoga Nadir, very deep, WOW.

It's late I must go back.

Merry Christmas

Happy Hanukkah

Later we will go upstream

cal